Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness will miss at least the next two games with an illness, Aaron Portzline reports.
He has already been away from the team, and Columbus is now without him for a road game on Tuesday against the Islanders. Bowness is listed as day-to-day, which leaves the timeline open.
Don Granato will continue to serve as interim head coach until Bowness returns. General manager Don Waddell didn't rule out his coach joining the team partway through the trip, but Bowness won't travel with the group for the Islanders game.
The 71-year-old is in his first full season behind the Blue Jackets bench. Columbus fell 4-3 to the Flyers last night, its fourth straight loss, and Denver Barkey scored twice for Philadelphia, including the game-winner.
Adam Fantilli and Matthew Knies both scored for the Blue Jackets, but they again came up one goal short. The team sits 29th in the NHL at 7-11-0, with just 45 goals in 18 games.
The injury front hasn't helped. We reported that Sean Monahan's upper-body injury kept him out against the Flyers.
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | DIFF | |
| 1. Carolina Hurricanes | 21 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 34 | +40 |
| 2. New Jersey Devils | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 30 | +19 |
| 3. New York Rangers | 21 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 25 | +7 |
| 4. New York Islanders | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 22 | +4 |
| 5. Washington Capitals | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 20 | -3 |
| 6. Philadelphia Flyers | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 18 | -21 |
| 7. Pittsburgh Penguins | 20 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 16 | -9 |
| 8. Columbus Blue Jackets | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 14 | -13 |
Is the Blue Jackets' slump tied to Bowness's illness?
It's the question many fans are asking, especially with the team losing and the coach's frustration visible lately. Nothing reported links the two, and the nature of the illness hasn't been specified. Guessing at a connection would be unfair to a man who is simply sick.
What the numbers do show is a team with a real problem away from home. Columbus is 1-5-0 on the road, and the trip to Long Island is next. The Islanders won 6-2 in Anaheim on Saturday, with Simon Holmstrom scoring three times.
Our view: Granato inherits a much bigger problem than who stands behind the bench. A team that can't score, with veterans like Conor Garland on injured reserve, needs goals before it needs a speech.
Bowness's status will be updated as the Blue Jackets head to New York, and the next word from Waddell should say whether he can join them on the road.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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