A key contributor for the Columbus Blue Jackets has been activated from injured reserve.
Center Lukas Sedlak, the team's fourth-line faceoff man for much of the season, is back on the active roster after missing 11 games because of an oblique strain.
A 23-year-old rookie, Sedlak has six goals and six assists this year to go along with a plus-8 rating in 55 games. He's won 51.2 percent of his faceoffs while playing an average of 9:32 per game. Sedlak also has chipped in on the team's penalty kill at times and has a CF% of 53.1, among the best numbers of any Jackets forward.
A sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft, Sedlak parlayed a great postseason run last year (16 points in 17 games) with the Lake Erie Monsters into a key role this season.
Where Sedlak fits into the equation remains to be seen. Over the past few weeks, Columbus has mixed and matched its forwards because of injuries to Sedlak, Matt Calvert and Josh Anderson, but now are all healthy. In the meantime, the emergence of Oliver Bjorkstrand and the trade deadline acquisition of Lauri Korpikoski has added depth.
Yesterday, head coach John Tortorella said he's not sure what the lineup will be tonight vs. Florida.
"We have some decisions to make, but it's good to get back healthy," he said. "It's a good problem to have. I'm not so sure for the players, but that's part of it. Sedsy goes down, Bjorkstrand comes up and he's done some pretty good things. We make a trade, get some players. As you go through the last part of the year, everybody is going to get an opportunity."
Tortorella is expected to address the media again at 4:30 p.m. before tonight's 7 p.m. start against the Panthers.
