NHL Buzz: Stolarz, Marner to return for Maple Leafs against Kraken
Hischier out until after 4 Nations for Devils; Vanecek back for Sharks
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Anthony Stolarz will return and start against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, TSN4, TVAS).
The goalie, who hasn't played since Dec. 12, has missed 23 games after having knee surgery. He is 9-5-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 17 games this season.
"We'll see how the game goes, but we've got to do a good job in front of him," coach Craig Berube said. "We've got to make sure that we're tight tonight, we're eliminating their rush game. [The Kraken] have a very good rush game, so we don't need to be giving those guys chances off the rush."
Forward Mitch Marner will also return after missing a 6-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, because of a lower-body injury.
"It's just a spasm thing," Marner said. "Something locked up on me for a day and a half, and kind of throughout the day of that Calgary game, it started really getting back to normal, and then yesterday felt 100% so yeah, it was just a weird little kind of a [one-day] thing."
Marner, who is set to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, leads the Maple Leafs with 70 points (16 goals, 54 assists) in 52 games. He will play right wing with John Tavares at center and William Nylander at left wing.
"I talked to those guys about Willie going on the left and Mitch on right and putting JT (at center)," Berube said. "... Mitch has played some real good hockey with JT this year, we know that, and we'll see how it goes." -- Darren Brown
New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier has resumed skating and Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said the forward might be ready to play following the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that begins Wedneday and runs through Feb. 20.
The Devils captain is week to week because of an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Thursday retroactive to Jan. 25.
"He's back on the ice," Keefe said. "He's not going to be available at this point this week but the way it's trending, it would be a surprise if he's not available when we return from the break."
Hischier took a cross-check up high late in the second period of a 4-3 overtime win at the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 25 and did not play the remaining 2:10 of the period. He returned to the bench to begin the third and was on the ice for a 36-second shift before returning to the locker room.
He leads the Devils with 24 goals in 51 games and is second among forwards with an average ice time of 20:21.
"Nico is a guy we lean on for so much, whether it's power play, penalty-kill, 4-on-4, end of the game, start of the game, who to go to for a voice ... it's Nico," New Jersey forward Nathan Bastian said. "When he's gone you need a collection of guys to step up, probably everyone, so hopefully we can come together and show that we can miss our top guys and still be the team we are."
Jonas Siegenthaler is still being evaluated. He left a 3-2 shootout win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday after falling along the boards at 8:45 of the first period and did not return.
"He's going to see another specialist just to get a better idea of exactly where we're at in the timeline, but clearly not going to be available here this week," Keefe said. "So we bring (Simon) Nemec back, and welcome him in, and give him an opportunity."
Nemec was recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League and joined the Devils for the morning skate. The 20-year-old defenseman and No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 69 NHL games, including 60 games last season.
"We need a guy and we're very fortunate to have somebody of his talent available to us. In our mind, in lots of ways he's always been the seventh defenseman here," Keefe said. "He just so happens that he's been in Utica and benefiting from playing a lot and the extra practice time, and all the things that come outside of the NHL, so I feel like he's benefited from that. We've been digging in more with him coming back yesterday, so we feel like he's ready for this opportunity."
The Devils are also without goalie Jacob Markstrom, who was injured in a 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 22. He will be out 4-6 weeks because of a sprained MCL in his knee and won't play for Team Sweden at 4 Nations. Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers was named an injury replacement. -- Mike G. Morreale
Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett will not return for the Flyers before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The forward has missed the past three games because of an upper-body injury he sustained on a hit by New Jersey Devils defensemen Brenden Dillon in the second period of a 5-0 loss Jan. 29. He has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 52 games this season.
Rasmus Ristolainen, who did not play in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday because of an upper-body injury, could return before the 4 Nations Face-Off, coach John Tortorella said. The defenseman is also expected to play for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Jan. 30, are in Toronto waiting for their immigration paperwork to clear. Tortorella said there is a chance they could play Saturday.
"I hope so," Tortorella said. "I believe, and I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, I believe Kuzmenko's paperwork is done," Tortorella said. "'Pelts' isn't. ... We flew them to Toronto so it would be a short jaunt over here. They've been there, but then their flight was canceled today, probably because of the ice and the storm." -- Adam Kimelman
Colorado Avalanche
Oliver Kylington will return to the lineup for the Avalanche when they play the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, SNW, ALT).
The defenseman, who missed 31 games because of an upper-body injury and was a healthy scratch for a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, has two points (one goal, one assist) in eight games this season.
"He's going to play tonight," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It's been a while. He's been out with the injury since I think late November, right? He's had a long road to kind of get back and get healthy and feeling good. We'll want to get him up and moving here before the (4 Nations Face-Off) break and then see how he does."
Kylington's return to the lineup comes against his former team. He was selected by the Flames in the second round (No. 60) of the 2015 NHL Draft and played his first 201 games in the NHL with Calgary from 2016-24 before signing a one-year contract with the Avalanche on Aug. 5.
"A lot of emotions," Kylington said. "It's just fun in in general. Been injured for two months so luckily everything is timed and everything worked well for this trip for me to come back. I'm just happy to be back in Calgary, in general. Looking forward to a good game. A special feeling overall."
Kylington, who also missed four games in October because of illness, will replace Josh Manson in the lineup. Manson is day to day and will miss the next two games because of an injury sustained on Tuesday.
"We could use the veteran presence," Bednar said. "We can use the puck-moving, another guy who can help chip in on the offensive side. It can't hurt us, especially now because we're going to miss Manson tonight. He's going to be out of the lineup for the next couple of games. Good chance for 'Shilly' to go in and jump into our top-four, probably." -- Aaron Vickers
San Jose Sharks
Vitek Vanecek will make his first start since suffering a broken cheekbone Dec. 14 when the Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNP).
Vanecek, the backup goalie against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 17, sustained the injury when he was hit in the face with an errant puck on the bench.
"[I want to see] if he's tracking pucks," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "Obviously, there will probably be a little bit of rust."
Vanecek is 3-8-1 with a 3.84 goals-against average, and .885 save percentage in 14 games (13 starts) this season. He made 22 saves on 24 shots during a conditioning assignment with San Jose of the American Hockey League on Jan. 31.
"I feel great," Vanecek said after practice Monday. "Got some practices [in]. Got one game in the AHL, and I'm feeling much better for sure." -- Max Miller
Tampa Bay Lightning
Anthony Cirelli will not play against the Ottawa Senators at Amalie Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, TSN5, RDS) because of an undisclosed injury. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said that the forward is day to day and his status for the remaining three games before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20 is unknown.
Cirelli missed most of the second period but returned for the third to help the Lightning to a 4-3 win against Ottawa on Tuesday. He is scheduled to play at 4 Nations for Team Canada, which opens the tournament against Team Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).
"Not good news for Anthony Cirelli," Cooper said. "I don't know [about this weekend]. You miss one and you never know, but hopefully we'll have him back."
Cirelli has 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists) in 51 games this season. Cooper, who will coach Canada at 4 Nations, did not want to speak on Cirelli's status for the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
"Let's not look there yet," Cooper said. "We have three games left with our team and they're really pivotal games, so it's unfortunate we're not going to have him tonight. He's a big part of our team, but hopefully we'll have him for the weekend."
The Lightning play a back-to-back set at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
Nick Paul is expected to play Thursday. The forward missed the final two periods against Ottawa on Tuesday.
Forward Conor Sheary was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
"We need him because we don't have enough players," Cooper said. "We're glad to have him in there." -- Corey Long
New York Islanders
Defenseman Scott Mayfield will not travel for the Islanders' final two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (8 p.m. ET, TSN3, MSGSN) and the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Mayfield, who sustained a lower-body injury in a 3-2 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, is considered day to day but has yet to practice with the team. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in 50 games, averaging 17:33 of ice time per game.
Forward Hudson Fasching, who sustained an upper-body injury in a 5-4 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 5, will travel. He remains on injured reserve.
Fasching has no points in 19 games this season.
Forward Mathew Barzal was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after the Islanders announced he would be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury sustained in their overtime win against Tampa. -- Stefen Rosner
Buffalo Sabres
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could return to the lineup against the Nashville Predators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSG-B).
The goalie, who is slated to play for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20, did not make his scheduled start against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury sustained at the morning skate.
He was not on the ice for practice Wednesday. The Sabres are off Thursday and will practice again Friday.
"'UPL' will skate our next practice, anticipating him to be ready," coach Lindy Ruff said.
Luukkonen is 18-15-4 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .897 save percentage in 38 games this season.
Tage Thompson also could return against Nashville after missing the 3-2 win at KeyBank Center on Tuesday because of an undisclosed injury. The forward was injured on a high hit from New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Noesen during the third period of a 4-3 victory Sunday.
Thompson skated on his own Wednesday. He leads Buffalo with 26 goals and 48 points in 47 games.
"Had a good day," Ruff said. "I mean, he's got to go through the protocol, the testing, all that stuff, but really felt good, so, encouraged. We've got three more days before we get to the Nashville game."
Dylan Cozens missed practice Wednesday because of "lower-body aggravation," and his status for Saturday is to be determined. The forward has 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 53 games.
"Really don't know where he'll be in the next couple of days," Ruff said. "It was bad enough to not practice."
Jordan Greenway remains on track to return from a middle-body injury when the schedule resumes following the 4 Nations break. The forward has not played since Dec. 15.
"I watch him practice and he's full-go," Ruff said. "… The plan is to get him these practices before the break, put the extra work in during the break, and be ready to go that first game coming out of the break."
Beck Malenstyn did not practice Wednesday. The forward left in the second period Tuesday because of back spasms and is uncertain for Saturday. -- Heather Engel
