Foligno returns after stay with ill daughter
TORONTO — The reason Nick Foligno missed a Blue Jackets practice and game last weekend is testing the limits of her room at Nationwide Children’s Hospital back in Columbus. That’s the good news. The scarier part is that his 5-year-old daughter Milana, the oldest of Nick and wife Janelle’s three children, is apparently dealing with complications related to the open-heart surgery she had two weeks after birth to replace a damaged mitral valve.
“She just got a little sick, so it just affected her a little bit differently than a lot of other kids because of her condition,” said Foligno, who joined the team Sunday in Toronto after missing practice Friday in Columbus and the Jackets’ 4-1 win Saturday at Carolina. “So, we’ll have to kind of go down that road. We don’t really know, exactly, all the details yet, so that’s why it’s a little hard. But I know right now she’s doing great and stable and they’re happy with how she is.”
That’s the reason he played against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday at Scotiabank Arena, rather than staying at the hospital.
“I think it’s good for me,” said Foligno, who stepped right back into his spot at the left wing on the second line. “My wife was happy to get me out of there. It’s obviously tough, but we’ve got a great organization that supports me and my Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, left, fights for the puck with Maple Leafs center Patrick Marleau during the first period of Monday night’s game. teammates, and family and friends, so we’re blessed in a lot of ways.”
Since their daughter’s surgery in 2013, Nick and Janelle have become avid supporters of heart research, donating $1 million in 2016 that was split between Nationwide’s heart research facility and one
at Boston Children’s Hospital, where the surgery was performed.
After helping the Jackets go 3-0-0 last week with five goals and three assists, including his fifth NHL hat trick Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Cam Atkinson was named the NHL's first star of the week. It’s the first time being named the league’s first star for Atkinson, who earned second star honors in 2015 and 2016.
"It was a line that had struggled for a little bit," coach John Tortorella said of Atkinson's line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Artemi Panarin. "Remember, a couple weeks ago Cam was a minus-8 or minus-9. He’s a plus-2 now. He’s playing in all situations." scratched for a second time this season and second time in the past six games. Lukas Sedlak, who’s been scratched four times, got the nod instead on the fourth line — playing with center Riley Nash and Markus Hannikainen.
“I thought our fourth line gave us some really good minutes against Carolina,” coach John Tortorella said. “Sedzy’s always the easy one to get taken out. He deserves to play. His game has been much better. And Oliver has just not been consistent enough. We expect him to be a big part of our team before it’s all said and done, but right now, he’s the odd man out.”