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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson out indefinitely with upper-body injury
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- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson out indefinitely with upper-body injury
The Blue Jackets will be without forward Kent Johnson indefinitely after he suffered an upper-body injury against the New York Rangers Wednesday night.
Johnson was a part of the third line line with Alex Nylander and Cole Sillinger that scored the Blue Jackets' only goal in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
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Johnson did not miss a shift in Wednesday's game. His final shift began with 53 seconds left in the game, and he remained on the ice until the end. He played in 21 shifts for 14:42: his highest time on ice since Jan. 27 against Vancouver.
"it's upper body," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent confirmed. "That's all I can tell you right now. The length is I don't know yet. It's not day-to-day, so we don't know. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later he's going to come back, but I don't have the answers yet."
Vincent said the injury came in the Blue Jackets' very last shift of Wednesday's game.
Vincent said Alexandre Texier would take Johnson's spot on the Blue Jackets' third line against the Hurricanes Thursday.
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Along with Sillinger's goal, the Blue Jackets' third line finished with decisive advantages in 5-on-5 attempts (65%), unblocked attempts (72.7%), shots (6-3), scoring chances (5-3) and high-danger chances (1-0) while taking more defensive draws than offensive.
Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson is expected to have surgery on his torn left labrum this week.
Johnson has played in 42 games for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24 and has scored six goals and 10 assists.
The Blue Jackets are also without forward Patrik Laine and center Adam Fantilli heading into Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Blue Jackets will take on the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Thursday at Nationwide Arena.
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Columbus Dispatch Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kent Johnson out with upper-body injury for Columbus Blue Jackets
