NHL Buzz: Gustavsson returns for Wild against Blackhawks

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Minnesota Wild

Filip Gustavsson was the starting goalie for the Wild for their home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday in his return from a lower-body injury.

Gustavsson missed the previous four games. He was backed up by Marc-Andre Fleury against Chicago.

"'Gus' looks good," coach John Hynes said earlier Monday. "We'll see how he's feeling after skate. I'm going to talk to (goaltending coach) Freddy [Chabot] and see what we got going on."

Gustavsson is 14-5-3 with a 2.24 GAA, .922 save percentage and two shutouts in 22 games this season.

Forward Yakov Trenin returned to the lineup after missing the past five games with an upper-body injury.

Joel Eriksson Ek, who has not played since Dec. 3 because of a lower body injury, took part in morning skate and is nearing a return.

"(Eriksson Ek) skated for a while prior to practice, too. So that's a good sign," Hynes said. -- Jessi Pierce

Pittsburgh Penguins

Owen Pickering is out indefinitely with a concussion.

The 20-year-old rookie defenseman was placed on injured reserve Monday after taking a hit from New Jersey Devils forward Paul Cotter at 14:11 of the second period in a 3-0 loss Saturday.

The first-round pick (No. 21) in the 2022 NHL Draft, Pickering has two points (one goal, one assist) in 14 games this season. He has recently played on the top defense pair with Kris Letang.

P.O Joseph, acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 18, replaced Pickering next to Letang, beginning against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Joseph played his first four NHL seasons in Pittsburgh before signing a one-year contract with St. Louis on July 3.

"I thought [Joseph] played a solid game the other night in Jersey," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He brought everything that we anticipated, that he brought to us in prior years, his mobility, his ability to get back to pucks, help us on the breakouts. He has good poise with the puck. ... I think his greatest attributes are his mobility and he has a good stick."

The Penguins are also without defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who is week to week with a lower-body injury.

Pettersson skated on an individual basis Monday. Matt Grzelcyk has been on a pair with Erik Karlsson in his place. -- Wes Crosby

Buffalo Sabres

Rasmus Dahlin returned to the Buffalo lineup against the New York Islanders on Monday.

The defenseman was a late scratch prior to a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday with back spasms in an effort to manage his minutes after he returned from a seven-game absence in their 6-3 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.

"I'm ready," Dahlin said following the morning skate. "I'm not going to miss one more game this year, knock on wood."

Dahlin has 19 points (six goals,13 assists) in 26 games, and leads the Sabres in average ice time per game (24:49)

Forward Jack Quinn will also return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Saturday. -- Stefen Rosner

New York Rangers

Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch for the Rangers in a 5-0 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Monday.

Kreider did not participate in warmups for the Rangers, who are 4-13-0 in their past 17 games. He was replaced by Jonny Brodzinski.

Kreider, a 33-year-old forward, has 12 points (11 goals, one assist) in 30 games this season and one goal in his past nine games.

"It was just a lineup decision. We needed more," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. "Anytime you talk to a player about not being in the lineup, it's never an easy conversation but at the end of the day, we're not playing the brand that we're we need to play in order to be successful and he's a guy that we count on to help deliver that. And for me, it's those conversations aren't easy, but that's the decision that I made today."

The first-round pick (No. 19) of the Rangers in the 2009 NHL Draft, Kreider has 564 points (315 goals, 249 assists) in 845 games over 13 seasons and is the longest-tenured player on the team. -- Mike G. Morreale