Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Los Angeles Kings
Pheonix Copley was placed on long-term injured reserve Sunday.
The 31-year-old goalie sustained an undisclosed injury on Friday and did not travel with the Kings for a 3-2 win at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. He is 4-1-2 with a 3.16 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in eight games this season.
Last season, Copley was a surprising catalyst to help the Kings qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, going 24-6-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .903 save percentage in 37 games.
David Rittich was recalled from Ontario of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Friday and backed up Cam Talbot against the Kraken.
Rittich played for the Winnipeg Jets last season and was 9-8-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .901 save percentage in 21 games (18 starts). He signed a one-year contract, $875,000 contract with the Kings on July 1 and cleared waivers Oct. 11 before being assigned to Ontario.
The Kings visit the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, TVAS). -- Dan Greenspan
Calgary Flames
Jacob Markstrom was activated from injured reserve on Sunday.
The goalie sustained a fractured finger in practice Dec. 4 and missed seven games. Calgary was 2-3-2 in Markstrom's absence.
“It’s good to be back practicing with the team, it’s never fun to watch the games on TV,” Markstrom said after practice Sunday. “I think it’s pretty (well) documented, I got a puck on the finger and broke the finger. Now it’s trying to get back to feeling good enough to be able to play. I think we’re there now and it’s nice to be back on the ice with the team.”
Markstrom, who is 6-8-2 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 16 starts this season, said that he doesn't expect to be 100 percent any time soon.
“It might take a few more weeks for it to heal," he said. "You just try to play around with everything from blockers to sticks and all that stuff to make it feel as good as possible to be able to make you not think about it during the game.”
To make room for Markstrom on the roster, goalie Dustin Wolf and defenseman Ilya Solovyov were assigned to the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League.
The Flames host the Florida Panthers on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN1, BSFL). -- Derek Van Diest
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov participated in the Hurricanes' morning skate Sunday after missing five games with an upper-body injury.
The forward was cross-checked in the lower back by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley in a 2-1 loss on Dec. 4, but he finished the game and played in a 6-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 6 before missing the next five games.
He did not play in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
“It's positive that he's out there with us,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That's another big piece that's been missing here, really, all year. He's been playing a while, but never 100 percent, so we need to get him in there, for sure.”
Svechnikov, who has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 16 games, missed the first eight games of the season while recovering from ACL surgery he had on March 16.
