The Columbus Blue Jackets announced during the first intermission of Tuesday night’s game against the Montréal Canadiens that forward Yegor Chinakhov would not return after suffering an upper-body injury.
Chinakhov registered 4:57 minutes of ice time, one shot on goal and one hit. At the time of absence, the Canadiens were up 3-0.
According to a report from Blue Jackets beat writer Mark Scheig, “Just watched Yegor Chinakhov’s last two shifts. Nothing obvious. He turned away and went to the bench from center on his last shift.” An update on Chinakhov’s status should come in the post-game or in the coming days.
The 23-year-old has tallied a career-high 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points in 52 games. Chinakhov also appeared in three games with the Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Cleveland Monsters at the start of the season where he scored three goals and four points in that frame. Chinakhov signed a one-year, $800,000 contract extension last April, he will become a restricted free agent (RFA) with arbitration rights come July 1.
Chinakhov was selected No. 21 overall in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft, shocking the hockey world as an ‘off-the-board pick.’ Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, the Omsk, Russia, product tallied 10 goals and 17 points in 32 games for Avangard Omsk of the KHL. He was named the KHL’s Rookie of the Year and notched five goals and seven points in the playoffs to help the club capture the 2021 Gagarin Cup. He also represented Russia at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships picking up one goal in five games.
Columbus sits eighth in the Metropolitan Division with a 22-32-10 record and 54 points through 64 games. As of March 12, the Blue Jackets have a .422 points percentage and rank fourth with a 9.5% chance to win the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery.
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