NHL Buzz: Kotkaniemi back in lineup for Hurricanes against Devils

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

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Carolina Hurricanes

Jesperi Kotkaniemi will return to the Hurricanes lineup against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, MSG+, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The forward missed five games with a lower-body injury. He previously missed eight games with the same injury before returning to play two.
"I think it was fine at the time I got back, but it wasn't too bad," Kotkaniemi said. "It's feeling good and ready to go."
Goalie Antti Raanta will start for the Hurricanes after missing one game with a lower-body injury. He left a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders on Sunday after making a save at 12:57 of the second period.
"It was just a little tweak," Raanta said. "It felt a couple times like it didn't feel that great. Got a little time to take a look at it and it feels good being on the ice again, working and competing, so that's the main thing right now.
"It was nice to go out there, and I didn't have to think about anything," he said. "I just tried to go and play normally, so everything feels good."
Goalie Frederik Andersen has missed five games with a lower-body injury sustained during the third period of a 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on April 16 while extending his left leg to make a save. He has not returned to the ice since.
"He's certainly working hard," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I saw him in [the training room] again today. He's looking good. He's doing everything our medical staff is asking him to do, and he's coming along nice."
Pyotr Kochetkov is 3-0-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .902 save percentage in three games (two starts). -- Kurt Dusterberg

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Nashville Predators

The Predators are hopeful Juuse Saros could be ready for Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round.
The goalie will not play the final two regular-season games because of a lower-body injury. Coach John Hynes had no update after the morning skate Thursday, when the Predators will play the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver (9 p.m. ET; ALT, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"I didn't want to get into the confidence level," Hynes said. "As I said, I think it's important right now that he's still being evaluated and he's still going day to day to see how he feels. And for us, we'll take it one day at a time. Lots of times with injuries, especially with these guys because they're so healthy and all kinds of treatments that they get, sometimes you get different type of treatments per day and they come back and they feel better than anticipated. Sometimes they don't feel as well as they thought based on some of the treatments. So we'll just get through these two games and then we'll evaluate where he's going to be."
Goalie David Rittich will start for the Predators against the Avalanche. Connor Ingram will start at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.
Ingram was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. The 25-year-old made his NHL debut Oct. 24.
"I think it's important for David to get in and play again, and it's also going to be important for Connor Ingram to be able to come in and getting some game action versus some NHL shooters, NHL game speed, those type of things will be important for him too," Hynes said.
Saros left a 5-4 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at 13:28 of the third period. His 67 starts lead the NHL, and his 38 wins are tied for second with Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the second-most by a Predators goalie in one season (Pekka Rinne, 43 in 2011-12; 42 in 2017-18; 41 in 2014-15).
Nashville (44-29-7) will be one of the two Western Conference wild cards. It clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth for the eighth consecutive season when the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday.

New York Rangers

Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp did not play for the New York Rangers in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Panarin (upper body) and Copp (lower body) left a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in the second period. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said the forwards didn't return for precautionary reasons, which is why they sat out Wednesday. He did not say if they will play the regular-season finale against the Washington Capitals on Friday.
"Nothing major, obviously," Gallant said before the game. "I'll know more today, but there's nothing to worry about. Not going to play tonight either one of them, but there's no concern if they'll play next week."
New York will finish second in the Metropolitan Division and open the Stanley Cup Playoffs against either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Capitals.
Copp also missed a 3-1 loss at the Boston Bruins on April 23 with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 6-3 win at the New York Islanders two days earlier.
"We're going to rest some players a little bit here," Gallant said. "It's a good opportunity to do that, so we'll see where they go and how they'll get along.
"They might play Friday. We'll decide on that. If they don't play Friday, it's not because they're going to be injured. There's no issues. We're making sure on the cautious side."
Kaapo Kakko played 14:48 against Montreal after missing four games with a lower-body injury. The forward played the previous four, scoring two goals in a 4-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 13, after returning from an upper-body injury that kept him out for 31 games from Jan. 22-April 7.
"It's good that I still have a couple games before the playoffs," Kakko said. "I'm feeling good. I want to go full power. I think I'm good right now and ready to play." -- Dan Rosen

Minnesota Wild

Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba and Mats Zuccarello are possible to return for the Wild against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
Spurgeon and Dumba, who are defensemen, and Zuccarello, a forward, will not play against the Calgary Flames on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSN, BSWIX, SNW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"We're hoping that one, two, or three of them will play in tomorrow's game, but we'll have to wait and see," Wild coach Dean Evason said.
Spurgeon, who is third on the Wild with an average ice time of 21:08 per game, will miss his second game with an upper-body injury sustained in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Zuccarello (lower body) will miss his third game and Dumba (upper body) will miss his 12th.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin said he anticipates the team to be fully healthy for Game 1 of the first round in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin Monday. Minnesota will play the St. Louis Blues in the best-of-7 series.
"I'm hoping," Guerin said. "But I do think there's a good chance we're 100 percent."