The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without one of their best players for the second consecutive game as they travel to Florida to take on the Panthers tonight.
Cam Atkinson did not travel to Florida as a part of the team with the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday due to an illness, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.
#CBJ Cam Atkinson did not travel with the club today to Florida because of an illness. When he feels better, he’ll join club on the road.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 1, 2017
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Atkinson missed Monday’s game against the Boston Bruins due to a hip injury that he suffered on Oct. 28 against the St. Louis Blues. He was a game-time decision and even skated briefly in warmups, but apparently didn’t feel comfortable enough to dress for the game.
Having Atkinson out didn’t seem to affect much as the Jackets still came away with a 4-3 shootout victory. Tyler Motte played his first game as a Blue Jacket due to the Atkinson injury and scored a goal. Motte is projected to play alongside Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner on the second line now.
This illness, as with most illnesses in the NHL, doesn’t seem to be serious. Portzline’s wording makes it seem like he could even make it back for the game against Tampa Bay on Saturday (if his hip is feeling better, of course). But the most likely option is him joining the team in New York for this weekend’s Metro matchup against the Rangers.
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The hip injury for Atkinson has made him day-to-day, which is promising for CBJ fans. The team definitely can’t deal with Cam being out too long with Lukas Sedlak and Gabriel Carlsson also missing time. Injuries are a part of hockey, so they should be expected. But you don’t want to continuously play without one of your best scorers, your fourth-line center and your bottom pairing blue liner.
As more information comes up regarding Cam’s injury/illness, we will keep you posted here and on social media.