At the Rink: Hurricanes at Blue Jackets

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.

For the Hurricanes (25-34-8), defenseman Ryan Murphy did not travel to Columbus after sitting out a 2-0 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday because of illness. Rasmus Rissanen will take his spot in a second straight game for the Hurricanes, who are 1-4-1 in their past six games.

Columbus is going in the opposite direction with a three-game winning streak that has been fueled by the unusual line of 20-year-old rookies Marko Dano and Alexander Wennberg plus veteran Scott Hartnell, who on Feb. 9 reached 1,000 NHL games in his career.

In the 5-4 shootout victory against Edmonton on Friday the line combined for two goals and three assists.

Hartnell, 32, has four goals while scoring in three straight games to reach 20 goals for the season. Dano has two goals and four points in the past five games, and Wennberg has four assists in the past six games.

“It’s the work they’re doing in the other zones that allows them to spend time in the offensive zone,” Richards said. “I really like our young guys. They’re doing a great job. They’re the ones who are really pushing the group.”

Wennberg (14th overall) and Dano (27th) each were first-round picks in the 2013 NHL Draft. Hartnell was also a first rounder – sixth overall to Nashville in 2000.

“He’s a great player,” Dano said. “He’s been around the League for awhile. It’s fun to play with him and also Alex is a good player.”

Dano and Wennberg have something else in common: each struggled in early-season stints with the Blue Jackets but have played better since being recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Wennberg has two goals and 11 assists in 58 games. Dano has five goals and 10 points in 22 games.

“Since they’ve gotten back here they’ve been unbelievable,” defenseman Ryan Murray said. “They’ve been our best forwards at times.”

Here are the probable lineups:

HURRICANES

Eric Staal - Jordan Staal - Elias Lindholm

Chris Terry - Victor Rask - Andrej Nestrasil

Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Alexander Semin

Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Nathan Gerbe

Ron Hainsey - Justin Faulk

Michal Jordan - Rasmus Rissanen

John-Michael Liles - Brett Bellemore

Anton Khudobin

Cam Ward

Scratched: Patrick Dwyer

Injured: Ryan Murphy (illness), Jack Hillen (concussion)

BLUE JACKETS

Cam Atkinson - Ryan Johansen - Nick Foligno

Marko Dano - Alexander Wennberg – Scott Hartnell

Artem Anisimov - Brandon Dubinsky - Rene Bourque

Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Fedor Tyutin - Dalton Prout

Kevin Connauton - Ryan Murray

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Justin Falk, Cody Goloubef

Injured: David Clarkson (oblique), Jack Skille (shoulder), Jeremy Morin (heart), Boone Jenner (back), Matt Calvert (concussion)

Status report: Khudobin gets the start after Cam Ward made 20 saves and allowed one goal Saturday against the Panthers.

Who’s hot: Rask has two goals and four points in his past four games. … The Blue Jackets have trailed in three straight games, including 3-1 to the Hurricanes, but have won them all.