NHL Buzz: Wedgewood week to week for Avalanche with injury

Colorado Avalanche

Scott Wedgewood is out with a lower-body injury after the goalie left a 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Following Colorado's 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, coach Jared Bednar said Wedgewood does not have a high-ankle sprain, but is still considered week to week and will be reevaluated on Monday.

Wedgewood left at 1:27 of the second period after Sabres forward Zach Benson was knocked into him and fell on his right leg. Benson ultimately got up and scored a goal while Wedgewood was down on the ice.

Wedgewood is 4-2-0 in seven games with Colorado after being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30. The 32-year-old has a 2.35 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in that span.

Trent Miner was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League and is expected to make his first NHL start next week when the Avalanche have back-to-back games on the road at the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild on Wednesday and Thursday.

"When we need somebody else, or we feel like [starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood] needs a break, whether that's the back-to-back or a game or two mixed in there, we'll go to Trent Miner," Bednar said.

Miner made his NHL debut in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 15 in relief of Justus Annunen. He made 12 saves in 34:58 of ice time. -- Ryan Boulding

Vancouver Canucks

Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are each "getting closer" to returning from an upper-body injury and will join the Canucks on a five-game road trip that starts at Montreal on Monday.

Neither Hughes, the Canucks top defenseman, nor Pettersson, their No. 1 center, played in a 3-0 loss to Predators on Friday, but both continue to skate on their own.

"They're getting close," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. "'Petey' has been skating and Quinn quite a bit, so we'll see how that goes. They'll be with us (on the road trip) for sure."

Hughes, who leads the Canucks and is third among NHL defensemen with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 34 games, was labeled questionable going into the Dec. 23 game against the San Jose Sharks. He played and had two assists in a 4-3 win but has missed three straight games since and was considered week to week.

Pettersson, who is tied with Jake DeBrusk for third on the Canucks with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games, scored twice in the second period Dec. 23 but only played one shift in the third and hasn't played in a game or practice since. Tocchet said Sunday he is day to day.

Vancouver also was without No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko against Nashville on Friday after he sustained back spasms during a 4-3 shootout win at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, leaving in the second period after getting spun around in a collision with Canucks defenseman Noah Juulsen and falling hard on his backside in the first.

Goalie Arturs Silovs was recalled from Abbotsford of the AHL to back up Kevin Lankinen on Friday.

"I haven't checked in with [Demko] this morning, but you know back spasms, they can go away in 24 hours or 48 hours," Tocchet said. "I don't know. I've had them before, so we'll see how we go with that." -- Kevin Woodley

Los Angeles Kings

Trevor Moore and Trevor Lewis were activated off injured reserve Saturday by the Kings and played in the 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay LIghtning.

Moore had 15:35 of ice time with one shot on goal and Lewis played 10:47 with two shots.

Moore missed eight games because of an upper-body injury. He has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 29 games.

Lewis missed 12 games with a lower-body injury. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 26 games this season. His appearance against the Lightning was the 1,000th game of the two-time Stanley Cup winner’s NHL career.

Forward Andre Lee was loaned to Ontario of the American Hockey League, and defenseman Kyle Burroughs was designated non-roster playing status in corresponding moves. -- Dan Greenspan

Carolina Hurricanes

Tyson Jost is expected to be out for an extended period because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 4-3 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, according to coach Rod Brind'Amour. The forward has two goals in 16 games this season.

“He’s getting another opinion here, I think, in the next day or two,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s more than a week-to-week thing. That’s unfortunate.” -- Kurt Dusterberg

San Jose Sharks

Jake Walman missed his sixth straight game with a lower-body injury when the Sharks beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday and was placed on injured reserve. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said the defenseman skated on his own for the third straight day but didn't provide a timeline for his return.

Nico Sturm did not play because of a lower-body injury. The center did not participate in practice Friday. -- Max Miller

Pittsburgh Penguins

Kris Letang was a full practice participant Saturday and could return from a lower-body injury against the Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, SN-PIT).

The Penguins defenseman has missed the past three games. Coach Mike Sullivan said he will see how Letang recovers before making a decision Sunday.

"I felt pretty good today,” Letang said. “It was my first time out there with people, so I was able to stress it a little bit more. So, felt pretty good. ... I've had that injury many times, so kind of knew what to expect."

Letang took line rushes on the top defense pair with Owen Pickering, who played in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Florida Panthers on Friday after being sidelined four games with a concussion. In his 19th NHL season, Letang leads Pittsburgh’s defensemen with seven goals in 34 games and is third with 16 points, behind Erik Karlsson (26) and Matt Grzelcyk (20).

Sullivan said forward Philip Tomasino continues to be evaluated for a lower-body injury sustained in the third period Friday. Tomasino has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 16 games since being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 25. -- Wes Crosby

Utah Hockey Club

Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) was placed on injured reserve and is week to week for Utah.

The 35-year-old defenseman was injured in the third period of a 5-3 win at the Calgary Flames on Thursday. He had one shot on goal in 8:25 of ice time.

Bortuzzo has two assists in 16 games and is averaging 10:53 of ice time.

New York Islanders

Isaiah George did not practice Saturday after he sustained an upper-body injury in the second period of a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

The 20-year-old rookie defenseman was hit by Maple Leafs forward Max Domi and left the ice at 10:39 of the second period. George entered concussion protocol and did not return.

“He’s upper body and day to day,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. Selected by New York in the fourth round (No. 98) of the 2022 NHL Draft, George has five points (one goal, four assists) through his first 25 games.

Dennis Cholowski skated alongside Scott Mayfield in George’s absence.

Forward Simon Holmstrom, who sustained an upper-body injury in a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 29, did not skate and remains day to day.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov, who is on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 3, continues to skate on his own. -- Stefen Rosner

Boston Bruins

Mark Kastelic signed a three-year, $4.7 million contract with the Bruins on Friday. It has an average annual value of $1.567 million and begins next season.

The 25-year-old forward, who could have become a restricted free agent after the season, has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 40 games with the Bruins this season, averaging 11:27 of ice time.

Kastelic was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on June 24 with goalie Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for goalie Linus Ullmark.

Philadelphia Flyers

Samuel Ersson is day to day for the Flyers with a lower-body injury.

The goalie made 15 saves in a 4-0 win against the Sharks on Tuesday before leaving after the second period. He was replaced by Aleksei Kolosov, who made seven saves.

Ersson is 9-6-2 with a 3.02 GAA, .884 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games (18 starts) this season. He missed 11 games earlier this season because of a lower-body injury.

Kolosov is 4-8-1 with a 3.45 GAA and .870 save percentage in 15 games (11 starts) this season, including allowing four goals on 26 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. He split time with Ivan Fedotov (4-4-1, 3.48 GAA, .877 save percentage in 10 games) during Ersson's recent absence.

Philadelphia next plays at Toronto on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, NBCSP).

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov was placed on injured reserve by the Wild on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old forward has missed Minnesota's past four games with a lower-body injury since he last played in a 4-3 win against the Blackhawks on Dec. 23. The Wild are 2-0-0 in those games, including a 5-3 win against the Predators on Tuesday.

Kaprizov is tied for second in the NHL with 23 goals and is eighth with 50 points, leading the Wild in both categories.

"Still just kind of day to day. We're just trying to work through what he has," general manager Bill Guerin said prior to a 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. "The thing is we don't want him to come back and push through it. He could, but it could make something worse. Look, we need him for the long haul. We don't just need him for a couple games in January. We need him to get healthy and feel better. So, we're trying to do he right thing and look at it from the long point of view."

Minnesota recalled forward Brendan Gaunce and defenseman Carson Lambos from Iowa of the AHL.

Gaunce, 30, has averaged 9:59 of ice time in four NHL games this season. He has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 22 games with Iowa.

Lambos was Minnesota's first-round pick (No. 26) at the 2021 NHL Draft. The 21-year-old has five points (two goals, three assists) for Iowa. He has yet to play an NHL game.