The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without two of its forward on Thursday, including one of its top offensive threats.
Cam Atkinson and Nathan Gerbe have been deemed unfit to play in Game 2 of the seven-game first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, the team announced less than an hour before it began. In their place, Devin Shore and Emil Bemstrom will enter the lineup, playing together on the fourth line.
Neither Atkinson nor Gerbe's absences were further explained.
Atkinson and Gerbe out (unfit to play), Shore and Bemstrom draw in. #CBJ | @BlueTech_Inc pic.twitter.com/jE4gytBrc6
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) August 13, 2020
Without Atkinson, the Blue Jackets' inconsistent offense takes another hit. He led the Blue Jackets with 41 goals during the 2018-19 regular season, and, despite a slip in production, the alternate captain had 12 goals and 14 assists during this regular season.
Atkinson, however, did not have a shot on goal in Tuesday's first game of the first-round series during his nearly 40 minutes on the ice. Nathan Gerbe went point-less with two shots in 17 minutes in Game 1.
Bemstrom, a 21-year-old rookie, recorded 10 goals and 10 assists in the regular season. Shore played in six games after getting traded to Columbus from Anaheim Ducks, playing 9:25 per game.
