Practice Notes: Replacing Foligno's scoring, leadership won't be easy

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - As far as timing goes, it's not the most ideal point in the NHL season to lose the captain of a hockey team.
There is no good time for that to happen, but losing captain Nick Foligno now to a lower-body injury is quite a challenge for the Blue Jackets (29-25-5).
Columbus has 23 games left, sits one point out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and has three more games this week to break a three-game winless skid - including Metropolitan Division road games Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Go, 97.1 FM) and Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"He's our leader, on and off [the ice], but guys will have to pick up the slack," forward Matt Calvert said Monday after practice. "We're going to have to lead by example, speak up and talk to the young guys as much as we can. He does a great job of that. And on the ice his point production, his goals … guys like myself are going to have to step up."

Foligno was injured late in the second period of the Blue Jackets' 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at Nationwide Arena. After delivering a check along the boards against forward Conor Sheary, Foligno tumbled to the ice on top of Sheary - who fell into his legs.
Foligno got to his feet, but left the ice hunched over. He limped straight to the training room and could only take one more shift to start the third.
Columbus placed Foligno and rookie defenseman Dean Kukan - who sustained an upper-body injury in the first period Sunday - on injured reserve Monday. Foligno is expected to miss one-to-two weeks with the injury, which is believed to be a knee issue, while Kukan will miss at least a week.
Foligno has struggled to produce this season, with 13 goals in 59 games, but he'd picked it up the past couple weeks. He had five points (four goals, one assist) in the past eight games, and was playing the middle position in the 1-3-1 setup for the Blue Jackets' top power-play unit.
"The thing that bothers me is I think Nick is finding his game," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "He's beginning to score, he's around the puck [and] he's been a really good player for us on our power play, in the middle of our setup. We're going to miss him there, on the ice, because I think he's found his game. As far as in the room, we have a leadership group and it just falls on them."
That group includes Calvert, Boone Jenner, Cam Atkinson, Jack Johnson, David Savard and others. It also includes defenseman Ryan Murray, who will return after missing 35 games with an upper-body injury related to his back.
Murray played Sunday for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint. He felt good during and after the game, and is now eager to get back on the ice in a Blue Jackets' uniform.
"This is a very important part of the year and every game means so much," Murray said. "Every point's going to mean so much for us to get in [the playoffs]. That's the goal. Now, we've got to get to the dance, and that's something that once you're there … we know how good we are. We've had some ups and downs this season. We've had a little bit of adversity. We know how good we are as a group in here, as a team."
They need to show it soon, and without their captain around. Columbus is entering its busiest stretch, which means Foligno could miss up to seven games if he needs the full two weeks.
"It's tough to replace," Jenner said. "He is a vocal guy in the room, so it's going to be a group effort, obviously, from the leadership group and throughout the lineup. Guys can chip in and help out in that aspect."
NEWS & NOTES
I: LEANING ON 'BOB'
The loss Sunday to the Penguins wasn't the best game for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed on five goals on 23 shots. That included a goal by Riley Sheahan to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead less than two minutes after Artemi Panarin scored for the Blue Jackets, cutting the Penguins' lead in half, 2-1.
Bobrovsky is 11-7-9 with a 2.79 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 22 career regular-season starts against the Penguins. He's 3-8-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .897 save percentage in 11 career Stanley Cup Playoff games against Pittsburgh, including 1-4-0 with a 3.88 GAA and .882 save percentage in a first-round series last year.
Tortorella, however, wants Bobrovsky to focus only on the Devils.
"He has to be our best player against Jersey [on Tuesday] night," Tortorella said. "There's something that's gone on with Pittsburgh, with 'Bob' here the last little while, but who gives a [care] about Pittsburgh right now? They left town with two points. We're going to Jersey … and that's where 'Bob' has to be the best player. That's the only way we can look at it."
Tortorella debated pulling Bobrovsky after the Penguins' third goal, but ultimately left backup Joonas Korpisalo on the bench.
"I thought it was a struggle for him for most of the night, but I also trust him," Tortorella said. "And to take him out, what does that do? I want him to work through it and work at his game, because he has to be our best player in these 20-plus games [left]. Has to be. 'Bob' has to be our best player, and so I need to take that into my thinking and try to take some emotion out of it. And I do … I believe in 'Bob.' I think he can be. I've seen him. We have no chance if 'Bob' isn't our best player."
II: BLUE LINE SHUFFLE
The good news is Murray's return to the mix on the back end, which should help either the second or third defense pairing.
The bad news is what happened in the past two games, when the Blue Jackets lost two young puck-moving defensemen in consecutive games. Prior to Kukan's injury Sunday, Columbus also lost Markus Nutivaara on Friday against the Flyers. Nutivaara missed practice Saturday and didn't play Sunday. He didn't travel with the team either.
Defense pairings were jumbled for much of practice Monday, but Murray worked at the right point with Jack Johnson during a 3-on-2 drill. That could be the new second pairing, which would flip Murray from his previous side on the left point to the right. It would also mean Scott Harrington and Savard will form the third pair.
"I enjoyed playing with [Kukan]," Savard said. "He's a good skater. He moves the puck really well. So, he made my job really easy, and I think it's a big loss for us. I see we're getting [Murray] back, so I think it's huge for us to get him back after the two guys who just went down. We've just got to move on."
III: NEW COMBINATIONS COMING
Foligno's absence creates some automatic line switches to compensate.
Those began during practice Monday. The top line of Panarin, rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson stayed intact, but there will be new looks for the second, third and fourth groups.
Jenner, who was moved up to play with Foligno's linemates Sunday, will remain at left wing on that line - which has Alex Wennberg at center and Oliver Bjorkstrand at right wing.
Calvert skated in Jenner's former spot at left wing on the third line, with Brandon Dubinsky and Josh Anderson. The fourth line was a rotating mix of Lukas Sedlak, Jussi Jokinen, Markus Hannikainen and Zac Dalpe - who was recalled from Cleveland along with Murray.
IV: QUOTABLE
"We have so much skill and [talent] in this locker room, so we've all got to raise our game to the highest level we can. Playoffs … it's an amazing, amazing time of the year when you can get into those playoffs. The guys that have been there know how great it is, and the guys that haven't, I'm sure they want a taste. That's obviously the goal. That's our job too. Our job is not to lose hockey games. It's to win. So, that's all we're going to be focused on."
-- Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray