Johnny Gaudreau's mother Jane drops 3-word message for Blue Jackets' center on his return from injury

Late Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau’s mother, Jane, congratulated her son’s erstwhile teammate Cole Sillinger, who returned to the ice in Friday’s 7–6 shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks. She shared a post on Instagram announcing Sillinger’s return, adding the caption:

“Welcome back Cole!”

The original post was from the Blue Jackets' official Instagram account and read:

“It's time to get silly! Welcome back Cole!”

Sillinger had last played for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 27 against the Detroit Red Wings. He returned to the roster after missing 11 games due to an upper-body injury. He had one assist and three shots on goal during 13:50 of ice time on the night. Sillinger has nine goals and 21 assists in 55 games this season.

With their shootout win, the Blue Jackets also moved into the wild-card spots in the East. They, the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers all have 75 points, but the Blue Jackets have only played 71 games to the Canadiens’ 72 and Rangers’ 73, giving them the advantage.

Columbus slumped to a 3–0 deficit on the night before tying the game 3–3, only to go 5–3 behind and claw their way back to 5–5. They scored a go-ahead goal courtesy of Mathieu Oliver at 17:08 in the third period, only for Vancouver Canucks player Aatu Raty to tie the game less than 30 seconds later.

Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner praised the team’s resilience and perseverance in a media session after the game.

“Obviously, you don't want to be coming back all the time,” Jenner said, via NHL.com. “But it says a lot about our group and how we stay resilient, stay with it and it's a character win.”

Johnny Gaudreau’s mother shared throwback pics of family hockey trips

On Mar. 24, Jane Gaudreau posted a photo of Matthew, the brothers’ elder sister Kristin, herself and a young child, possibly Kristin’s daughter, rinkside at a hockey game.

“Loved our hockey trips! Wish we could go back,” Jane captioned the post.

(Credit: IG@jgaudreau311)

Jane and the rest of the Gaudreau family were left devastated when Johnny and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver on Aug. 29. The wider hockey community has mourned the brothers’ deaths and is doing everything it can to honor their memories and their legacy. The Gaudreau family shares posts and stories about Johnny and Matthew.