Blue Jackets forward is on a three-game point streak since injury

Columbus Blue Jackets left winger James van Riemsdyk. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Blue Jackets forward is on a three-game point streak since freaky injury

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Feb 4, 2025 9:59 PM ET

Sometimes hockey players are so tough they continue playing despite an injury just to save face. Well, Columbus Blue Jackets forward James van Riemsdyk has kept playing after literally saving part of his face.

On Jan. 31, the 35-year-old suffered a split lip and broken teeth when he took a high stick from the Utah Hockey Club's Ian Cole. He needed several stitches and had multiple teeth removed before being sent back onto the ice but that's not where his pain ended.

It turns out, a piece of one of van Riemsdyk's teeth was accidentally sewed into his lip and had to also be removed post-game on top of a bone graft and root canals.

"Kind of funny," he told reporters at practice Sunday morning.

James van Riemsdyk still in a face shield today after taking a high stick Friday at Utah. The tally: Four teeth lost, 30-some stitches. The weirdest part — when he was stitched up during the game, they accidentally sewed a piece of tooth INTO his lip. “Kind of funny,” he said. pic.twitter.com/yeNi72tA6q
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 2, 2025

Hockey players are resilient athletes but even after such a gruesome injury and subsequent repairs, there usually is some sort of recovery time.

But not for van Riemsdyk. He played for Columbus in its next game against the Dallas Stars and apparently the injury added an extra jolt to his offensive game.

He's currently on a three-game point streak including the time he returned to the ice in Utah in which he assisted on the game-tying goal.

Van Riemsdyk has notched three assists (one per game) since being high-sticked. He now has six points in as many games played since Jan. 23.

It's quite an unorthodox injury recovery method but if it works, then there's no need to change it.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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