Gameday Guide: Jan. 20 at Philadelphia

To many, it was a surprising swap this summer, but in many ways the July trade of Jakub Voracek for Cam Atkinson has worked out for each team.
The two squads wish they were higher in the standings, but it's also fair to say they've gotten what they wanted out of each player. Atkinson leads the Flyers with 15 goals, which would tie for first on the CBJ squad, while Voracek has a Jackets-best 24 assists on the season.

And when the two
face their former teams tonight in Philadelphia
, it will be a special, unique night for each player, but probably more meaningful for Voracek just because he's the one back in his old haunts (not to mention the fact he cleared COVID protocol and will return to the lineup for the game). Voracek spent 10 years playing for the Flyers and is 10th all time in team history with 604 points.
His return has been a constant stream of hellos with his old teammates and friends, including this morning when he arrived and stopped in the Flyers locker room.
"I don't have many thoughts as of now," he said of his return. "I think everything is going to build up before the puck drop, but obviously it's going to be weird to play against my friends. But I've done that in the past. When I got traded from Columbus, it was the same thing for me when we played Columbus in 2011. We'll see how the fans are going to react, but it's always good to be back in Philly, that's for sure."
Atkinson, meanwhile, is playing the team that drafted him for the first time. The winger who was taken in the sixth round of the 2008 draft worked himself into a two-time All-Star with the Jackets and is second in goals (213), fourth in assists (189) and second in points (402) in team history.
"It's gonna be high emotion," said Atkinson, who said he plans to return to Columbus to live after his playing career. "It will be nice to get the first couple of shifts out of the way. I think it's going to be more difficult and a lot more emotions going back to Columbus than playing here, but I know the boys are going to push a little harder for me tonight."

3 Keys to the Game

Start to finish Obviously the Blue Jackets want to play better than the last game in Florida, and it will have to be a 60-minute effort.
Goals galore: Philadelphia has given up at least three goals in each game during its nine-game losing skid, ceding an average of four tallies per game in that span.
Celebrate accordingly: A good night for someone like Voracek in his return would make for a happy plane ride home.

Notable

Rookie forward Yegor Chinakhov has three goals in the last four games. … Alexandre Texier had points in 15 of the last 23 games and a 9-9-18 line in that span. ... Gustav Nyquist has a 5-5-10 line in the last nine games and four multipoint contests in the last seven. … His shorthanded goal Tuesday was his third of the season, tied with Florida's Aleksander Barkov for first in the NHL. … Jakub Voracek returns after missing two games to COVID protocol and is tied for fifth in the league with 20 primary assists. … Winger Eric Robinson had two assists Thursday and has 3-7-10 in his last 14 games. … With seven goals, Adam Boqvist is tied for seventh among NHL defensemen in tallies, and he has a 6-7-13 line in his last 15 games. … Jake Bean has three assists in the last two games. … Captain Boone Jenner has points in the last four games (3-1-4). … Max Domi is two goals from 100 and six assists from 200 in his NHL career. ... The Blue Jackets have trailed in 10 of their 17 wins this year and have an NHL-best five wins when trailing after two periods. … The teams last met during the 2019-20 season, with Columbus going 0-3-1 in those games one year after going 4-0-0 against the Flyers. Before that campaign, the Blue Jackets were 19-5-1 over the previous six seasons against Philadelphia.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Patrik Laine - Alexandre Texier - Jakub Voracek
Max Domi - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Yegor Chinakhov
Zach Werenski - Andrew Peeke
Gavin Bayreuther - Jake Bean
Dean Kukan - Jake Christiansen
Elvis Merzlikins (confirmed starter)
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratches:Gabriel Carlsson
Injured Reserve:Justin Danforth (left knee sprain; six weeks as of Dec. 31); Daniil Tarasov (lower body; out indefinitely as of Jan. 4)
Taxi squad:Liam Foudy
COVID protocols:Cole Sillinger, Vladislav Gavrikov, Adam Boqivst
Roster Report: Voracek is back after two games off and enters in place of Foudy, while Christiansen and Bayreuther go in for Gavrikov and Boqvist.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 20, 2006: Rick Nash earned the Jackets the fourth shootout win in team history, scoring past St. Louis' Curtis Sanford for the lone goal in a 4-3 win over the Blues at Nationwide Arena.