Chris Neil

Right Wing - OTT

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 1 | PTS: 6
SOG: 54 | +/-: -5

Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said after the morning skate that Neil would return to the lineup against Montreal. He missed his sixth straight game Thursday; left wing Matt Kassian drew into the lineup.

Neil, 34, has not played since he sustained a lower-body injury on Dec. 30 in a collision with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Neil, who leads Ottawa with 99 penalty minutes, has five goals and one assist in 42 games.

Detroit Red Wings center Joakim Andersson will miss his first game of the season Thursday.

He took part in the team's morning skate Thursday at Madison Square Garden but the team ruled him out for the game Thursday night against the New York Rangers due to a lower-body injury.

The Red Wings recalled Cory Emmerton from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League to take Andersson's spot in the lineup.

The Red Wings also are missing Pavel Datsyuk, Stephen Weiss and Darren Helm because of injury. Datsyuk, Weiss, Helm and Andersson were Detroit's top four centers on the depth chart to start the season.

DENVER -- The New Jersey Devils will have forward Patrik Elias back in the lineup Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center as they continue their push for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Elias has missed seven games with what the Devils called "total body soreness" following a Dec. 31 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Patty's going to play [Thursday]," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said after the team's morning skate. "He makes us 10 percent better in all kinds of different areas. I'm sure there's going to be a little rust on him after missing some time, but it's nice to have him back and it's a nice shot of energy for us halfway through this road trip."

DeBoer hadn't decided on how Elias' return would affect his line combinations.

"We might make some tweaks," he said, adding he would dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

CALGARY -- Things certainly have changed in the life of Paul Maurice over the past week.

After an inconsistent start to the season that saw the Winnipeg Jets slip to 12th in the Western Conference, Maurice was hired to replace coach Claude Noel on Sunday.

It's given Maurice a renewed appreciation for coaching.

"The one thing I've noticed in my non-coaching life, the day is really, really long," Maurice said. "You're at noon going, 'I've got nine more hours before I even have to watch a hockey game.' Here you're looking at your watch and saying, 'Where did the last 12 hours go?' But that's why it's awesome.

"That's a big part of me loving this. You're moving and you're going. It's great."

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes remain stuck in a January funk, but they will have all hands on deck for the first time in months when they face the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

Defenseman Zbynek Michalek, out since Dec. 17 with a hip injury, will return to the lineup and give the Coyotes some much-needed stability. Michalek had played in four games since Nov. 14, and his shot-blocking and penalty-killing abilities have been missed by a Phoenix team that has gone 7-12-5 since mid-November after starting the season 14-4-4.

That was about the time Michalek first was injured.

"It's been a very frustrating season for me," Michalek said. "I'm happy to be back. I've been working very hard to get back in the lineup and I hope I can contribute to the lineup."

To make room on the roster the Coyotes place veteran defenseman Rostislav Klesla on waivers for the second time this season.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Edmonton Oilers forward Ales Hemsky was sent back to Edmonton on Thursday as the Oilers prepared to play the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

The game against the Wild is Edmonton's third of a four-game road trip, meaning he also will miss the team's game Saturday at the Winnipeg Jets. His status beyond that is unknown.

Hemsky was hit in the ankle by a shot off the stick of teammate Luke Gazdic during the second period of the Oilers' game Tuesday at the Dallas Stars.

Initial reports issued by the team said there was no fracture in the ankle, but Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said Thursday the team was being cautious in confirming that diagnosis.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell will be in the lineup Thursday against the Nashville Predators after initial concern that a lower-body injury sustained blocking a shot against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday would sideline him.

Hartnell said a puck hit him "right on the side" of his skate and was concerned he had sustained a broken foot. He missed 16 games after blocking a shot with his foot last season.

"It felt good," Hartnell said after taking part in the Flyers' morning skate Thursday. "Better than I thought it would. Anytime you block a shot it gets sore, and obviously I was worried about this one, but I should be ready to go."

Hartnell said he plans on wearing protective skate guards on both feet going forward.

For the Predators, Carter Hutton told the Tennessean that he would start in net. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk, acquired Wednesday from the Edmonton Oilers, joined the team in Philadelphia but due to paperwork issues might not be able to dress for the game. If he can't go, Marek Mazanec will be the backup.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In their first full day as Edmonton Oilers, goaltender Ben Scrivens and forward Matt Hendricks will play their first games with the team when the Oilers face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

For Scrivens, a native of Spruce Grove, Alberta, his trade Wednesday from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, allows him a chance to play for his hometown team. It also allows him his first true opportunity to win a starting job in the NHL.

"It was a little bit of a shock but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was something I was hoping for," Scrivens said of a trade out of Los Angeles. "It's going to be a fun experience playing back at home."

Right wing Chris Neil will return to the Ottawa Senators' lineup for the game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Neil missed Ottawa's past five games after sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 30 when he collided with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Canadiens center David Desharnais will be a game-time decision. He was a late scratch with the flu Tuesday in Montreal's 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

DALLAS -- After snapping their longest losing streak in almost 18 years, the Dallas Stars now look to start a new streak when the Boston Bruins visit American Airlines Center on Thursday.

Dallas beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Tuesday to snap a six-game losing streak, the club’s longest since the 1995-96 season. It was the Stars' first win of 2014 and a result coach Lindy Ruff would like to build on when Dallas concludes a three-game homestand.

"The opportunity's right in front of us and we can really dictate our own destiny, where we end up," Ruff said. "That's going take a big commitment. That's going to take a lot of hard work. We have guys that need to go above and beyond here. If we're going to make our push, our push has to be now."

Ruff will use the same forward lines and defense pairings from the win against the Oilers, and Kari Lehtonen again will start in net.

Stars captain Jamie Benn was one of several players who did not take part in the optional morning skate Thursday, but Benn will occupy his usual spot on Dallas' top line, alongside Tyler Seguin and Erik Cole, come game time.