Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason confirmed Saturday morning that Kent Johnson‘s upper body injury will keep him out of action for some time. Evason was also unable to give a return date to play.
Johnson was injured during Thursday night’s 6-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. With just 52 seconds left in the 2nd period, he collided with teammate James van Riemsdyk and then fell hard on the left side. Holding his left arm and wrist after getting up, he did not return to the game thereafter.
Fifth player drafted in 2021, Johnson has totaled 2 goals and 3 assists in 4 games since the start of the season. He was limited to 6 goals and 10 assists in 42 games last season. His campaign ended on February 28 after he suffered an injury that required surgery on his left shoulder. He signed a 3-year contract extension last July.
Dumba’s name on injured list
The Dallas Stars have placed defenseman Matt Dumba on injured reserve, the National Hockey League team announced Saturday.
Dumba missed the Stars’ last two games with a lower body injury. His state of health will be reassessed weekly.
Hired as a free agent this summer, Dumba has only played one full game with the Stars since the start of the season. He was limited to six minutes in his second game before getting injured.
To replace him in the lineup, the Stars recalled forward Matěj Blümel from their farm club in the American Hockey League. Blümel scored 31 goals and as many assists in 72 games in the AHL last season. He played 6 games with the Stars in 2022-2023, collecting 1 assist and maintaining a minus-2 rating.
Nedeljokovic’s fitness already complete
The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from their AHL farm club. He was transferred to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday for conditioning purposes.
Friday night against Lehigh Valley, Nedeljokovic stopped 33 of 36 pucks aimed at him to lead the Penguins’ farm club to a 4-3 victory.
Nedeljokovic has yet to play an NHL game since the start of the campaign due to an injury suffered during the preseason against the Detroit Red Wings on September 30.
Nedeljokovic was 18-7-7 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in 38 games with the Penguins last season.
