Marian Gaborik returned to the Columbus Blue Jackets lineup on Saturday night after missing 17 games with a knee injury, but unfortunately for the veteran winger, he’s going to miss a lot more time after suffering a broken collarbone.
The injury occurred in the first period from a hit by Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo. According to the team, Gaborik is out indefinitely.
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The 31-year-old forward has played in just 17 of Columbus’ 36 games this year, tallying five goals and six assists. Gaborik’s injuries and the absence of marquee summer signing Nathan Horton (who’s still recovering from offseason surgery) has resulted in the Blue Jackets’ ranking 20th in goals scored.
Not only does Gaborik’s injury negatively impact the Blue Jackets, it will also weaken Slovakia’s lineup for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi if he’s not ready to return by early February.
