Jackets’ Atkinson set for healthy start

Cam Atkinson hit the reset button in January, allowing his return from a fractured foot to serve as the dividing line between two very different segments of his 2017-18 season.

Before the injury, the first line winger logged just six goals and seven assists in his first 32 games, a letdown after a 2016-17 season in which he had team highs of 35 goals and 62 points.

A healthy Atkinson pivoted his 2017-18 season on a dime after his return, logging 33 points (18 goals, 15 assists) in his remaining 33 games.

Entering a new season, Atkinson said he feels poised for a faster start.

“I feel the best I’ve ever felt,” he said. “I came into camp excited to keep playing.”

The 29-year-old native of Riverside, Connecticut, had a similar feeling to end Once he returned from injury, winger Cam Atkinson finished last season on a high note for the Blue Jackets and is carrying that momentum into this season. “I feel the best I’ve ever felt,” he said.

last season and, as a result, spent his May playing for Team USA at the World Championships. After months of training and a challenging preseason under coach John Tortorella, Atkinson enters Thursday’s season opener lighter (179 pounds) and in “my best shape.”

He will put that to the test against the Red Wings with linemates Pierre-Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin.

“I lost a good amount of weight and just feel refreshed,” he said. “I’m just excited to

keep playing and help this team win however I can.”

For the fourth time in six seasons, the Blue Jackets will open the season with a back-toback, playing in Detroit on Thursday before returning to Columbus for a Friday home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The back-to-back is the only one the Blue Jackets will experience in October, but it’s not a stretch Tortorella said he minds.

“The boys are ready to play. They want to play,” he said. “We play some games … then we have three or four days (off), which has really helped us the past couple years. We can have a mini-session (after) getting back to it and (have) opportunities to show video.”

Captain Nick Foligno said a back-to-back to start “gets the season going,” adding that he prefers to play the opening leg on the road.

“I think it just kind of brings the group that much closer together when you go into a hostile environment and it’s their home opener and you can kind of just worry about yourself and your game,” Foligno said.

Last season, the Blue Jackets opened with a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders before falling 5-1 to the Blackhawks in Chicago the next night.