Atkinson benefits from NHL’S long layoff

On the day the NHL paused its season because of the coronavirus pandemic, Cam Atkinson was eager to return from his second extended absence related to a high-ankle sprain.

It would have been a home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 12, when Atkinson was hoping to help the Blue Jackets secure a playoff spot in their final 12 games.

More than four months later, he has gained some retrospective clarity.

“All of a sudden (you’re going) from pretty high to pretty low, knowing that the season was being (postponed), Atkinson said. ”But in a way, looking back, I don’t know if I was actually ready.

“My adrenaline was going at the time, but I’m really glad I’ve gotten this time to heal up properly. I sometimes still feel it from time to time — nothing like what it was, but these injuries are no joke. Who knows what would’ve happened had the season continued and whatnot, but I’m ready to rock and roll now.”

That’s good news for the Jackets, who may need Atkinson to log big minutes during a five-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round of the NHL’S adopted 24-team playoff format.

Atkinson has skated with fellow winger Gustav Nyquist and center Alexander Wennberg during the two-week training camp to prepare for the postseason, and they have the look of a “top six” trio. Whether they click and stay together could depend largely on Atkinson, who struggled through a frustrating slump to start the season and then suffered the ankle injury shortly after his scoring touch returned.

“In this type of situation, where you just wipe everything clean, you come into the situation after having four months off, I think he’s approached it the right way,” coach John Tortorella said of Atkinson, who followed up a career-high 41 goals in 2018-19 with 12 goals in 44 games this season.

“It’s a big time for him to get his game back in order … for me, for the team — and more importantly, for him, I think, in his mind, just to get back to playing the way he can play. And that’s with energy.”

It’s tough, however, for anyone to sustain energy on a bad wheel. This was the second high-ankle sprain of Atkinson’s career, one in each leg, so he knows better than anybody how long the injury can take to heal. It’s a nagging, frustrating affliction and isn’t particularly kind to guys who need to stop and start on a dime while wearing skates.

Atkinson may still feel a twinge now and again, seven months from the initial injury on Dec. 9 against Washington, but it’s a lot better now than it was in March.

And that’s exactly what the Blue Jackets hope to see from him as they prepare for the restart.

“That’s what I think was missing in his game, just the energy and the quickness and the on-the-puck type game,” Tortorella said. “I think he’s going to be ready to do that.” bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger