In his short time in the NHL, Philadelphia Flyers rookie Erik Gustafsson made a solid impact, averaging 18:28 per game with a plus-6 rating in five games. His ice time went up each game, topping out at 23:00 Nov. 5 against Columbus.

Gustafsson hasn't played since, however, due to a wrist injury, and the Flyers announced this morning that he won't play at all for another six weeks following surgery to repair the injury.

"Erik underwent wrist surgery this morning at Methodist Hospital (in Philadelphia)," said Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren. "The surgery was performed by Dr. Randy Culp. We expect Erik to be out of action for six weeks."

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The Buffalo News is reporting Jhonas Enroth was the first goaltender off the ice today in Buffalo, making it likely he'll start for the third time in the last four games when the Sabres host the Ottawa Senators.

Enroth is 4-0-0 in five games this season, with a 1.41 goals-against average and .952 save percentage. In his last three games -- two starts and a relief appearance -- he's stopped 70 of the last 73 shots he's faced.

Ryan Miller, the presumptive No. 1 goalie in Buffalo, has struggled mightily this season. He won his last start, Tuesday against Winnipeg, to snap a four-game losing streak, but allowed five goals on 31 shots in a 6-5 overtime victory.

On the season, Miller is 5-5-0 in 10 games, with a 2.74 GAA and .913 save percentage.

For more on today's game, check out the preview here.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Here's what the lineups could look like when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks face off tonight at Nationwide Arena.

It will be the first game for the Blue Jackets since their 9-2 loss in Philadelphia last Saturday. The Jackets have used the time since then to completely overhaul their lines and systems, and tonight is their first chance to test them out.

The Blackhawks also come in to tonight's game a desperate team, having gone winless in three straight, thanks in part to a power play that has scored just one goal in the last eight games and currently ranks 30th in the League at 8.8 percent.

BLUE JACKETS
R.J. Umberger - Antoine Vermette - Rick Nash
Vinny Prospal - Derick Brassard - Mark Letestu
Derek Dorsett - Samuel Pahlsson - Cody Bass
Matt Calvert - Derek MacKenzie - Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin - James Wisniewski
Marc Methot - Grant Clitsome
John Moore - Kris Russell

Steve Mason will start in goal, with rookie Allen York backing him up.

Rookie Ryan Johansen will be a healthy scratch.

BLACKHAWKS
Viktor Stalberg - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Daniel Carcillo - Patrick Kane - Patrick Sharp
Bryan Bickell- Marcus Kruger - Michael Frolik
Jamal Mayers - Andrew Brunette - Rostislav Olesz

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Nick Leddy
John Scott - Steve Montador

Corey Crawford will start in goal, with Ray Emery the backup.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

When the Buffalo Sabres face the Winnipeg Jets tonight, Ryan Miller likely will be in the Sabres' net. The Buffalo News is reporting Miller was the first goalie off the ice at this morning's practice.

It will be Miller's first game action since being pulled 6:23 into last Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jhonas Enroth started both games since then, earning one-goal wins against Calgary and Ottawa. It led some in Buffalo to question if Enroth was ready to replace Miller as the undisputed top goalie in Buffalo.

Miller certainly has struggled this season -- he's lost four straight, and in nine games he's 4-5-0 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .922 save percentage -- while Enroth is 4-0-0 in five games, with a 1.41 GAA and .952 save percentage.

However, he's got a far longer track record -- one that includes Olympic silver medal and a Vezina Trophy -- and he'll look to re-discover that form tonight.

"You want to play," Miller told reporters Monday. "My last outing wasn't the way you like to leave the ice. You want to go out and do your job, and the next chance I get I'll be ready."

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

The Columbus Blue Jackets could be back to the team they were expecting to have when the season began.

Center Jeff Carter, who has missed the last nine games with a broken bone in his right foot suffered Oct. 15, skated for about 20 minutes with the team today according to the Columbus Dispatch and said his foot felt OK. Carter added the plan now is for him to skate a full practice with the team tomorrow, with a chance he could play in the Jackets' next game, Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"I'm usually pretty quick to get back to speed," Carter said. "I have to get a decent practice in before I know how it feels. I'll probably know more (Tuesday)."

Carter and defenseman James Wisniewski were the club's major offseason acquisitions, but due to suspension -- Wisniewski sat out the first eight games of the season -- and injury, the pair has yet to be on the ice at the same time since the preseason.

The Blue Jackets also could have forward Jared Boll back in the lineup Thursday. Boll hasn't played since breaking his thumb in a fight in the Jackets' final preseason game.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Nothing has been made official, but it's looking highly unlikely the New Jersey Devils will have forward Ilya Kovalchuk in the lineup for tomorrow's game against the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. Versus, TSN2).

Kovalchuk, who hasn't played since leaving late in the third period of last Thursday's 4-3 shootout win in Philadelphia due a pulled leg muscle, sat out today's practice at Prudential Center in Newark.

Coach Peter DeBoer wasn't ready to completely rule Kovalchuk out for tomorrow, but told reporters it would take "a miraculous recovery" for him to play.

Kovalchuk said he worked out off the ice today and told reporters he's hopeful his injury heals enough for him to get into the lineup.

"I worked out a little bit, so it'd definitely better than a couple of days ago," he told reporters. "We'll see tomorrow."

If Kovalchuk can't go, it's likely his top-line spot alongside left wing Zach Parise and center Adam Henrique will be filled by David Clarkson, who played there in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win against the Jets.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- We had our guesses on the Flyers' lineup earlier, so now we'll take a look at the Blue Jackets.

The big change will be Cam Atkinson getting back into the lineup. The forward was recalled from AHL Syracuse this morning, and likely will play on a line with Derek MacKenzie and R.J. Umberger.

The defense pairs were jumbled this morning as James Wisniewski is battling a flu bug and was sent back to the hotel not long after arriving at the rink. Coach Scott Arniel said he's hopeful Wisniewski can play tonight, but won't know until game time.

Here's what the Jackets' lineup could look like tonight against the Flyers:

Rick Nash - Vinny Prospal - Derick Brassard
Matt Calvert - Antoine Vermette - Ryan Johansen
R.J. Umberger - Derek MacKenzie - Cam Atkinson
Alexandre Giroux - Samuel Pahlsson - Cody Bass

James Wisniewski - Fedor Tyutin
Marc Methot - John Moore
Aaron Johnson - Kris Russell

Steve Mason will start in goal, with Allen York backing him up.

Derek Dorsett could get in the lineup in place of Giroux. Dorsett didn't practice Friday due to being "banged up" according to Arniel.

If Wisniewski can't play, then Grant Clitsome, a healthy scratch Thursday against the Maple Leafs, will play.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Johansen has spent almost his entire hockey life in the middle of the ice. But it's a move to the wing that earned him a permanent spot in the NHL.

The fourth pick of the 2010 NHL Draft as a center, Johansen started this season in the middle, but since his move to the wing, his play has improved dramatically.

"We watched him play a few games, some exhibition games, in the middle and felt at this time it's too big a responsibility," said Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel. "We didn't get to see his offense, we didn't get to see him play with the puck like we know he can. He was really trying hard to learn the game and not make mistakes defensively that it took away from the offensive side. We threw him on the wing and we think he's blossomed over there e offensively. We started to see what he can do."

After totaling just 1 assist in his first five games, Johansen has 3 goals and an assist in his last five. In the Jackets' two wins this season, Johansen has the game-winning goal.

"To play in the NHL on the wing is pretty different," Johansen told NHL.com. "I just had to learn a couple new things quickly. It wasn't too hard to adjust. Feel pretty comfortable there now. I feel confident with the puck when it comes around the boards or if I receive it on the half wall. I'm not worried about it."

It's a big change from last season for Johansen, who admitted to being overwhelmed by his surroundings when he got to training camp last year.

"When I was first drafted and moving on to my first camp, it was kind … I was in shock the whole time," he said. "I ended up playing against (Sidney) Crosby and (Alex) Ovechkin in exhibition games and my eyes were wide open the whole time. I was having so much fun being around."

He was returned to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, and had an outstanding season -- 40 goals in 63 games -- and went back to Columbus this summer with a new mindset.

"This year I felt I had a really strong chance of making the team," he said. "I'm just focused on winning more than who I was playing against."

His teammates have started to take notice of how the 6-foot-3, 203-pound forward is beginning to blossom.

"He's getting better every day," R.J. Umberger told NHL.com. "He's starting to learn he's got a lot of size and he can use it. He's stronger than he thinks and he's moving his feet more and creating a lot of things below the goal line with his size.

"The challenge for him is just learning to compete every night. It's a hard league. For him, he knows he can play here and contribute."

"Every day it seems like I'm learning new things being up here," said Johansen. "For myself, I'm just taking everything in right now, soaking it all up. It's been a tremendous experience so far. Hopefully we can start winning some more games here."

On a personal note, it was the first time I've seen Johansen since he was drafted in Los Angeles. He and his Portland teammate, Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter, were part of one of my favorite videos since I've been with the NHL. It's worth watching to get some nice insight into two young men with wonderful personalities.



Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Jeff Carter made his return to Philadelphia today, but not in the way the All-Star center would have liked it.

Carter has missed the last eight games with a broken right foot, and has yet to resume skating.

Broken feet are nothing new to Carter -- he broke both feet during the Flyers' run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final -- and this time, he said he's being smart about allowing this injury to heal fully rather than hurry his return just to play against his former team.

"I wasn't going to rush back just to get into this game," he said. "I have to worry about getting healthy, that's the first thing."

Carter said it was an emotional experience walking into the Wells Fargo Center this morning. Prior to the June trade that sent him to the Blue Jackets, it was his only NHL home.

"It's a little weird being on the other side now," he said. "It's different. It's actually first time I've ever been down here (visiting locker room). It's a big change, but it is what it is."

Carter said one of the things he misses most about Philadelphia are the fans.

"I had six great years here," he said. "I enjoyed coming to the rink and playing in front of the fans every night. Everybody says it's one of the best places to play, and the fans are a huge part of that. It makes it a lot easier for guys to go on the ice and play good hockey when you have fans like that behind you."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers had 14 forwards on the ice and didn't practice line rushes, so there's a bit of a question of how their lineup might shake out tonight when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

James van Riemsdyk and Matt Read skated for the full practice, but both are considered day-to-day -- van Riemsdyk with a lower-body injury that kept him out of Thursday's game against New Jersey, Read with an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for the last two contests.

Eric Wellwood was called up from Adirondack of the American Hockey League on Friday and also was on the ice this morning, meaning he's a possibility for tonight.

The only forward who didn't skate today was Andreas Nodl, who the team is listing as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

So what will the lineup look like tonight? Can't be 100-percent sure, but here's a possibility. Again, things could change drastically if van Riemsdyk and/or Read are able to play.

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Harry Zolnierczyk - Danny Briere - Jakub Voracek
Eric Wellwood - Maxime Talbot - Wayne Simmonds
Zac Rinaldo - Sean Couturier - Jody Shelley

Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn
Matt Carle - Erik Gustafsson
Andreas Lilja - Andrej Meszaros

Ilya Bryzgalov will start in goal, with Sergei Bobrovsky backing him up.

We'll have the Blue Jackets lineup in a bit, but like the Flyers, there's also some question marks on their side.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK