Detroit Red Wings
Simon Edvinsson will not play in the Red Wings' back-to-back, home-and-home set with the Montreal Canadiens, which begins at Little Caesars Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, TSN2, RDS) because of an upper-body injury.
Edvinsson, who is averaging 20:44 of ice time in 30 games while playing with Moritz Seider on Detroit’s top defense pair, sustained the injury during the first period of a 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
"It isn't a long-term injury, but we won't have him this weekend," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. "Monday [against the St. Louis Blues] would be a tall ask."
Seider was paired with Ben Chiarot at Detroit's morning skate Friday. -- Dave Hogg
Minnesota Wild
Goalie Filip Gustavsson and forward Joel Eriksson Ek were on the ice but neither will play when the Wild host the Utah Hockey Club on Friday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNNO, Utah16, FDSNWIX).
Gustavsson has missed two games because of a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek has missed seven games because of a lower-body injury and is considered week to week.
“[Gustavsson is still] day to day,” coach John Hynes said. “He skated the last couple days. He’s going to skate again today. He will not play tomorrow [at the Winnipeg Jets]. He’ll skate tomorrow and then we'll see where he goes from there.
“[Eriksson Ek is] taking that next step. He's been skating. First team skates now, so we'll see how he responds, but it looks like both guys are obviously progressing in a positive way.”
Defenseman Brock Faber appeared fine after a puck hit him in the neck during a 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.
“Thankfully caught me on the side of the neck more than right on the Adam’s apple there,” Faber said. “But yeah, right away it was just trying to calm down pretty quick and went back and saw all the doctors and trainers and they thought it was best to head over to the hospital just to make sure the swelling doesn’t swell to the point where it’s all the way where I couldn’t breathe. Yeah, that’s really it.” -- Jessi Pierce
Chicago Blackhawks
Seth Jones practiced for the first time since injuring his right foot Nov. 14, and the defenseman could play for the Blackhawks against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; SN1, CHSN).
"I thought he looked good today," Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said Friday. "Should be good to go but we'll see tomorrow."
Jones was injured blocking a shot during a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken last month.
"Sometimes when you know, you know," Jones said of his injury. "I walked in [the locker room], it just had that kind of pain to it where it wasn't going away. I ended up playing the whole third because of adrenaline, you're not thinking about it, but after the game it was pretty bad."
Sorensen was named Blackhawks interim coach Dec. 5 after Luke Richardson was fired, and Jones said he has been learning Sorensen's system.
"I made sure to be in a lot of meetings right when the change happened to really make sure I wasn't missing anything and I didn't have any questions coming back or was messing something up," Jones said. -- Tracey Myers
New York Islanders
Anthony Duclair is expected to be a game-time decision when the Islanders play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, SNO, SNP, MSGSN2).
The forward has missed 28 games because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 5-4 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 19. He has been practicing, and took line rushes at the morning skate before the Islanders lost 4-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
"I think he will be a game-time decision [Saturday]," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said Thursday. "We'll see how he feels, but I honestly feel he's very, very close. There's a big chance he plays in that game."
Duclair has three points (two goals, one assist) in five games this season.
Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was placed on long-term injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 3, because of a lower-body injury. Varlamov last played Nov. 29, making 21 saves in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals.
Mike Reilly skated before practice Thursday. The defenseman last played against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 1. He sustained a concussion during that game, and then needed a heart procedure. There is no timetable for him to return. -- Stefen Rosner
Tampa Bay Lightning
J.J. Moser is expected be out 8-10 weeks because of a lower-body injury.
The defenseman was injured during an 8-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Dec. 12. Moser was chasing a loose puck and fell, forcing Flames forward Nazem Kadri to jump over him. Kadri scored on the sequence.
Coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday that Moser's status was "week to week."
The 24-year-old has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and is averaging 19:54 of ice time in 27 games. He has been paired with Lightning captain Victor Hedman for most of the season. -- Corey Long
San Jose Sharks
Vitek Vanecek is expected to miss several weeks because of an upper-body injury the goalie sustained when he was hit in the head with a puck while sitting on the bench during the second period of the Sharks' 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
"Terrible luck. Feel for the kid," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Wednesday. "We got a stick on a puck, and it goes flying into a bench and he takes one up high. It's unfortunate.
"He's going to be out here a little bit ... [a] couple weeks for sure."
Vanecek is 3-8-1 with a 3.84 goals-against average and .885 save percentage in 14 games (13 starts) this season. He missed six games earlier this season because of a different upper-body injury sustained Nov. 16.
Goalie Yaroslav Askarov was recalled from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
"It's an opportunity," Warsofsky said. "Unfortunate circumstances with Vitek going down, but it's an opportunity for him to play some games, probably consistently."
The 22-year-old is 1-0-1 with a .927 save percentage in two NHL games this season. -- Max Miller
