Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Vegas Golden Knights
Logan Thompson will start for the Golden Knights against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSD, BSSC).
The goalie missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury. He was removed in the third period of a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 19 after giving up his sixth goal.
"He is ready. He was unavailable," coach Bruce Cassidy said of Thompson on Wednesday. "He wasn't cleared to play medically, and he is now. So he'll get the net back and is ready to roll."
Jiri Patera, who started the past two games, will back up Thompson against the Ducks. Patera made 38 saves in a 4-2 loss at the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Thompson is 10-5-3 with a 2.71 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 19 games (17 starts) this season.
Adin Hill could also return and start against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. The goalie has made just one appearance this month, leaving early in the first period of a 6-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 17 because of a lower-body injury.
Hill is 10-2-2 with a 1.93 GAA and .933 save percentage in 15 games this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Mark Giordano was a full participant at the Maple Leafs' morning skate but did not play in their game against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The defenseman, who hasn't played since he broke his thumb in a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 28, skated on an extra pair with Conor Timmins. It was the first time Giordano had taken part in a full team workout since the injury.
“He’s not going to play tonight but he’s real close,” coach Sheldon Keefe said before the game. “We’ll get him into a full practice day tomorrow, a full practice with the group, and make a decision from there, but he’s definitely close.”
Toronto will visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Giordano has five points (one goal, four assists) and a minus-1 rating in 20 games this season. -- Dave McCarthy
Detroit Red Wings
Christian Fischer was placed on injured reserve by the Red Wings on Tuesday.
The move is retroactive to Saturday, when the forward sustained an upper-body injury in a collision with teammate Jeff Petry just inside Detroit's blue line during a 3-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils. Both players left the game.
Petry (upper body), and defenseman Olli Maatta(upper body) will also not play at Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
"Obviously, a positive that the medical staff decided not to put either of them on the IR," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said of Petry and Maatta on Wednesday. "So hopefully they'll avoid more of the long-term."
Detroit recalled forwards Jonatan Berggren and Austin Czarnik, and defenseman Simon Edvinsson from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Tuesday.
Fischer has eight points (two goals, six assists) and a plus-1 rating in 33 games this season, his first with the Red Wings. He signed a one-year, $1.125 million contract with them on July 2 after playing his first seven NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes.
Petry has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 27 games this season. He was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on August 15.
Goalie Alex Lyon (upper body) took part in the morning skate and is listed as day to day, Lalonde said. Lyon, who was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 23 (retroactive to Dec. 16), is 4-3-0 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .932 save percentage this season.
"There's some things out of our control, and that's been the case unfortunately for 2-3 weeks here," Lalonde said. "But the things in our control we need to handle, and that's playing the right way." -- Jessi Pierce
Minnesota Wild
Ryan Hartman returned for the Wild against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday after missing two games with an upper-body injury.
The forward has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 27 games this season.
"It's something I tried playing through for a couple games, and just at the end I had to take a few to let it heal," Hartman said.
Defenseman Jared Spurgeon took part in the morning skate but missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury. Spurgeon has missed 21 games due to injury this season.
Coach John Hynes said Spurgeon's status remains day-to-day, though he is a possibility to return when Minnesota visits the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
"He's feeling better and better," Hynes said. "Obviously, you saw him, he did the full morning skate again. See how he responds to that with a little bit extra work and then things are looking good, though. He's kind of on that next step back."
Forward Mats Zuccarello (upper body) has begun skating but remains week to week. -- Jessi Pierce
Carolina Hurricanes
Antti Raanta, who was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, is the backup for the Hurricanes against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old was 6-5-1 with a 3.61 goals-against average, .854 save percentage and one shutout in 14 games (12 starts) with the Hurricanes before he was assigned to the AHL on Dec. 17 after clearing waivers. He was 1-0-1 with a 2.90 GAA and .875 save percentage in two games with Chicago.
Raanta allowed six goals on 30 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Predators on Dec. 15, his last start for the Hurricanes.
"We know what he's capable of, and hopefully him more maybe just getting that break will hopefully reenergize him," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Wednesday.
In a corresponding move, goalie Yaniv Perets was sent to Norfolk of the ECHL. Perets was called up when Raanta was sent down but did not play a game for Carolina.
Raanta is 133-78-28 with a 2.49 GAA, .915 save percentage and 20 shutouts in 267 games over 11 NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes and Hurricanes. He is also 9-9 with a 2.48 GAA, .911 save percentage and one shutout in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Pyotr Kochetkov, who has started the majority of Carolina's games of late with Frederik Andersen out since Nov. 2 because of blood clotting issues, will start again Wednesday. He is 7-7-0 with a 2.69 GAA, .894 save percentage and one shutout in 18 games (16 starts).
Carolina (17-13-2) is 17th in the NHL in goals against per game (3.18) and last in team save percentage (.876). Last season, they ranked second in goals against per game (2.56) and tied for 12th in team save percentage (.902).
"It's the most important position, clearly," Brind'Amour said. "I mean, we've seen when the goalies are good what it does for us and when it's kind of iffy what it does for us. ... We need to get that (consistency) going here in the second half of the year."
Los Angeles Kings
Vladislav Gavrikov will return for the Kings against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; BSW, NBCSCA) after missing five games because of a lower-body injury.
The defenseman sustained the injury during a 3-2 overtime loss at the New York Islanders on Dec. 9 and played 6:36 in a 4-1 loss at the New York Rangers the following night. Gavrikov was a full participant in practice on Friday and Saturday, but coach Todd McLellan elected to hold Gavrikov out of a 5-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday so he could continue to recover over the holiday break.
Gavrikov has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 25 games this season and is averaging 19:54 of ice time. -- Dan Greenspan
Columbus Blue Jackets
Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an abdominal injury and did not play for the Blue Jackets against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
The forward was injured on a check between Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and defenseman Jake McCabe behind Toronto's net in a 4-1 loss on Saturday.
Although he skated hunched over to the bench, Kuraly collapsed as he was headed down the tunnel. His teammates and coaches frantically began waving for medical personnel from across the ice, even throwing a towel to get the attention of the officials to stop play.
"It was a scary moment. You don't know what happened," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said after the game. "What happened was the hit, and then he came back to the bench, and then what happened in the in the hallway? I don't know. I just saw the trainers and the medical staff, and it was urgent. It's not fun."
Kuraly has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 35 games this season and leads the Blue Jackets in hits (74).
