NHL Buzz: Svechnikov to return for Hurricanes against Canadiens

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Carolina Hurricanes

Andrei Svechnikov returned to the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

The forward had missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury. He last played in a 4-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

"It's going to be hard," Svechnikov said. "I missed two-and-a-half weeks. I'll just go out there and have a first couple shifts, play pretty hard, and we'll see."

Svechnikov has 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 63 games this season.

"It's a physical presence," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said Friday. "And if we can get him on the other stuff -- the scoring, being a factor on the offense -- that's a home run for us. With (William Carrier) being out, there's a heaviness to our group that we're missing there."

Carrier, a forward, has missed 32 games with a lower-body injury.

The Hurricanes (43-24-4) are second in the Metropolitan Division, seven points ahead of the New Jersey Devils with two games in hand. -- Kurt Dusterberg

Columbus Blue Jackets

Cole Sillinger returned from an upper-body injury when the Blue Jackets hosted the Vancouver Canucks on Friday

The forward was injured on Feb. 27 against the Detroit Red Wings and missed 11 games.

"Any time you're sitting up top and watching, when the boys are in there fighting in this battle of this close race, just the only thing that's really going through my mind is I'm just eager to get back," he said.

The Blue Jackets (32-29-9) are two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into Stanley Cup playoffs from the Eastern Conference, having played one more game.

Sillinger has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 54 games. He will enter the lineup in place of forward James van Riemsdyk.

With the return of forward Sean Monahan and defenseman Erik Gudbranson in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Monday, the Blue Jackets currently do not have anyone out with injury. -- Craig Merz

Edmonton Oilers

Stuart Skinner is out with a head injury and is not expected to play against the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY).

The goalie was injured at 6:34 of the third period in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Skinner was inadvertently hit in the head by Mikko Rantanen at the top of his crease when the Stars forward cut in front of the net to circle behind the goal line chasing the puck.

He did not travel for a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.

"I just touched base with him. He's doing much better today," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday. "Unfortunately, he won't be joining us tonight or the next few days, and we'll see down the road when he joins us."

Skinner left the game after allowing four goals on 21 shots and was replaced by Calvin Pickard, who stopped all three shots he faced.

Pickard started against the Kraken. Goalie Olivier Rodrigue was recalled from Bakersfield of the AHL on an emergency basis, and forward Derek Ryan was sent down.

Edmonton remains without forwards Leon Draisaitl (undisclosed) and Connor McDavid (lower body), the second- and fourth-leading scorers in the NHL. The game Thursday was the third without both.

The Oilers (41-26-5) are third in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Los Angeles Kings and seven behind the Vegas Golden Knights. -- Derek Van Diest

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek skated for the first time in several weeks on Thursday.

The forwards were on the ice prior to the morning skate ahead of the Wild's 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Xcel Energy Center.

Kaprizov has missed the past 23 games and Eriksson Ek 17. Coach John Hynes said they will join the team for a three-game road trip through the New York area next week.

"They started skating, they were on this morning," Hynes said. "Now I will tell you guys, it's only the first step in. It's still week to week. That's not anything different, but they are on that next protocol of getting on the ice, doing some skating, touching some pucks and things like that. But the status of their return, it's nothing imminent. It's still a week-to-week basis."

The Wild (41-27-5) have nine games remaining and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They're two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues with one game in hand and trail the Colorado Avalanche by six points for third in the Central Division.

"When I mean week to week, and I'll be up front with you guys if it looks like they're progressing to go, but this is truly the first step of getting back on," Hynes said. "It's nothing imminent. They will not play, but they will be on the trip."

Defenseman David Jiricek sustained a lacerated spleen playing for Iowa of the American Hockey League on March 22 and will be out for the season.

He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of next season.

Jiricek, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, was acquired by the Wild in a trade on Nov. 30, 2024. He has a goal and an assist in six NHL games with Minnesota this season, and 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 59 regular-season games with the Wild and Blue Jackets. -- Jessi Pierce

St. Louis Blues

Jimmy Snuggerud signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blues on Friday and is expected to join the team on Monday.

The 20-year-old forward led the University of Minnesota with 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in 40 games, tying for sixth in goals and fifth in points in the NCAA. The junior, who was captain of Minnesota, was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and named a top 10 Hobey Baker finalist.

The Blues (39-28-7) have won eight straight games and hold the second wild card in the Western Conference, five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and two points behind the Minnesota Wild.

Chicago Blackhawks

Kevin Korchinski was recalled from Rockford of the AHL on Thursday, and the defenseman will play against the Vegas Golden Knights at United Center on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, SCRIPPS, SN360).

The 20-year-old has 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 54 AHL games this season.

"I think his game's evolved a lot defensively in terms of he's quieter, holds his position better, knows when to go, knows when to hold," Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said Thursday. "And I think offensively too, I think his awareness of when there's a play to be made here or when I have to just live to fight another day and put a puck in an area.

"Playing a lot of minutes down there has helped in those situations, because you have to manage your minutes, so to speak, so that's been a real positive development area for him."

Sorensen said Alec Martinez (upper body) is improving but won't play Friday. The defenseman was injured when he was driven into the boards by Jake Neighbours in the first period of a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on March 22. -- Tracey Myers

New York Rangers

Matt Rempe is week to week with an upper-body injury.

The forward fought Tanner Jeannot of the Los Angeles Kings at 15:33 of the second period in a 3-1 loss at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, returning to play 31 seconds of the third. He missed a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on March 20 because of an illness.

The Rangers play the second of a three-game West Coast trip against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Friday (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, MSG 2, SNP, SNW, SNE, TVAS). They've lost four of five and trail the Montreal Canadiens by one point for the second wild card into the playoffs from the East with the Canadiens holding two games in hand.

With Rempe out, forward Brett Berard, a healthy scratch against the Kings, is expected to return to the lineup.