Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness will be out for at least the next two games because of illness, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. He also missed Thursday’s loss to Philadelphia, and he won’t travel with the club for Tuesday’s road game against the Islanders. General manager Don Waddell didn’t completely shut the door on Bowness joining the team later in the trip, but for now he’s listed as day-to-day.
It’s been a difficult first full season for Bowness in Columbus. The Blue Jackets, who made a second-half push after he was hired last season before fading late, have struggled badly on offense this year.
Through 17 games, they’ve scored just 40 goals, the fewest in the league, and they enter tonight’s action in last place in the Eastern Conference. Don Granato will remain the interim head coach until Bowness is ready to return.
There’s better news on the Capitals’ blue line. Rasmus Sandin and Vincent Desharnais are both set to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, Sammi Silber of The District Standard reported. Sandin still hasn’t played this season as he works back from offseason knee surgery, while Desharnais is recovering from an emergency appendectomy last month.
Desharnais was expected to miss four to six weeks, and he’s now about three weeks into that recovery, so he appears to be tracking toward that original window. Sandin’s recovery timeline was six to nine months after his late-April procedure, and he looks like he’ll be around the middle of that range once he’s cleared. Washington will need to clear two roster spots before both defensemen can be activated.
In New Jersey, defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok has now joined Brett Pesce among the Devils’ players dealing with illness, team reporter Amanda Stein noted. Kolyachonok was just recalled Thursday and managed an assist in that game, his first point of the season, but he’ll now miss at least one contest. His absence opens the door for Anton Silayev to make his NHL debut.