Welcome to the NHL Buzz. NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin missed his second straight game for the Capitals against the New York Rangers on Sunday because of a lower-body injury.
The 38-year-old left wing was injured when he clipped legs with Jordan Staal in the third period of a 6-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 5. He was able to play through the injury in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 7 and a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 11 after being a game-time decision prior to each.
It's the first games Ovechkin has missed this season. He leads Washington with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 39 games, including points in each of his past six (two goals, five assists).
Forward Tom Wilson returned for a 3-2 win against the Rangers Saturday after missing the game against Seattle because of a broken nose. -- Tom Gulitti
New York Rangers
Kaapo Kakko played 16:04 for the New York Rangers in a 2-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, the forward's first game after missing 21 games with a lower-body injury.
"Having fun," Kakko said. "A lot of recovery. Working out by myself is never fun, but it's good to be back.
"After a long time, it's never easy. I've been working out a lot, and hard. I feel that no matter how much you do that, you still feel tired the first game. Not the best game, but not bad, so I'm happy."
The 22-year-old was injured during a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 27. He skated on the first line at right wing with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
"He's good to go," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said before the game. "It's not like we've got him penciled in for eight minutes and that's all he's going to get. Whatever the game brings his way, I think he's in a good spot to handle it.
"He's looked good in practice. He's healthy. He's cleared. He's been with us for a while, and so it's nice to have him back. In practice, he's looked like he's skating well. He's protecting pucks. It's his first game back after being off for a little bit, but I'm sure he's excited to get back in there and play."
Kakko has three points (two goals, one assist) in 21 games this season.
"You miss everything a little bit when it comes to Kaapo," Laviolette said. "He protects the puck really well in the offensive zone. He's big, he's strong, he's young, he's fast, capable defensively. You lose a player like that for a bit, you feel it, so it's good to get him back on the ice."
Vegas Golden Knights
Jack Eichel did not play for the Golden Knights in a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 2-1 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 11.
"He's going to miss a little bit of time," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said of the center. "But I don't know how much time. Obviously, not good news for us or Jack. But we'll see how it plays out."
Eichel left the Bruins game but returned and later scored. He leads the Golden Knights with 19 goals and 44 points in 42 games this season and was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game last week.
Byron Froese was recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League. Chandler Stephenson will be a game-time decision. The forward missed practice Sunday with an illness.
Brendan Brisson is set for his NHL debut against the Nashville Predators (6 p.m., SCRIPPS, BSSO) at T-Mobile Arena. The 22-year-old forward was recalled from Henderson, where he has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 37 games this season.
He was chosen by the Golden Knights in the first round (No. 29) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
"It was great news to hear," Brisson said. "I was super excited and grateful for the opportunity." -- Paul Delos Santos
Minnesota Wild
Filip Gustavsson and Kirill Kaprizov returned for Minnesota's 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
Gustavsson allowed five goals on 18 shots before he was replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury (14 saves). It was the first time he dressed since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-2 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 30.
Gustavsson is 10-10-2 with a 3.13 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in 23 games this season.
Kaprizov had five shots on goal in 20:34 of ice time in his first game back after missing seven with an upper-body injury. He leads the Wild with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 35 games this season.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin missed his 17th game with an upper-body injury after being a game-time decision. -- Jessi Pierce
