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Dallas Stars
Miro Heiskanen will return for the Stars against the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; BSSD, BSSW, BSSC) after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.
The defenseman was injured in a collision with Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood during the third period of a 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 4. His knee was bent at a 90-degree angle when the incident occurred.
"It doesn't matter how it happens. It’s always frustrating to get injured,” Heiskanen said. "It was a long three weeks, but I'm really happy to be back."
The Stars went 5-3-1 in Heiskanen's absence. Dallas is third in the Central Division, three points behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets.
"I learned that when we’re playing at our best, we're a really good team," Heiskanen said. "Just have to keep that the whole time, try to stay on top in every game and every situation, but when we're playing our game, we're a really good team."
Heiskanen leads the Stars in ice time per game (25:03) and is tops among their defensemen with 27 points (four goals, 23 assists) in 37 games this season. He had an NHL career-high 73 points (11 goals, 62 assists) in 79 games last season.
"You missed him in a lot of different areas for sure," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "It's nice to have him back. He makes everybody better when he’s out there." -- Taylor Baird
New Jersey Devils
Ondrej Palat returned for the Devils at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSO) after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.
The forward had been out since he played 15:15 in a 5-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Dec. 30. He has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 35 games this season.
"It feels great, finally, to get out there and skate with the team," Palat said after practice Wednesday, when he skated on a line with Tyler Toffoli and Dawson Mercer. "I felt pretty good, so it's back to normal. … It was more like a lingering thing the last couple of games, but all good now."
The Devils, who were 5-4-1 without Palat, are still without center Jack Hughes (upper body), forward Tomas Nosek (upper body) and defensemen Dougie Hamilton (torn pectoral muscle), Jonas Siegenthaler (foot) and Brendan Smith (sprained knee).
"It's tough to see sometimes when we lose," Palat said. "The guys managed to win last game (6-5 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday), which was huge. We got the two points, and now we're trying to finish the last couple of games (before the bye week) on a good note."
New Jersey recalled forward Justin Dowling and defenseman Daniil Misyul from Utica of the American Hockey League on Thursday, one day after forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote each was granted an indefinite leave of absence.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Zach Werenski is expected to play for the Blue Jackets when they visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. SNW, BSOH).
The defenseman has missed the past 10 games with a high-ankle sprain sustained in the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Devils on Dec. 27.
"It's exciting," Werenski said. "Obviously I've been hurt a lot the last few years. I'm just excited to be playing some hockey again. [Stinks] being injured. [Stinks] being out. I'm kind of ahead of schedule. It's right at four weeks right now. Everything was smooth and I'm happy to be back."
Werenski led Columbus with 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) at the time of the injury, and remains tied for second with rookie forward Adam Fantilli (11 goals, 14 assists), four points behind Johnny Gaudreau (29; seven goals, 22 assists).
Werenski is expected to skate on a pair with Adam Boqvist.
"We saw it coming the way he was practicing," Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said of Werenski. "Really excited to have him back in. It gives us options. Breakouts, our transition game, our O-zone plays, the way he skates, the gap control... he's a veteran player and an elite defenseman in the NHL. On top of that, his presence on the team, he's a real smart man. He brings way more than just the on-ice aspect of the game."
Werenski missed two games earlier this season after sustaining a quad contusion in the Blue Jackets' season opening 4-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.
He also missed the final 69 games of last season with a shoulder injury.
"It [stinks] being out but that's just my luck right now," Werenski said. "You can get frustrated about it or I can just try to get healthy and move on from it and that's what I'm trying to do right now, not think about it too much and get back and help the team win. It's definitely [stunk] the last few years being out this much but it's just my luck, I guess, right now." -- Aaron Vickers
New York Islanders
Semyon Varlamov started for the Islanders when they visited the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSGSN).
The goalie has been out since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 2, his first game since he was injured in a 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 27.
Varlamov is 6-4-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 14 games (13 starts) this season.
Arizona Coyotes
Mathew Dumba is out week to week for the Coyotes with an upper-body injury, coach Andre Tourigny said Wednesday.
Dumba left a 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday early in the first period after going hard into the boards.
Tourigny said Dumba did not make the road trip, which began with a 6-2 loss at Florida on Wednesday. The Coyotes visited the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSUN) and the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday prior to their bye week and the All-Star break.
"He is not on the trip and then after, we're on the break so I can say it is week to week or whatever it is," Tourigny said. "He will not play before the break, for sure."
Arizona recalled defenseman Victor Soderstrom from Tucson of the AHL on Tuesday, but he did not play Wednesday or Thursday. -- George Richards
