Who Was At Practice Today, And Who Was Missing - 3/3/22

Practice can foretell who we may see return from the Columbus Blue Jackets Injury Reserves, and who we could also see go on it.  Hopefully not the latter comment there for two Blue Jackets today, but thanks to Jeff Svoboda I can take you into practice today and tell you what he saw.  Again, there were 3 goaltenders practicing today.  This includes Merzlikins, who has already returned, and Berube, who we've seen fill in for the team the last few weeks.  In addition, Korpisalo was with those two men today in practice.  He has been for the last few practices, so good things are happening with Korpisalo, yay.  

In regard to our Defense:  Werenski was again at practice today, a great sign for his near return.  In addition, so was Bean.  Having them return to practice is a win, it means their return to game play is hopefully not too far behind. Fingers crossed.  

Offense:  Our Left Winger, Robinson, has also been consistently at practice, too.  With his 6 goals and 11 assists, for a total of 17 points in 42 games, he'd be a great asset to return to the roster as well.  

Who wasn't at practice:  This is a painful subject, as it was confirmed to Jeff Svoboda, via Head Coach Brad Larson, that Captain Jenner wasn't at practice due to a "Maintenance Day".  Such have been hard to predict.  Sometimes a "Maintenance Day" has been a harmless day off for players to spend time with their family.  While other times it mean a questionable injury the team isn't sure will take a player from use.  Hopefully this time it's harmless as Jenner has been so valuable to this team, beyond just his expected role as Captain, too.  

Jenner wasn't the only one listed under the "Maintenance Day" either.  Kuraly also joined him in that list.  Again, hopefully this is just a day off to recover or for a non-emergency family situation.  We'll just have to wait and see.  The only thing which troubles me about both Kuraly and Jenner not being at practice is the experimenting with news lines, which Jeff Svoboda stated he saw happening.  I know Brad Larson loves to shake things up, but why do so without those two key players, if there is a chance they could return tomorrow?  I don't want to worry anyone, nore do I want to write it.  However, I just feel this is a good question to put in your minds, as we don't have a clear indication of what's going on with either key player.  I personally wish both the best as I hope for the best regarding any news we get in the near future, aka tomorrow.  

Speaking of tomorrow, the L.A. Kings come to town!  I'll be at the game, so if there are any updates I'll do my best to report them before I leave.  Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EST.  I'll be with you then 5th Line!  

Go CBJ!        

Sources:

Jeff Svoboda Tweets:

1)  "Brendan Gaunce is taking part in #CBJ practice after leaving Tuesday’s game. Adam Boqvist is not practicing after not playing Tuesday. Zach Werenski, Eric Robinson, Jake Bean skating. 

Only two goalies — Merzlikins and Korpisalo "

Threaded in connection with above Tweet.  

"Wait, now I see Berube! So three goalies on the ice. Counting is hard."

2) "Don’t see Jenner or Kuraly here today leading to some interesting line combinations as far as centers go #CBJ"

Threaded in connection with above Tweet:

"Brad Larsen said maintenance days for Kuraly and Jenner today. Not sure if the team will get anyone back tomorrow vs. LA from the Werenski/Bean/Korpisalo/Robinson group. My guess is Werenski and a Korpi are closest. #CBJ"

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