Columbus Blue Jackets News

Monahan played in all 81 games leading up to today, but will be held out of the lineup this afternoon. After scoring 22 goals in his rookie season Monahan followed it up with 31 goals and 31 assists (62 points) this year.

Gudbranson was injured in the Panthers win over the Bruins on Thursday. He will be held out of the season finale and is expected to be replaced by Steven Kampfer. Gudbranson finishes the season with 13 points (4G / 9A), a minus-4 rating and 58 PIMS in 76 games.

Gudbranson left Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury and will likely be held out of the season finale since the game means absolutely nothing for the Panthers.

Nichushkin was held out of the lineup on Monday, but he will be back in the lineup tonight and is expected to play on the top line and see power-play time. He has one assist and a minus-2 rating in two games since returning to the lineup.

After completing a three-game conditioning stint with Texas (AHL), Nichushkin is back with the Stars and ready to play tonight. He is expected to start on the fourth line with Colton Sceviour and Travis Moen, but should move around a bit. He had no points in four games with the Stars earlier in the season.

Nichushkin, 20, recorded three assists and nine shots on goal during his three-game conditioning stint with Texas (AHL). Nichushkin has been out since November but it looks like he’ll be in tomorrow vs. the Blues.

Gudbranson was a healthy scratch on Thursday, but will get back into the lineup on Saturday. Gudbranson has 12 points (4G / 8A), a minus-3 rating and 54 PIMS in 69 games this season.

Ninchushkin, who has only appeared in four games with the Stars this season, is finally ready to get into game action after undergoing hip surgery back in November. He will play three games in Texas before returning to Dallas for the final five games of the regular season.

Nichushkin will head to Texas and if he is feeling healthy enough he is expected to play on Friday. He will play three games there before returning to the Stars.

Nichushkin, who hasn’t played since November 6th, will be traveling with the team, and is expected to return to the Stars lineup next week. He had no points in four games before getting injured.

Severson has been out with a fractured ankle since December 15th. Tonight he will return to the lineup vs. Nashville and the Devils will go with seven blue liners. He is expected to be paired with Jon Merrill.

Severson, 20, has been out since December 15th but is really close to a return. He said he wanted to play tomorrow, but he will be held out, so a Friday return seems like a real possibility. He has 12 points (4G / 8A) in 32 games this season.

Nichushkin, who had hip surgery on November 18th, visited with his doctor last weekend and was told it would still be 4-6 weeks before he can play in an NHL game. “He’s skating before and after practice,” GM Jim Nill said. “We’ll take it slower and just make sure he’s ready for each step.”

Nichushkin’s original timetable was four months, which would have had him returning in mid-to-late March. If he returns at the front end of the 3-6 week timetable, the Stars will have him back in the last week of February or first week of March.

Severson has been out since December 15th because of a hairline fracture in his ankle. He was only supposed to miss 4-5 weeks, but he is already six and a half weeks removed from the injury. It sounds like it will end up being about eight or nine weeks from the date of injury.

Copley served as Braden Holtby’s backup over the weekend while Justin Peters was on a conditioning stint with Hershey.

Copley, 22, has gone 6-3-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .921 SV% in 11 games with Hershey (AHL) this season. Justin Peters will go down to Hershey on a conditioning stint tomorrow and Copley is the most likely candidate to be recalled. He will likely backup Braden Holtby vs. Detroit on Saturday.

Gudbranson, who was back at practice earlier this week, will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. With Gudbranson out, Shane O’Brien will remain in the lineup.

Gudbranson will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. He was listed as doubtful so this should come as no surprise. He is day-to-day.