Saturday, October 16, 2010

Jackets Lose Stralman for Saturday

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been stumbling out of the gate in this 2011 season and some hiccups on the blueline have featured already early on. The Jackets will be in Minnesota on Saturday night and news that Anton Stralman will be sitting out with an upper-body injury probably doesn't sit well with the team going into the game.  Stralman is listed as out day-to-day, so there shouldn't be a great deal of concern for the long-term, but if the club wants to start making a push, they will have to pick something up soon.

In the first three games of the season, Stralman does have 2 assists, giving him a decent scoring rate for a blueliner at the start of the year.  His offense will be missed on the Jackets power play, but this will be the time for Kris Russell to start showing what he's made of.

ImplicationsStralman was taken in the draft this year, in the 14th round (last round), 273rd overall to Jani, who sits in 3rd spot going into Saturday's action.  Missing out on a defenseman shouldn't hurt a draft team too badly, especially for the short-term, but no one wants to see any injuries to any position on their roster.

Link to the Injury/News Page

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