OTTAWA -- Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot has the flu and will be out of the lineup against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Ottawa called up defenseman Cody Ceci from the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. Ceci, a first-round pick (No. 15) in 2012, will make his NHL debut against Buffalo.

The 19-year-old ranks third in scoring in Binghamton with 17 points, including two goals, in 24 games.

"The reports on Cody have been he's been outstanding," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said after the morning skate at Canadian Tire Centre. "He's been the best player on either team for the last 2-3 weeks, if not a month, and he's been playing the best down there, so he's getting an opportunity to come here for a game and we have an opportunity to see him."

TAMPA -- The game Thursday between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings looks like a matchup between two pretty even teams, even in the injury column.

The Red Wings have four skaters out with injury, including Henrik Zetterberg. The Lightning have six players hurt, including Steven Stamkos.

The Red Wings are coming off a shootout loss Tuesday against the Florida Panthers; the Lightning lost in a shootout Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.

And to top it off, Detroit enters the game one point ahead of Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.

"Many people have said that we're playing teams that are healthy and we are banged-up and we can't sit here and have a pity party over it," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Everybody goes through it. But [Thursday] we're playing a team that is just as banged-up as we are. So there is no excuses about what is going to go on."

ST. LOUIS -- Five years have passed since Alexander Steen was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the maturation process from the time he a Leafs player to a present-day member of the Blues is a constant reminder of how much the Winnipeg, Manitoba, native has grown as a player.

Steen and defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo were acquired for forward Lee Stempniak, who has since moved on to play for the Phoenix Coyotes and currently the Calgary Flames. The Blues look back fondly on the day of Nov. 24, 2008.

For Steen, who's among the NHL leaders in goals (21) and points (33), he'll be facing a Leafs team that only carries one player from his days in Toronto (Nikolai Kulemin).

Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said he believes a left knee injury sustained at practice Wednesday isn't serious and is hoping he'll be sidelined for just 1-2 weeks.

Howard is scheduled to have an MRI on Friday morning.

"I don't think I'm that concerned about it," Howard told MLive.com Thursday. "I don't think it's going to be anything over the top where I'm going to be out a long time."

The Red Wings recalled goalie Petr Mrazek from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to back up Jonas Gustavsson, who starts Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although Howard's injury could affect his chances of earning a place on the United States Olympic team, he maintains it's not a priority.

"What can you do? It is what it is," Howard said. "You do treatment and try to get back as quick as possible."

NEW YORK -- New York Rangers forward Rick Nash appeared calm and reflective on the day of his first game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team he starred with for the first nine seasons of his NHL career.

Nash hinted there were certain things he may have done differently in his final days with the Blue Jackets before being traded to New York.

"I think it could have been a bit smoother of … I guess you can call it an exit. I thought everyone was honest, everyone was in the same boat. At the end of the day, when someone asks to move on for their career, you have to assume it's going to get messy," Nash said following New York's optional skate Thursday. "The only thing that kept me going was the fans stayed behind me. They understood my decision, my situation. I honor that with the fans, that they understood."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers will have something in common when they meet Thursday at Wells Fargo Center. Both teams will be looking to move past dismal previous performances.

The Flyers gave up five second-period goals en route to a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Canadiens lost 6-0 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

"You'll see two teams that want to bounce back from their last performance," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "That should be a good hockey game."

Therrien said knowing the character of his team, he's confident the players will return with a better effort Thursday.

"Games like that one we played last game, it happens to every team," Therrien said. "It's a matter of how you bounce back, how's your attitude. I like the team attitude we got and I expect we're going to bounce back from that performance. We got a lot of character and we want to bounce back. They can't wait for the opportunity to play again to make sure that's behind us."

NEW YORK -- Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov played with the New York Rangers for five and three years, respectively, before being sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the blockbuster 2012 trade that brought Rick Nash to New York.

As they play their first game in New York since the trade, they're looking forward to facing their former team Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

"I'm excited to play tonight. It was nice to get an opportunity to go out to dinner with some friends from here. This is my first time back in the city since I got traded. It's nice, I'm really looking forward to it," Dubinsky said after Columbus' morning skate. "You've got to channel those emotions the right way. It's going to be a little different being on this side of the ice to start the game. I think after the first couple of shifts I'll settle in."

In 2012, Dubinsky, Anisimov, defenseman Tim Erixon and a 2013 first-round pick were traded to Columbus for Nash and Steve Delisle. More than a year after the trade, both players admitted their return to MSG stirred up emotions from their time in New York.

There are less than three weeks until the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and NHL Live with Steve Mears and E.J. Hradek, at 5 p.m. ET Thursday on NHL Network, will talk to Red Wings favorites Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby about the 2013 Alumni Showdown at Comerica Park set for New Year's Eve. Maltby and Draper will spend part of the afternoon taking over the NHL's Twitter feed.

It's a busy night on the NHL schedule with 11 games, including the New York Rangers hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Shawn Mitchell will join us on the Madison Square Garden Arena Cam to discuss the many ties between these Metropolitan Division rivals who have made a pair of blockbuster trades in the past couple years.

We'll also go out on Arena Cam to Scottrade Center where NHL Insider Darren Pang will preview the St. Louis Blues' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and talk goaltending around the League.

Remember to submit your #AskEJ questions through Twitter via @NHLNetwork or @EJHradek_NHL, and join the conversation on Twitter as we ask you to pick the game of the night.

At 5:27 of the second period in the Flyers/Blackhawks game, video review supported the referee's call on the ice that Michal Handzus deflected the puck into the net with his stick after it made contact with his skate. Good goal Chicago.

"Obviously that's a huge goal of mine," Carlson said. "I think any athlete at any level would strive to do that, be in position that I might make it. It'd be a dream come true."