Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Smyth joined NHL Live in studio to talk about his season and competing in the Olympic games.

Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Smyth joined NHL Live in studio to talk about his season and competing in the Olympic games.

Analyst Craig Button joined NHL Live from Toronto to discuss the recent surge of the Calgary Flames.

The Minnesota Wild will get an important member of their defense corps back Tuesday as Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup for the first time since sustaining a broken foot Jan. 2 against the Buffalo Sabres.

Spurgeon, who will pair with Marco Scandella, was plus-3 and played more than 27 minutes against the Sabres despite the injury.

"We're anxious to see where his game's at," Wild coach Mike Yeo told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "If he can step in and be close to the level that he was at before he got hurt, we're a lot stronger for it."

New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan will join teammates Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh as guests on NBC's "Today Show" on Wednesday in the 8:30 a.m. (ET) half-hour live from Rockefeller Center in New York City.

The trio, who will play for the United States at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will be interviewed by Savannah Guthrie to discuss the anticipation of competing for a gold medal.

NHL Live with Steve Mears and Butch Goring, at 5 p.m. ET on NHL Network, continues the lead-up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics with the latest about players heading to Russia to compete for their nations.

Analyst Craig Button will join the show from Toronto to discuss the recent surge of the Calgary Flames.

Also, NHL.com Senior Writer Dan Rosen will give us a preview of his "Over the Boards" notebook that appears each Wednesday on this site.

Washington Capitals forward Martin Erat has been named to the Czech Republic roster for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

He takes the place of St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka, who went on injured reserve this past weekend with a leg injury.

"We've counted with Vladimir Sobotka as a top two-way forward, he is extraordinary on defense," Czech Republic coach Alois Hadamczik said. "After he got injured, we had to find similar kind of a player and Martin Erat is best in defense among all candidates."

Erat has 21 points, all assists, in 48 games for the Washington Capitals this season.

"It's always nice to play for your national team, especially as a big tournament as Olympics are," said Erat, who will make his third Olympic appearance. "It's going to be nice to change scenarios for a while and hope [we] get something done there."

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson joined NHL Live via telephone to discuss his upcoming trip to Russia for the 2014 Sochi Olympics as a member of the United States team.

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson joined NHL Live via telephone to discuss his upcoming trip to Russia for the 2014 Sochi Olympics as a member of the United States team.

John Tortorella will be back behind the bench Monday to coach the Vancouver Canucks against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena after a 15-day suspension that saw him miss six games. The team went 2-4-0 in his absence and is 0-1-0 on its five-game road trip following a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.

"I apologize first and foremost to the players, to the organization and to the League. It hasn't been a great two weeks," Tortorella told reporters Monday morning. "I didn't help matters for this team and we're in a tough spot right now. It's up to me to do my job and get this team back."

With a precarious hold on a playoff spot, Tortorella and the Canucks have a lot of work to do. Vancouver has lost three straight games and four of its past five, and has allowed 17 goals in its past four games. The coach's message delivered to the media was the need for tougher skin.

"We had meetings this morning. We have a long list of things we need to improve at," Tortorella said. "We need to start over on the mental side. We're off the rails on a lot of different aspects. Every aspect of our game is off. This team can and will play the right way."