After failing to find the back of the net for 22 games, Atkinson was a healthy scratch for the Flyers on Thursday. In Atkinson's return on Saturday, he will look to build off the eight goals, 10 assists, 113 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -9 plus/minus he has amassed across 37 games before the scratch.
It has been 22 games since Atkinson found the back of the net and he will take a breather Thursday as a healthy scratch vs. Columbus. The 34-year-old right-winger will be replaced by Rhett Gardner, who is making his Flyers debut. When Atkinson does return he will look to build off the eight goals, 10 assists, 113 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -9 plus/minus he has amassed across 37 games prior to the scratch.
Atkinson had not yet played in 2022-23, and will miss the remainder of the season after it was announced Monday that he would be undergoing neck surgery Wednesday. It is a tough blow for the 33-year-old, who was coming off his best season in three years, with 23 goals, 27 assists, 215 SOG and 10 PIMs in 73 games in his first season in Philadelphia in 2021-22.
Atkinson will sit out for the second straight game as he remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Monitor his status heading into the Flyers' three-game road trip, which starts in Tampa on Tuesday.
Atkinson continues to battle an unspecified injury that caused the 33-year-old to miss all of the Flyers' six preseason games. The right winger is coming off a resurgent 2021-22 which saw him place second on the Flyers in both goals (23) and points as he passed the 50-point plateau for the fourth time in his 11-year career.
Atkinson missed Monday's practice but is slated to practice on Wednesday and head coach John Tortorella said that he's optimistic that Atkinson will be available for Thursday's game vs. New Jersey. Expect Atkinson to skate on the second line with Morgan Frost and James van Riemsdyk.
Atkinson left Tuesday's game in Washington after playing just 5:08 TOI and is considered doubtful to play Wednesday in Philadelphia. Oskar Lindholm will likely draw back into the lineup to replace him.
After ranking tied for sixth in the NHL in goals (41) in 2019, Atkinson is tied for 133rd with 27 goals over the last two seasons combined. Atkinson has four years left on a seven-year contract that carries a $5.875M AAV cap-hit. The deal will save the Flyers $2.375M against the cap in 2021 but Atkinson has an extra year left on his deal compared to Voracek.
Atkinson missed the last 14 games with a high ankle sprain but is expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow vs. the Penguins. Prior to getting hurt, Atkinson had no points in his last seven games.
Atkinson has already missed time with a sprained ankle this season. He missed just over two weeks in late-December/early-January and will now likely be sidelined through the rest of February. Liam Foudy is up with the team replacing Atkinson, but his stay is expected to be a short one.
There no word what kind of injury Atkinson is dealing with but it will leave the Blue Jackets without seven regular skaters tonight vs. the Lightning. Liam Foudy has come up from the London Knights (OHL) to take Atkinson's spot in the lineup. Consider him day-to-day until the Blue Jackets release a more detailed injury report.
Atkinson has missed the last 12 games but was activated from IR yesterday and will replace Sonny Milano in the lineup on Thursday. Atkinson will draw onto the second line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Emil Bemstrom.
Atkinson has missed the last 12 games with a sprained ankle but is set to return to the lineup on Thursday. To make room for Atkinson, the Blue Jackets reassigned Ryan MacInnis to Cleveland (AHL). Atkinson has not had the season he was expecting to have after posting a career-high 41 goals and 69 points in 2018-19. He has nine goals (8.0 SH%) and 12 assists (21 points) in 35 games this season.
Atkinson was hurt vs. the Kings on December 19th and missed the final two games before the Christmas break. This is a tough time for Atkinson to get hurt because he was finally heating up--scoring five goals with two assists in his previous nine games. With Atkinson, among others, sidelined newcomers like Kevin Stenlund and Eric Robinson have been tasked with playing top-6 roles for Columbus.
Atkinson suffered a lower-body injury on Thursday and will be out through the Christmas break. That means Atkinson will not play Saturday or Monday, which makes him questionable in Washington coming out of the break.
