CBJ place Bjorkstrand on IR, recall Gerbe from AHL Cleveland

The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand on Injured Reserve and added left wing Nathan Gerbe to the roster on emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus' American Hockey League affiliate, club General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced today. Bjorkstrand is expected to miss four to six weeks due to a rib/cartilage contusion with oblique strain suffered in Saturday's 5-1 win over New Jersey.
Bjorkstrand, 24, has tallied 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points with 10 penalty minutes and a +1 plus/minus rating in 36 games this season. He leads the club in goals (tied), game-winning goals (three, tied), multi-point efforts (eight) and shots on goal (122), while ranking third in points. Currently riding a four-game point streak (5-2-7), he has registered 56-64-120 and 33 penalty minutes in 233 career NHL games. Last season, he notched 23-13-36, eight penalty minutes and was +8 in 77 outings, setting a career high in goals. The Herning, Denmark native was selected by Columbus in the third round, 89th overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft.
Gerbe, 32, has collected 58-80-138 and 172 penalty minutes in 396 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres. He appeared in two games with the Blue Jackets in 2017-18 and had his best NHL campaigns in 2010-11 with Buffalo and 2013-14 with Carolina when he set career highs with 16-15-31 in 64 and 81 games, respectively.
The 5-4, 169-pound native of Oxford, Michigan is currently leading Cleveland in goals, assists, points and power play goals with 8-17-25, 22 penalty minutes and four power play tallies in 30 games. He has registered 63-106-169 and 187 penalty minutes in 196 career AHL games during his 12 pro seasons. Selected by Buffalo in the fifth round, 142nd overall, in the 2005 NHL Draft, Gerbe was an All-American and Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2007-08 during his final of three seasons at Boston College. He signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent on Jan. 24, 2018 after spending parts of two seasons playing for Geneve in Switzerland's top professional league.
The Blue Jackets return to action on Monday when they visit the New York Islanders. Game time from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Ohio and the FOX Sports Go app. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with the "Blue Jackets Live" pre-game show. The game will also be broadcast on the Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, including Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan.