Patrik Laine to make Columbus Blue Jackets debut, MacKinnon week-to-week

Weeks after he was acquired by club, Patrik Laine is expected to make his debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, the Blue Jackets would activate him off the injured reserve to make his debut against the Dallas Stars

“Really excited to get the new jersey on and play for this team now,” Laine told NHL.com. “Hopefully, I can bring my abilities and my strengths into the lineup and hopefully get a lot of wins.

“Everybody knows this team hasn’t scored a lot of goals but I never take pressure. I only always put pressure on myself. I don’t care about the expectations that come with that. I only care about the coaches, what the guys in the locker room think.”

Laine worked with the first power-play unit during the morning skate, and according to Portzline, he’s expected to open alongside Alexandre Texier and Cam Atkinson.

While Laine hadn’t practiced in two weeks, he’s debuting against a Dallas Stars team that he’s had a lot of success against. In 17 career games, Laine has scored 18 goals and 25 points, so I would imagine that continues tonight.

MacKinnon out

Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon is listed as week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury Sunday night against the Minnesota Wild. He joins a growing list of players injured that includes Pavel Francouz, Erik Johnson, Devon Toews, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Matt Calvert, all who are listed as week-to-week.

Hurricanes reinforcements inbound

The Carolina Hurricanes are getting a number of players back tonight including Teuvo Teravainen, Jaccob Slavin, Warren Foegele and Jordan Martinook — all who return from various injuries.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.