DENVER -- Defenseman Erik Johnson returns to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Pepsi Center after completing a two-game suspension for slashing New York Islanders forward Frans Nielsen in a Feb. 8 game.

"I'm excited," Johnson said. "It was tough going into the Olympic break knowing the first two games coming back I'd have to sit out. It wasn't the best news to hear. Any time you're not playing, it's hard. We're hockey players and we belong on the ice, so it was tough news to get. I had never been suspended before. I wanted to be out there playing, especially because it was a longer break with the Olympics."

The Avalanche went 1-1-0 without Johnson, who has seven goals, 17 assists and a plus-5 rating in 58 games while averaging a team-high 22:48 in ice time.

The New York Islanders activated center Frans Nielsen from injured reserve Sunday for their game against the Florida Panthers at Nassau Coliseum.

Nielsen returns after his hand was broken by a slash from Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson on Feb. 8, the Islanders' last game before the Olympic break. He has 18 goals and 43 points in 60 games.

Forward Mike Halmo was returned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Halmo had two shots on goal and four penalty minutes in two games.

The New Jersey Devils have raced out of the gate post-Olympics with 11 combined goals in wins against the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. However, the Devils remain three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference entering their game Sunday against the San Jose Sharks at Prudential Center.

It's for that reason coach Peter DeBoer has encouraged his players to keep their foot on the gas.

"You've got to get greedy now this time of year. We can’t be happy with four points," DeBoer told the Newark Star-Ledger. "We've got to get greedy. You look around the League and teams aren't losing around us very often, so we've got to win games."

VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks officially announced Eddie Lack will start Sunday against the Ottawa Senators at the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place (4 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"Lack has played really well the last two games and deserves the start," Canucks coach John Tortorella told the team's website.

It will be Lack's third straight start. He had a 20-save shutout Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues and then made 22 saves on 23 shots in regulation and overtime, plus six saves on seven shots in the shootout in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers begin a home-and-home series Sunday at Verizon Center that will have sizable Metropolitan Division implications.

The Capitals, winners of four straight, trail the Flyers by one point and could overtake them for third place in the division with a regulation victory. Washington has not held that position since Jan. 16.

Though the two-game set holds significant importance for both teams' postseason aspirations, the Capitals are focusing on what lies in front of them Sunday.

"Obviously it's an important game, but if we win, great, and then we've got to play them again [Wednesday]," coach Adam Oates said. "Right now, we're still, I think, in the process of playing every game as it is. Today, we play Philly. Let's worry about Philly today."

CHICAGO -- Marc-Andre Fleury will make his sixth straight start in goal when the Pittsburgh Penguins face the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field on Saturday night as part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series (8 p.m. ET, NBC).

Fleury is 4-1-2 with a 2.49 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in seven career games against the Blackhawks. For the season, Fleury is 31-13-3 with a 2.29 GAA and .917 save percentage. His 31 victories are the most in the NHL.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma would not reveal his starting lineup other than to say Fleury will start in goal.

EDMONTON -- Goals have been hard to come by for the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames of late.

Both teams were shut out in their previous game, heading into the latest edition of the Battle of Alberta on Saturday night at Rexall Place.

The Oilers lost 3-0 against the Minnesota Wild, while the Flames were blanked 2-0 by the Los Angeles Kings.

"You're certainly hoping it was just rust, the way we played the last game," Oilers left wing David Perron said. "We'll take it as that, move forward and try to have a good one [Saturday].

"It's always fun playing against Calgary. It's a team we're trying to catch in the standings right now and they probably don't want to go where we are right now. So we have to get the two points."

MONTREAL -- If the Toronto Maple Leafs needed a reminder just how thin the margin is between victory and defeat, they got it in their first game back following the Olympic break.

The Maple Leafs lost 5-4 in overtime on the road against the New York Islanders on Thursday, a game where they allowed three goals off sloppy turnovers, including the overtime winner by Lubomir Visnovsky.

Coach Randy Carlyle could have taken that game and used it as an example of what happens when his team is not focusing on the right things, but he's already had enough of that material this season.

"We've had lots of those lessons," Carlyle said. "The teacher's tired of bringing the same lesson."

New York Rangers forward Derek Dorsett will return to the lineup Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Dorsett, who had been out since Jan. 3 with a broken fibula, will take the place of Dominic Moore. He'll play on a line with Brian Boyle and Daniel Carcillo.

"Dom has done everything we want, he's been playing real well, but sometimes you've got to make some tough decisions," Rangers coach Alain Vigenault said.

New Jersey Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador will not play in the Saturday afternoon game against the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Salvador left the game Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets early in the third period after a shot during a Columbus power play struck him in the collarbone area.

He traveled with the Devils to Long Island but did not practice Friday.