NHL Buzz: Shesterkin back, Kaliyev to debut for Rangers

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

New York Rangers

Igor Shesterkin returned for the Rangers against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury.

Shesterkin hadn't played since Dec. 30, when he allowed four goals on 25 shots in a 5-3 loss at the Florida Panthers. He is 11-15-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 27 games this season.

Louis Domingue was returned to Hartford of the American Hockey League to make room to activate Shesterkin.

Arthur Kaliyev made his Rangers and season debut against the Devils. New York claimed Kaliyev off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. The forward was a healthy scratch in New York's 5-4 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

Kaliyev has 71 points (35 goals, 36 assists) in 188 NHL games, all with the Kings.

Kaliyev took Filip Chytil's spot in the lineup. Chytil, who sustained an upper-body injury on Tuesday, participated in the Rangers' optional morning skate Thursday, which coach Peter Laviolette said was progress, but he did not play.

Forward Matt Rempe also played after serving his eight-game suspension for boarding/elbowing Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20. Rempe replaced Jimmy Vesey, who was a healthy scratch. -- Dan Rosen

Pittsburgh Penguins

Evgeni Malkin did not play for the Penguins against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

The 38-year-old center was a late scratch with an upper-body injury for a 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. It was the first game Malkin had missed since being suspended four games for cross-checking from April 12-21, 2022.

After the loss on Tuesday, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said he was unsure when the injury occurred.

Malkin was a full practice participant on Wednesday but did not take part in line rushes or work on the power play. Cody Glass remained at center on the second line, Malkin's usual spot.

Malkin is third on the Penguins with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 41 games this season.

Forward Philip Tomasino, who is week to week with a lower-body injury, skated on an individual basis Thursday but missed his third straight game. -- Wes Crosby

Columbus Blue Jackets

Sean Monahan was placed on injured reserve on Thursday because of an upper-body injury.

The forward was injured in the third period of a 4-3 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. He is third on the Blue Jackets with 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games this season.

"Guys have watched how he conducts himself, and hopefully they try to do the exact same thing," Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. "Our bench is calm in large part because of him up front and [defenseman Zach Werenski] on the back end. They're both very calming influence players, but we have other guys that do that as well. But if the guys that are playing in tonight's hockey game have learned anything from 'Monny', it's that he's even-keeled. He doesn't get too high, too low, all those cliches. He just goes about his business. We expect our team to do that here tonight."

Adam Fantilli moved up to center the top line in Monahan's absence against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

"You don't want to see a guy like Monny go out," he said. "He's such a huge part of our team and we're hoping to get him back soon, but I've been watching him a ton, and he's been doing a lot of great things for us. I'm trying to emulate all the things he does and be that same kind of guy for our team."

Forward Owen Sillinger, who was recalled on an emergency basis from Cleveland of the American Hockey League, made his NHL debut in place of his younger brother, Cole Sillinger, who is out with an illness.

"The ironic thing is if 'Silly' can’t go, Silly is going to go," Evason said. -- Craig Merz

Philadelphia Flyers

Samuel Ersson returned for the Flyers against the Dallas Stars on Thursday after missing three games because of a lower-body injury.

Ersson left after making 15 saves through two periods in a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 31.

"It's nice to see him back," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "Since last year, he's been a big part of our success. But at the same time, it doesn't matter who's in net, we try to play the same style no matter who's in there. But definitely is nice to see. Big piece of our team back."

Ersson is 9-6-2 with a 3.02 goals-against average, .884 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games (18 starts).

It was the third time Ersson had missed games because of a lower-body injury this season. He left a game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 2 and missed two games. He then returned to play two games but then missed another 11, returning on Dec. 8 against the Utah Hockey Club.

"He's healthy," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. "He would not be here if we didn't get the OK from the trainers, from the medical people. He is healthy. ... It's a legit question. This is a guy that had no injuries for a couple years, and now he's gone bang-bang-bang. And certainly it puts you into a pause as far as what's going on. But we're not going to overthink it. Sometimes it's circumstance, it's tough luck. Whatever it may be, it's something we have to monitor as we build our goaltending back out again here." -- Adam Kimelman

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov has started skating on his own but the forward will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury when the Wild host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNNOX, ALT, FDSNWI).

"He skated yesterday and today, and we'll see how he responds and what not," Wild coach John Hynes said. "If he's a potential game player he'll probably go on the trip [at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and at the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday]. If he's not a potential game player, then it'd be probably more beneficial to have him back here because we're playing a back to back, but I don't know yet what direction it will go."

Defenseman Brock Faber (upper body) and Jonas Brodin (lower body) will also not play against the Avalanche. Faber left following an elbow to the head during the first period, and Brodin blocked a shot in the third period but finished the game, a 6-4 win against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

No timeline was given on Faber, and Hynes said Brodin is day to day.

David Jiricek will make his Wild debut. Minnesota acquired the defenseman from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 30. He has two assists in 11 games with Iowa of the American Hockey League. The No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by Columbus, he has one assist in six NHL games this season.

Marc-Andre Fleury is a game-time decision to back up Filip Gustavsson due to illness. Top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and missed the past five games, and the second top prospect, Samuel Hlavaj, could only be recalled under emergency circumstances because of NHL salary cap restraints. The third goalie in line would be Dylan Ferguson, who Minnesota signed to a one-year, two-way contract Tuesday, but he was injured in an AHL game Wednesday.

"Flower could be ready to back-up, but when I say questionable, that's why he's not here (at morning skate)," Hynes said. -- Jessi Pierce

Carolina Hurricanes

Frederik Andersen practiced with the Hurricanes on Wednesday for the first time since he had knee surgery Nov. 22.

The 35-year-old goalie has not played since Oct. 26, when he made 18 saves in a 4-1 win against the Seattle Kraken. He was expected to miss 8-12 weeks.

"It's nice to see him practicing," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We don't know how long that's going to go or how long it's going to take, but that was a good Day 1 for him."

Andersen is 3-1-0 with a 1.48 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in four games this season. He did not set a target date for returning to the lineup.

"It's tough to say," he said. "At this time of year, you try to get as many practices in as possible. Post-Christmas is usually a tough game schedule. Obviously, guys will be off a little bit more. Right now, I just focus on being on the ice as much as possible. Getting the live-action shots and as much unpredictability as possible is the next step. Today was a good first step."

In Andersen's absence, Carolina has relied on Pyotr Kochetkov. In 26 games, he is 15-9-1 with a 2.50 GAA, .902 save percentage and one shutout. Dustin Tokarski, who signed Dec. 2, is 3-1-0 with a 2.49 GAA and an .894 save percentage in four games. Spencer Martin made nine appearances before being returned to Chicago of the AHL on Dec. 2.

Anderson missed 50 games last season with a blood-clotting issue before returning to the lineup in March.

"The last couple years haven't been easy for me in terms of adversity," Andersen said. "I just try to take it in stride with the right mind set and trust that I'm doing everything I can to be back quick and help."

Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who has missed the past six games with an upper-body injury, skated before practice Wednesday. Brind'Amour did not have a timeline for his return.

Gostisbehere has 27 points (six goals, 21 assists) in 35 games this season. -- Kurt Dusterberg

Buffalo Sabres

Jiri Kulich is week to week with a lower-body injury, the Sabres announced Wednesday.

The center was injured Monday in a 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals, playing 5:18 before exiting midway through the second period.

"It's a loss for us because of how well he had played in the middle and the speed he was generating," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "He was getting a lot of confidence with the puck and making more plays and finishing some really good opportunities."

Kulich has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in 31 games, with eight of those points coming in 23 games since being recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Nov. 16.

He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, resulting in Tyson Kozak being recalled from Rochester. The 22-year-old forward has one goal in three NHL games and 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 24 games with Rochester.

"He used his speed going through the middle and defended well (during his previous recall)," Ruff said. "He's played very well down there. The report is if you're looking for a guy that can play in the middle, he's the guy we should bring up." -- Heather Engel

Dallas Stars

Mason Marchment is expected to be out 3-4 weeks after the forward had surgery to repair facial injuries he sustained when he was hit in the face by a deflected shot in a game against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 27.

Marchment was in front of the net when Stars teammate Logan Stankoven tipped a shot by Evgenii Dadonov that hit Marchment under his visor. He's missed the past six games.

"No further details other than he's had the surgery and they were thinking it would be 3-4 weeks from the surgical date before he could be back," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said Thursday. "We're still a long way to that. Nose and facial area, wasn't an orbital bone area. He had a lot of stuff going on there."

Marchment is fifth on the Stars with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 33 games. -- Adam Kimelman

Montreal Canadiens

Patrik Laine will remain out of the lineup against the Washington Capitals on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, TSN2, RDS).

Laine will miss his fourth straight game because of an illness. He and defenseman David Savard each skated for a second straight day and took part in practice Thursday.

Laine took a couple of rotations on the fourth line with Jake Evans and Emil Heineman at practice. He has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in 13 games, with all of his goals coming on the power play.

Savard, who practiced on a pair with Arber Xhekaj, will not go on the trip and will miss his fourth straight game because of an upper-body injury. He has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 35 games.

Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes will make his third start Friday in the first of back-to-back games for the Canadiens, who host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

The 23-year-old is 2-0-0 with an 0.48 goals-against-average and a .982 save percentage. He has allowed one goal on 57 shots in his first two NHL starts, including a 34-save shutout in his debut, a 4-0 win at the Florida Panthers on Dec. 28. -- Sean Farrell

Vegas Golden Knights

Ivan Barbashev (upper body) and Nicolas Roy (upper body) practiced in full on Thursday but neither forward will play against the New York Islanders on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSGSN2, MSGSN, SN, TVAS).

Barbashev sustained his injury in a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 15 and will miss his 10th straight game. He is tied for the team lead in goals with 15 and has 15 assists in 31 games.

Roy also will miss his 10th straight game Thursday. He has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 31 games.

"It's good to see them out there," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They're in normal jerseys, participating. That's a good sign. That means they're not that far away compared to 48 hours ago." -- Paul Delos Santos

Utah Hockey Club

Connor Ingram was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Thursday and could play when Utah hosts the San Jose Sharks on Friday (9 p.m. ET; Utah16, NBCSA).

Ingram has missed the past 22 games with an upper body-injury, having last played on Nov. 18. He was assigned to Tucson on a conditioning loan on Dec. 31 and played in one AHL game. Ingram is 6-4-3 with a 3.61 goals-against average and .871 save percentage in 13 games this season.

Goalie Jaxson Stauber was assigned to Tucson on Thursday. He last played on Dec. 31 and is 2-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .925 save percentage in four games. -- Matt Komma