NHL Buzz: Faber to return from injury for Wild against Predators
Sergachev out for Utah; Lindgren activated by Capitals; Holmstrom, Romanov game-time decisions for Islanders
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Minnesota Wild
Brock Faber will return to the lineup when the Wild visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNNO, FDSNSO, FDSNWI).
The defenseman missed four games with an upper-body injury sustained during a 6-4 win against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 7. Faber has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 41 games while averaging a team-high 24:58 of ice time per game.
"I'm excited. I feel good," Faber said. "It obviously [stinks] being hurt. First time in a really long time that I've had to miss games. It'll drive you crazy, that's for sure. But I feel good. I'm excited to be back with the guys. It's really exciting."
Jakub Lauko will also play Saturday. The forward has been out since Dec. 14 after reaggravating a lower-body injury. He has four points (two goals, two assists) in 24 games this season.
"I might have overestimated myself a little bit, and I underestimated the injury," Lauko said. "So, it happened again, and I had a little bit different issue as well. So, it's been a long time. Was getting a little sick of just lifting, lifting and just everything from far away. So, I'm happy to be part of the team, to go on a trip again and hopefully get some games."
The Wild recalled goalie Dylan Ferguson from Iowa of the American Hockey League under emergency conditions Saturday with Filip Gustavsson potentially unavailable because of an illness.
Kirill Kaprizov was moved to retroactive long-term injured reserve and will not travel with the Wild on a two-game road trip (also at the Colorado Avalanche on Monday). The forward, who has missed 10 games because of a lower-body injury, practiced with the team Friday and is eligible to return when healthy.
Kaprizov leads Minnesota in goals (23), assists (27) and points (50) in 34 games this season.
"It hasn't been setback; it's just, I would say it's taken a little bit longer in the recovery process of pushing it and then see how it reacts to that, and then pushing it further and see how that reacts," Wild coach John Hynes said.
Jared Spurgeon also practiced and continues to progress from a lower-body injury. Spurgeon last played Dec. 31 and was placed on injured reserve Jan. 6. The defenseman and Wild captain has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 32 games and is averaging 20:43 of ice time.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin, who sustained a lower-body injury Dec. 7, has not resumed skating and was placed on injured reserve Saturday. He is working out off the ice. -- Jessi Pierce
Utah Hockey Club
Mikhail Sergachev will not play against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (9 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, Utah16) because of a lower-body injury.
The defenseman did attend the morning skate but left the ice early.
"He's banged up a little bit, but it should be day to day," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said.
Sergachev leads Utah defenseman in goals (eight), assists (22) and points (30), and leads the team in ice time per game (25:45). He had an assist in a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Utah acquired Sergachev in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 29 for defenseman J.J. Moser, forward Conor Geekie, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in 2025. -- Matt Komma
Washington Capitals
Charlie Lindgren was activated from injured reserve by the Capitals on Saturday.
The goalie backed up Logan Thompson against the Pittsburgh Penguins after missing the past three games with an upper-body injury sustained in a collision with Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki on Jan 10.
Hunter Shepard was returned to Hershey of the American Hockey League after serving as the Capitals’ backup goalie while Lindgren was unavailable. Thompson started and won all three games, stopping 75 of 76 shots and posting consecutive shutouts against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (3-0 victory) and Ottawa Senators on Thursday (1-0 overtime win).
Thompson has a shutout streak of 146:53. -- Tom Gulitti
Winnipeg Jets
Colin Miller returned to the lineup against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
The defenseman had missed five games after fracturing the cartilage in his larynx when a puck deflected off his stick and hit him in the throat against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 4.
"One in a thousand … Hopefully it's one of those weird ones," Miller said after returning to full-contact practice on Friday. "I was fortunate that I was able to get right back into skating and all that stuff. Had to be a little bit careful with the contact. But I was able to stay conditioned … so that's great."
Miller, who has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 34 games this season, was paired with Logan Stanley on the third defense pair.
Defenseman Haydn Fleury returned to skate in an optional practice Friday and skated again with the team Saturday. He has missed 10 games after suffering a lower body injury Dec. 23.
"Having that 'D' depth has been huge for us," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "They're all available for the first time this year -- all eight 'D' are available. I'm just going to go game-to-game here. We'll see. You don't ever want to say that to the players and then you just change your mind and they're expecting things. But we've had communication here and we've been talking since they're all healthy."
Fleury has six assists and is averaging 17:14 of ice time in 25 games this season. -- Darrin Bauming
New York Islanders
Simon Holmstrom and Alexander Romanov will each take warmups and are game-time decisions for the Islanders against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSCA).
Holmstrom, a forward, has missed the past seven games after he sustained an upper-body injury in a 3-2 loss to the Penguins on Dec. 29. Holmstrom was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to that date.
He was a full participant at practice Friday after skating the previous two days in a noncontact jersey. Holmstrom has 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 37 games.
Romanov, a defenseman, has missed three games with an upper-body injury. He did not practice Friday. Romanov has nine assists in 30 games while averaging 21:45 of ice time.
Forward Maxim Tsyplakov was suspended three games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head of Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling in the first period of a 5-3 loss Thursday.
Forward Marc Gatcomb was recalled from Bridgeport of the AHL. -- Stefen Rosner
Dallas Stars
Roope Hintz is day to day because of an upper-body injury and missed his second straight game when the Stars played the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
The forward left a 4-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday at 7:25 of the first period and did not return after taking a hit from Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews. He took one shift after the hit and exited 6:53 into the game.
Hintz also did not play in a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens on Thursday.
He has 27 points in 42 games this season and leads the Stars with 19 goals. He is averaging 16:54 of ice time per game and missed one game earlier this season with an undisclosed injury, a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 27. -- Taylor Baird
Carolina Hurricanes
Frederik Andersen was activated from injured reserve and backed up Pyotr Kochetkov in a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
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. Andersen, who was expected to be out 8-12 weeks, returned to practice with the Hurricanes on Jan. 8 after having knee surgery Nov. 22.
"I've never been through this exact surgery," Andersen said. "But (it was) a good indication right away that the surgeon liked what was going on, and I just tried to push it as quick as I could without any real setbacks. Obviously, it's not going to be linear, but I was really happy with the process."
Andersen is 3-1-0 with a 1.48 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage in four games this season.
"You're always worried about the rust factor," coach Rod Brind’Amour said. "He hasn't played in a long time. It's good to see him out there in a regular game-kind of mode. We can certainly use him.
"Hopefully Freddie gets going here and solidifies that position for us. That's the last line of defense. If that guy can bail you out, it makes your life a lot easier. You certainly play a little more confidently with that."
In Andersen's absence, Carolina has relied on Kochetkov, who is 17-9-2 with a 2.52 GAA, .902 save percentage and one shutout in 29 starts. Dustin Tokarski, who Carolina signed on Dec. 2, went 4-2-0 with a 2.18 GAA and .902 save percentage in six games but was assigned to Chicago of the AHL on Friday. Spencer Martin made nine appearances before being returned to the AHL on Dec. 2.
Andersen missed 50 games last season with a blood-clotting issue before returning to the lineup in March.
"You take what you can in terms of any experience. I've had some adversity and that type of stuff the last calendar year or two. Having that trust in myself that I can get through it is obviously going to be a challenge for everyone. I have the mental mindset of knowing and believing that I still have good hockey left in me. (I'm) just trying to work as hard as I can to be back and help the guys out." -- Kurt Dusterberg
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jake Christiansen signed a two-year, $1.95 million contract with the Blue Jackets on Friday. It has an average annual value of $975,000.
The 25-year-old defenseman has a career-high seven points (one goal, six assists) in 45 games this season.
"Jake is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who continues to improve and become a consistent contributor on our blue line this season," Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said. "His high character fits in well in our dressing room and we are excited about his future with our club."
Christiansen has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 89 NHL games since being signed by Columbus as an unrestricted free agent on March 4, 2020.
