Nick Blankenburg's Broken Ankle and Werenski Being Ruled Out For The Seasons Is what the Blue Jackets Pay For Last Night's Win Over Flyers

Yes 5th Line, that's right, this is going to be a heavy and game changing post.  This team will again not be the same this season from this point on.  I don't even know where to begin, so let's start with the one Head Coach Brad Larson said last night "it's not good": Zach Werenski.  We all saw him go into the boards last night after a Flyers player avoided his check.  At that moment his arm was caught and pulled in an awkward and stomach-turning angle.  He looked to be in severe pain and now that he's been removed from the roster, for the remainder of the 2022-23 NHL Season with a shoulder injury, we know why.  Nothing has been said as to what the specific injury is and if he wants to tell us, I believe that's his choice.   

Since I've placed Nick Blankenburg in the title, we'll talk about him next.  If anyone out there still didn't see this guy as the definition of defenseman, well I'm sure you will after this.  He played the full game last night and at some point, fractured his ankle.  Yet, he still finished the game.  Talk about your team player.  He's estimated to be back at the end of December or early January, with a 6-to-8-week timeframe.  

Keep in mind these two injuries are on top of Sean Kuraly, who went down in Finland against the Avalanche, and Jacub Voracek who is listed as indefinitely for a reason also in Finland.  I have no updates for them, beyond the fact they're still not ready to return.   

With these injuries it should be no surprise to see the team bring back David Jirik, Marcus Bjork and Gavin Bayreuther from the AHL Cleveland officiate Monsters.  I saw posts about this happening around 1:00 AM this morning, butt as many of you know I only post if I see Jeff Svoboda, Dylan Tyrer, Bob McElligott or the Columbus Blue Jackets Twitter do so.  Now that they have, these are the updates.  

I wish Zach Werenski the veery best in his long recover, while wishing our other guys the best as well.  This is a rough situation to be in, but also why we have players waiting in the wings.  To everyone who wants to trade a player after a few bad games, this is why we don't.  At any moment you could need them and it's best to have them, then to wish you did.   

If there are any other updates, I'll pass them on to you all 5th Line through social media or here on my blog.   

Source:

Jeff Svoboda Tweets on Twitter (@JacketsInsider)  11/11/2022.  

1)  NEWS: The #CBJ have placed Nick Blankenburg (fractured ankle/high ankle sprain, 6-8 weeks), Jakub Voracek (upper body, indefinitely) and Sean Kuraly (upper body, day to day) on IR. Also, Zach Werenski (shoulder) is expected to miss the rest of the season.

2) #CBJ has added D Gavin Bayreuther, D Marcus Bjork and D David Jiricek to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland