At the Rink: Ducks at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS – The main focus will be the return Tuesday of Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski for the first time since being traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 2 prior to the NHL Trade Deadline.

But the Blue Jackets' side of the trade is drawing attention as well with the reinvigorated career of left wing Rene Bourque and the emergency recall of center William Karlsson, who will make his Blue Jackets debut against the Ducks at Nationwide Arena.

Unfortunately for Bourque, who had two goals Saturday including the overtime winner against the Calgary Flames, he will not play because of an upper-body injury. He has four goals in eight games for Columbus (33-35-4) after getting two goals and eight points in 30 games with the Ducks.

"He looks motivated to me," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "He understands the position he's in. It's another opportunity. You don't know how many opportunities are coming up for you around the corner as a player."

Karlsson was called up after spending eight games with Springfield of the American Hockey League where he had no points and was -8. Karlsson, 21, had two goals and an assist in 18 games for Anaheim (46-21-7) earlier this season.

That it is his first game for the Blue Jackets since he, Bourque and a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Day were traded by Anaheim for James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick is not lost on Karlsson.

"It was just recently that I found out they're playing each other and yesterday I got the call and realized it was against Anaheim," he said. "It doesn't get much better than that.

"When I got the call [about the trade] I was a little shocked. Now after a couple of weeks everything is fine. I'm just happy to be a Blue Jacket. It's mixed feelings. I want to show I want to play here for Columbus but it's against Anaheim."

Likewise for Wisniewski, who made it known he did not want to be traded after nearly four seasons and 211 games with Columbus. He still has a bond with the Blue Jackets players and hosted several for dinner Monday at his suburban Columbus home.

"It might be emotional but it's part of the business," he said. "I can't take it easy on some guy then all of a sudden he walks around me and it's a goal. You do your job then you have a nice cold water after the game with each other. That's hockey for you. You go to war then afterwards you kind of leave it on the ice."

One thing he is happy about is the timing of his return.

"I'd preferably have it like this than wait till February next year or something like that," he said. "I'd much rather get it over with."

This is an important game for the Ducks, whose 99 points are tied for the most in the race for the Presidents' Trophy with the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens (the Rangers have the tiebreaker).

"They're a great team. They're at the top of the League," Karlsson said of the Ducks. "It's going to be a tough game for us."

Here are the probable lineups:

DUCKS

Patrick Maroon - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Matt Beleskey - Ryan Kesler - Kyle Palmieri

Jiri Sekac - Rickard Rakell - Tomas Fleischmann

Andrew Cogliano - Nate Thompson - Jakob Silfverberg

Hampus Lindholm - Francois Beauchemin

Simon Despres - James Wisniewski

Clayton Stoner - Sami Vatanen

John Gibson

Frederik Andersen

Scratched: Cam Fowler, Emerson Etem, Korbinian Holzer, Chris Wagner

Injured: Tim Jackman (lower body)

BLUE JACKETS

Boone Jenner - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson

Nick Foligno - Artem Anisimov - Jeremy Morin

Scott Hartnell - William Karlsson - Marko Dano

Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Dalton Prout - Fedor Tyutin

Kevin Connauton - Cody Goloubef

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Justin Falk

Injured: David Clarkson (oblique), Jack Skille (shoulder), Matt Calvert (concussion), Ryan Murray (lower body), Brandon Dubinsky (upper body), Alexander Wennberg (hand infection), Rene Bourque (upper body)

Status report: Coming off a 7-2 loss at the New York Rangers on Sunday, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is expected to scratch Fowler, who has missed one game this season (Nov. 9 against the Vancouver Canucks) because of injury. Fowler's 24 assists are second among Anaheim defensemen. … Hartnell did not participate in the morning skate but Richards said he will play.

Who's hot: Perry has three goals in two games. Getzlaf has three goals and five points in the past six games. … The Blue Jackets have won three straight, all on the road. They have lost six of the past seven at home. … Hartnell has eight goals and three assists in the past 11 games. Dano has four goals and eight points in the past eight games.