The Columbus Blue Jackets are relatively healthy as they play games in the last week of January. As of game time Wednesday night when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on TNT, only defenseman Brendan Smith will be on injured reserve.
The Blue Jackets will get both Denton Mateychuk and Miles Wood back in their lineup. It will mark the first time that the team will have all of Mathieu Olivier, Erik Gudbranson, Mason Marchment along with the two players returning in the same game.
With the Blue Jackets mostly healthy, it will give them a chance to see the full team with a good mix of skill and grit. It also forced them into some roster decisions.
As a result of Mateychuk and Wood coming back, the Blue Jackets placed Zach Aston-Reese and Brendan Gaunce on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL. Both players cleared waivers on Wednesday. With Dante Fabbro close to returning too, the team will have to make decisions on a daily basis who plays.
We will start News & Rumors this week with the returns of Mateychuk and Wood.
Mateychuk & Wood Back
Mateychuk suffered an upper-body injury in Utah and has missed six games, not counting the postponed game Monday as he was scheduled to return. He’s ready to rock.
“I’m excited,” Mateychuk said. “It’s been a hard couple of weeks to get back and I hadn’t really missed that much time before. It’s tough watching. I’m excited to get back in there and go and battle with these guys.”
It was originally thought Mateychuk’s injury would be shorter term. He admitted he wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to return.
“It’s kind of tough to determine with something like this. (Got back) probably a little quicker than I thought. I was happy with how it went and now I’m back.”
Denton Mateychuk will return to the lineup on Wednesday night. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
As for Wood, he admitted dodging a bullet with his injury. He believes he’s ready to help the team.
“I’m very excited about it,” Wood said. “Been out for four weeks exactly, I think. Just excited to get back and try to help the group.”
“When I first went into the board, they thought it was my Achillies which was a wild sensation. But thank God it wasn’t that.”
Expect Mateychuk to play on the right with Ivan Provorov while Wood is expected to play on the fourth line with Dmitri Voronkov and Isac Lundestrom.
Zamula Faces Old Team
Newest Blue Jackets’ defenseman Egor Zamula spent his entire career with the Flyers’ organization before his trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zamula ultimately didn’t report to the AHL and had his contract terminated. He signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent.
Zamula gets his first crack at his old team on Wednesday night. He reflected on what the game will mean as well as some of his thoughts on the Flyers.
“A little bit different,” Zamula said of facing the Flyers. “But at same time, first game against them in my life, so it’s going to be fun and I’m waiting for 7:30.”
“I grew up with these guys from AHL to NHL,” Zamula said. “I have a lot of good stories and a lot of great dinners together with these teammates and friends. So I’m pretty happy to see them today.”
You May Also Like
Although Zamula has just one assist in eight games so far with the Blue Jackets, he says he’s loving his time with the team. He also knows he can play better and is eager to show that.
“I love the city and this organization,” Zamula said. “Great leadership group. Great old guys and a lot of young guys as well. So it’s pretty easy…I know I can play better. But at the same time, I have great partners who help me a lot. So I’m pretty happy about my game right now.”
Zamula also has familiarity with a couple of the Blue Jackets’ players. He played at the U-18’s with Kirill Marchenko. He also played with Ivan Provorov when both were members of the Flyers. Zamula said they each helped him get comfortable with the transition to Columbus. So far, he’s loving his new team.
Side Dishes
Wednesday will mark the first time the Blue Jackets have been back on TNT since the infamous 9-4 crushing the Buffalo Sabres laid. Tage Thompson scored five goals including four in the first period. This game was originally set for 7:00 and was moved to 7:30 to accommodate national TV. The Rangers/Islanders were originally in that slot.
Two rusty goaltenders are set to face each other. Elvis Merzlikins is making his first start since he left the game against Ottawa with an illness. Dan Vladar was activated from injured reserve and will make his first start in multiple weeks.
Charlie Coyle will be celebrated Wednesday night when the Blue Jackets present him with his silve stick for reaching 1,000 NHL games played.
