Mathieu Olivier could miss Columbus Blue Jackets' final 8 games

If the Blue Jackets are going to qualify for the playoffs, they may need to do it without their top power forward, Mathieu Olivier . More: How to watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes Coach Rick Bowness said he expects to be without Olivier, "at least a couple weeks," with an undisclosed upper-body injury that occurred in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on March 29. Filling Olivier's void the Jackets' top enforcer and most menacing forechecker will be a major challenge.

Bowness said March 31 at a morning skate prior to hosting the Carolina Hurricanes that compensating for Olivier's absence a team responsibility. "We're going to have to (do it), that's all," he said. "It's a pack mentality out there.

I've been telling them since Day 1, 'If they come after one of us, they come after all of us. ' So, we're going to be in there as a pack mentality and we'll never get away from it. " Rookie forward Luca Del Bel Belluz was recalled from AHL Cleveland on March 30 for depth, but Danton Heinen will get the first run in Olivier's spot at right wing on the top checking line.

He'll step into that role with Charlie Coyle at center and Cole Sillinger on the left hoping to provide a similar forechecking pressure. As for Olivier's injury, it's unclear when it happened. A fight late in the first period in one possibility, as he connected with a lot of punches to the helmeted head of Bruins forward Mark Kastelic.