Christiansen scored his first career goal while playing 10:43 TOI on Tuesday but will come out of the lineup to make room for Zach Werenski on Friday. Christiansen will likely head back to the AHL soon, where he has 26 points (6G / 20A) in 39 games with Cleveland.
Werenski missed the last four games with an upper-body injury but will replace Jake Christiansen in the lineup on Friday. Werenski was red-hot before getting hurt, scoring two goals with six assists (eight points) in his last six games.
Christiansen has appeared in three games with the Blue Jackets this season and will replace Adam Boqvist (upper-body) in the lineup on Tuesday. The 22-year-old defenseman has spent most of the season in Cleveland (AHL), where he has six goals and 20 assists (26 points) in 39 games.
Merzlikins was moved to IR yesterday to open up a roster spot for a call-up but was activated on Friday and will serve as J-F Berube's backup in Carolina. Merzlikins' playing time could be a little bit limited moving forward, as long as Berube is playing as well as he has been lately.
Werenski is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not travel with the club on their two-game road trip in Florida/Carolina. Gabriel Carlsson is expected to replace Werenski in the lineup on Thursday.
Merzlikins was at practice on Wednesday and travelled with the team to Florida and was expected to start on this road trip. It's unclear if he suffered a setback or if this is just a move to create a spot to call up Jake Christiansen. The move is retroactive, so he's eligible to be activated for tomorrow's game if he's ready to start.
Smith was taken to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for evaluation after taking a shot off his helmet on Sunday. Smith was released and travelled with the team to Philadelphia but will likely be replaced by Ian Cole in the lineup on Monday.
Merzlikins left Saturday's practice with a lower-body injury and will not be available for Sunday's game vs. the Sabres. With Joonas Korpisalo also hurt, J-F Berube will get the start for Columbus.
Smith was scratched for three straight games but will replace Ethan Bear in the lineup on Friday. Smith has five points (3G / 2A), 19 PIMS and a plus-4 rating in 26 games this season.
Gaunce and Trey Fix-Wolansky will make their Blue Jackets debuts on Tuesday with both Eric Robinson and Emil Bemstrom unavailable. Gaunce was a first-round pick of the Canucks in 2012 and has 16 points (6G / 10A) in 118 career NHL games with Vancouver and Boston. He leads Cleveland in goals (16) and points (28) in 39 AHL games this season.
