Columbus is set to be without Conor Garland on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers, and head coach Rick Bowness didn’t have a timetable to offer beyond that.
Bowness told the media that Garland is dealing with an upper-body injury and will not play, leaving the Blue Jackets to move ahead without one of their regular forwards. The club has already been fighting through a rough stretch this season, and this is another hit to the lineup.
What makes the news a little murkier is that there’s no obvious moment when the injury happened. Garland was in the lineup for Columbus’ last game, a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night, and he finished that one at minus-2 while skating a little over 13 minutes. That workload was close to what he’s been getting all season.
Garland has played in all 15 of the Blue Jackets’ games so far in 2026-27, but the production hasn’t followed. He has just one assist, sits at minus-5, and is averaging 13:33 of ice time per game.
This is his first full season with Columbus after arriving from the Vancouver Canucks ahead of last year’s trade deadline. The Blue Jackets brought him in to add offense during a push for a Wild Card spot, and he finished that stretch with five goals and seven points in 21 games. Columbus, though, fell short of a playoff berth.
With Garland sidelined, Ryan Lomberg is expected to slide back into the lineup. He skated on Monday with Steven Lorentz and Jack Williams on the fourth line.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets May Finally Be Seeing The Lindstrom They Drafted
Cayden Lindstroms sophomore season at Michigan State is starting to look a lot more like the kind of development the Blue Jackets had in mind when they made him their 2024 first-round pick. After a difficult freshman year and a long road back from back surgery in late 2024, the big forward has opened this season with noticeably better offensive touch, showing more efficiency around the net and a steadier impact on the Spartans attack.
For Columbus, the encouraging part is not just the scoring, but the trend behind it. Lindstrom has found the scoresheet in three straight games and already looks more comfortable driving play than he did a year ago, a meaningful sign for a prospect whose progress was slowed by injury and recovery. The Blue Jackets have been waiting to see whether the player they drafted would emerge, and early this season, he is beginning to answer. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Send A Clear Lineup Signal Before A Tough Winnipeg Test
The Blue Jackets are dealing with another lineup wrinkle as Conor Garland has been ruled out with an upper-body injury, adding to the uncertainty around a player who had been in line to help provide some stability up front. The injury leaves Columbus shorthanded at a time when every available body matters, especially with the schedule tightening and the team trying to keep its forward group intact.
There is still no clear return timeline for Garland, which makes the situation more than a one-game absence and leaves the Blue Jackets waiting for more clarity as they move through the week. Around the league, the injury ripple is already forcing other clubs to shuffle, with the Rangers and Devils making their own roster moves ahead of upcoming games, a reminder of how quickly one setback can change the look of a lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Must Rework Their Lines After Another Injury Blow
Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan appear set to give the Blue Jackets a needed boost after both left the previous game early, with each practicing normally and expected to be available against the Panthers. Even with that encouraging update, Columbus is still forced to juggle its forward groups again, and the latest shuffle shows how quickly one injury can ripple through the rest of the lineup.
The bigger concern is Conor Garland, who will miss time with an undisclosed upper-body injury and is out indefinitely, leaving another hole for the coaching staff to patch before the Florida matchup. The team has already announced new line combinations, including a look that puts Adam Fantilli in a different spot up front, and the next game will offer the first glimpse of how well those changes hold up under pressure. [Read more 🡒]