Gustav Nyquist, recalled Thursday by the Detroit Red Wings from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, will skate on the second line Thursday night against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

Nyquist is tied for fourth in the American Hockey League with 21 points in 15 games.

"It feels great, obviously, very excited to get in again [Thursday] and it's going to be a fun game to be a part of," Nyquist said. "I'm just going to try to play my game. We all know that we're in need of a win here as a team and obviously we've lost a few in a row up here and at home as well. So that's something we want to change."

Nyquist had three goals and three assists in 22 regular-season games in 2012-13, and two goals and three assists in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

When the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers meet Thursday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia it will be matchup of two teams already on their second coaches of the 2013-14 season.

Though that's notable in itself, there's another reason the meeting of Ted Nolan of the Sabres and Craig Berube of the Flyers stands out. According to the Flyers, this marks the first time two First Nations coaches have run opposing benches.

"It's huge," Nolan said following the Sabres' practice Thursday. "I was pretty happy when I heard Craig Berube was the head coach here. It's really big in First Nation territory back home in Canada. The word spreads quite quick so I'm sure there's a lot of people that are extremely proud and will be watching this game, and think it's really good for the next generation of young kids to see that also. We do have a lot of talented kids out there who just need a little break."

Nashville Predators general manager David Poile, who holds the same role for the United States for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, said he and his staff have trimmed their targeted group of defensemen to 12, and that Predators' 2013 first-round pick Seth Jones is among that group.

"He absolutely does," Poile said in an interview Tuesday with Sportsnet's Fan 590 radio when asked if Jones had a chance of making the team. "We're going to take eight defensemen and we're down to approximately 12 and [Jones] is one of them."

Jones, the fourth pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, has two goals and six assists in 20 games and leads all rookie defenseman with an average ice time of 24:04 per game. He has spent most of the season on the Predators' top pair with Shea Weber, although he recently was pushed back to second pair with Kevin Klein.

Jones also was one of 18 defensemen invited to USA Hockey's National Team Orientation Camp in August.

With forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss still sidelined by groin injuries, the Detroit Red Wings are expected to go with seven defensemen Tuesday when they host the Nashville Predators at Joe Louis Arena.

Brendan Smith, who had been out with a shoulder injury and last played Nov. 2, will return to the lineup.

Alfredsson will miss his third straight game, while Weiss will miss his fifth in a row. MLive.com reported Weiss probably also will miss the game Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"I got through practice and I felt pretty good,'' Weiss said. "It's just a matter of getting a couple more in to get the conditioning back and hopefully I'll be ready to go. … Hopefully sometime this weekend, maybe Saturday or Sunday. I would like to play [Tuesday], but it's not my call.''

A Koivu will captain Finland at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Which Koivu, however, is unknown.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday that Anaheim Ducks forward Saku Koivu or his younger brother, Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu, will be named captain of the Finnish Olympic team.

"It's a question between the Koivu brothers as to who will be the captain," Finland Olympic coach Erkka Westerlund told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I've known Mikko since he was this high [holding his left hand four feet off the ground]. … He's a strong leader on our team. He knows what he wants. He can help the teammates play better."

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin will make his season debut Saturday at Bell Centre against the New York Rangers. The Russian defenseman has been out seven months since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery following a collision with Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins on AprIL 6.

Emelin had the procedure to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in May. Until the injury, Emelin was enjoying a breakout season in Montreal, establishing career highs in assists (nine), points (12) and plus-minus (plus-2) in his second NHL season.

Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy revealed Saturday that veteran forward Alex Tanguay will remain out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Tanguay has not played since a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 2. He left the ice in the second period of that game after falling into the boards following a collision with Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban.

"He's out indefinitely for us right now," Roy said following practice Saturday. "It's hard to pinpoint when he's going to come back."

The Quebec native was scheduled to have an MRI exam on his knee two weeks ago but Roy did not reveal any details about the injury.

In 12 games this season, Tanguay has three goals and nine points.

Goaltender Jonas Gustavsson will make his first appearance in goal since Oct. 23 when he leads the Detroit Red Wings onto the ice Saturday night against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Gustavsson hasn't played since he came on in relief of Jimmy Howard during a 6-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators, and he hasn't started since Oct. 17, when he completed a run of three in a row while starter Jimmy Howard was injured. Gustavsson won all three games and was voted the NHL's First Star of the Week.

He went on the injured list on Nov. 1 with a neck problem.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told the media after the morning skate, according to Mlive.com. "It's a chance for me to keep working on my game and try to help the team get some wins."

The New York Islanders will have Evgeni Nabokov in goal Saturday when they play host to the Detroit Red Wings at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Rookie Kevin Poulin has started each of the past three games, a 4-2 road loss Sunday to the Montreal Canadiens, a 3-1 home victory Tuesday against the Nashville Predators, and a 3-2 loss Thursday to the Los Angeles Kings in which the Islanders couldn’t hold a 2-0 third-period lead.

Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon discusses the decision to trade Kris Versteeg to the Chicago Blackhawks.