Laine’s injury derails Gaudreau’s Blue Jackets debut

RALEIGH, NC– Johnny Gaudreau will remember his first game with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The striker won’t want to experience it again.

– Zero points in a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday at PNC Arena.

— An upper body injury forward patrick laine less than seven minutes into the second period, which destroyed the chemistry between him, Gaudreau and the centre BooneJenner started creating in her previous two shifts.

– Lines that went into a mixer after Laine, Columbus’ only goalscorer, left the game and Gaudreau wondered who he would walk the boards with each shift. He played with two different centers and three different right wings after Laine left.

“Yes, I mean it [stinks]’ said Gaudreau. “You never want anyone to get hurt but you’re on a new team, you’re building chemistry with your linemates, you think you had a good camp and then you’re not playing together in the middle of the second period. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious, but I thought we were playing well and then the game kind of slipped away from us.”

Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen had no further information on Laine’s status after the game, but it seems unlikely he’ll be ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Friday’s home opener at Nationwide Arena.

Laine’s right arm appeared to be pinched between the Hurricanes’ defender Brett Pesce and the boards that bent awkwardly at the elbow. He finished his shift 13:15 in the second period and the 1-1 draw, returned to the bench and after being looked at by a coach, went to the dressing room and never returned.

The Hurricanes scored the next three goals, including two from 20 shots in a third period they dominated enough to send the Blue Jackets back to the drawing board after a training camp filled with hope of what Laine and Gaudreau can achieve together.

“It’s just disappointment,” said Larsen. “It’s not frustration. That’s a wasted emotion. Unfortunately, I think they built something there, they looked good a few, they finished one and then it’s hockey. You can’t sit and feel sorry for yourself. Now we ‘ I’ll keep going, see where it goes.”

Video: Hurricanes top Blue Jackets at season opener

A loss, even with Laine injured, certainly shouldn’t erase the optimism that has engulfed the Blue Jackets since Gaudreau picked them as an unrestricted free agent on July 13 and signed them to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract.

He came with fanfare and hype as a player who could change the narrative of Columbus and the Blue Jackets and make it a market that other free agents should want to go to as well, a team that has a bright future after a Postseason series has won in its first 21 seasons.

Gaudreau, who had 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists) with the Calgary Flames last season, came through training camp well after that and looked good with Laine and Jenner.

“He fits in with our group on and off the ice,” Jenner said.

He even became a father on Sept. 30 when his wife gave birth to Meredith Noa, a baby girl who was already decked out in a Blue Jackets onesie in a photo the team posted to its Twitter account on Oct. 3 was.

But less than two weeks later comes this battle of adversity; It won’t be the last time he faces the Blue Jackets this season or over the course of his seven-year contract, but to say it happened less than halfway into his first game is a kick in the pants.

And it doesn’t get any easier.

The Lightning is coming to Columbus on Friday. The Blue Jackets play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

Nine of the Blue Jackets’ first 11 games will be against teams that made the playoffs last season, including a duel against Stanley Cup winners Colorado Avalanche in Tampere, Finland as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series on March 4. and November 4th 5th

“It’s definitely real,” Gaudreau said. “The first game was obviously nice to get it out of the way but I wanted to go on the right foot, get the right start and win. We didn’t do that. Going home is an important game for us. We “We don’t want to start the season 2-0. We have to play two really good teams here in Tampa and St. Louis. We have to win this home game.”

Larsen has no plans to add to the pressure Gaudreau is already putting on himself. He understands Gaudreau will need some time to settle in after playing the first 602 games of his NHL career with the Flames.

“The fact that he has a new kid, nobody really talks about that,” Larsen said. “Everyone is giving him high fives, but we know what that means. If you’re a parent, it’s a lot. There’s also the human element, the change in cities. It’s probably going to take more than a game to get going, ‘yeah, I’m comfortable here’, but Johnny has adjusted well. He is doing great and we will move forward.”