COLUMBUS -- Illnesses have seemed to move away from the Columbus Blue Jackets but not the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blue Jackets (30-34-4) should get center Brandon Dubinsky back against Carolina at Nationwide Arena on Sunday after he missed the past two games at the Detroit Red Wings and home to the Edmonton Oilers because he was sick.

Columbus coach Todd Richards said Sunday morning that Dubinsky was feeling significantly better than previous days.

Dubinsky’s absence was preceded by left wing Nick Foligno missing a 4-3 shootout win at Carolina on Tuesday because of a virus. Foligno returned to play the past two games.

Also, Richards said goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been battling a cold, will get the start.

COLUMBUS -- Second-year defenseman Ryan Murray will be ready for his latest comeback Friday when the Columbus Blue Jackets play the Edmonton Oilers at Nationwide Arena.

The oft-injured Murray has missed the past 16 games for the Blue Jackets (29-34-4) with a high ankle sprain sustained Feb. 16 against the St. Louis Blues.

"I want to get my timing back and hope the speed of the game feels normal to me," Murray said. "Hopefully it doesn't take too long for me to get adjusted.

"The game moves pretty fast out there. And when you're sitting on the couch for five weeks it's kind of hard to compare it to anything."

COLUMBUS -- The Colorado Avalanche play their first game Saturday since losing center Nathan MacKinnon likely for the remainder of the regular season because of a broken foot.

"You're never going to replace a guy like Nate with his speed and skill," Avalanche defenseman Nate Guenin said of the 2014 Calder Trophy winner. "You have to dig deep because some guys are given more of a workload than they're accustomed to. That's what you want. You want more ice time."

The Avalanche's opponent knows a lot about injuries as well.

According to the Columbus Blue Jackets, they have a club-record 413 man-games lost to injury.

COLUMBUS -- Two debuts and the long-awaited return of an injured goaltender will mark the game between the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Left wing Curtis Glencross will play his first game with the Capitals (34-20-10) after the Calgary Flames on Sunday traded him for second- and third-round picks in the 2015 NHL Draft.

For the Blue Jackets, defenseman Justin Falk will be in the lineup after he and a 2015 fifth-round pick were acquired Monday in a trade with the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

Also for Columbus, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (16-15-2, 2.85 goals against average and .913 save percentage) will play for the first time in 18 games since sustaining a groin injury Jan. 21.

The Blue Jackets (26-32-4) have lost six straight.

COLUMBUS -- Right wing David Clarkson arrived in town late Friday, participated in an optional skate with several players Saturday morning, and will make his debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets against the New Jersey Devils in Nationwide Arena.

It couldn't come at a better time for the injury-ravaged Blue Jackets (26-30-4), who are near the bottom of the NHL in points but lead the League in man-games lost with 385 and mounting.

They will be without center Brandon Dubinsky and left wing Matt Calvert after each sustained a concussion in a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. They will be out indefinitely.

Clarkson, traded Thursday by the Toronto Maple Leafs to Columbus for injured forward Nathan Horton, will move into the top line with center Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno.

"Always in the first game you're going to have nerves and take time to get used to guys," Clarkson said. "I'll get this first game underneath me and go from there. This is something I want to be a part of. Looking forward, I think it's good for my career."

COLUMBUS -- Devante Smith-Pelly was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday but already feels at home.

He said his new teammates have made him feel welcome and the fact he will make his Canadiens debut at right wing Thursday at the Columbus Blue Jackets also is a good sign.

Smith-Pelly, 22, had spent some time on the left side and at center for the Anaheim Ducks before being traded for forward Jiri Sekac.

"I'm willing to play anywhere I need to but right wing is where I'm most comfortable," Smith-Pelly said. "I pride myself on playing any forward position but at the same time that's where I've played my whole life. It's second nature. I don't really have to think on the right side."

COLUMBUS -- James Wisniewski said his goal is to help the Columbus Blue Jackets in their desperate push to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs and that his desire to do so should not be in doubt.

The 31-year-old defenseman was a healthy scratch at the New York Rangers on Sunday because he said management was unhappy with his play.

Wisniewski leads Blue Jackets defensemen and is fourth on the team with 27 points.

"If you're going to question my effort then there's something wrong with whoever's judging my effort because I don't think that's the case," he said. "No way you can ever question my effort. I think it's performance based."

The Columbus Dispatch reported Tuesday that the Blue Jackets are looking to trade Wisniewski and that he has a modified a no-trade clause in his contract that allows him to list 10 teams to which he would not approve a trade.

COLUMBUS -- Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski returns from a one-game benching, but the reasons why he sat and how long he stays in the lineup are unclear.

Wisniewski will play against the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday after being a healthy scratch Sunday at the New York Rangers, which fueled trade rumors.

He said Tuesday morning that he had not asked be traded, but The Columbus Dispatch reported the Blue Jackets (26-28-4) have made him available ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 2 at 3 p.m. ET.

Wisniewski has seven goals, 27 points and a minus-6 rating in 52 games.

As for not playing against the Rangers, Wisniewski said no one has told him specifically why he sat other than he needs to play better.

"The thing is they say I wasn't good enough and I hold myself to a higher standard to play better," he said. "I'm not going to say I was happy about it. I want to win and make this playoff push. But at the same time, I have to realize for myself that I need to go out and play now."

COLUMBUS -- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Scott Hartnell still has many friends on the Philadelphia Flyers from his seven seasons there and hosted a few for dinner Thursday.

But the friendships go on hold once the ceremony honoring him for playing in his 1,000th NHL game is completed prior to playing the Flyers in Nationwide Arena on Friday.

"It's pretty special tonight playing against Philly," Hartnell said. "I know so many of the coaches, trainers and management that have been there since I was there eight years ago."

Hartnell figured the milestone would come as a Flyers player but he was traded to Columbus on June 23, 2014, for forward R.J. Umberger and a fourth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

In 517 games with the Flyers, Hartnell had 157 goals and 326 points.

COLUMBUS -- Remember when the Columbus Blue Jackets were carrying nine defensemen and played one at forward when Matt Calvert was ill recently?

Coach Todd Richards does. He recalls the good old days fondly because injuries have reduced the defensive unit by a third for the game against the Los Angeles Kings in Nationwide Arena on Monday.

Dalton Prout will miss the game because of an upper-body injury sustained against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Blue Jackets (23-25-3) lost Ryan Murray (ankle) and James Wisniewski (lower body) to injuries the night before vs. the St. Louis Blues.

"It's ironic," Richards said. "I was getting a lot of questions from (the media), 'What are you going to do with the extra defensemen? You've got too many.'

"In the course of two days we've gone from nine to six."