NHL Buzz: Kaprizov likely back for Wild on Thursday

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Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon could each return to the lineup for the Wild against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+).

Each took part in line rushes at practice on Wednesday, and coach John Hynes said he is "cautiously optimistic" that they would play.

"They were good. They do feel good," Hynes said. "I think we're going to wait, have to discuss with the trainers, but cautiously optimistic that they'll be back for tomorrow."

Kaprizov, a forward, has missed the past 12 games with a lower-body injury. He leads Minnesota in goals (23), assists (27) and points (50) in 34 games.

Spurgeon, a defenseman, has missed nine games with a lower-body injury. The defenseman and Wild captain has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 32 games and is averaging 20:43 of ice time per game.

"I think it certainly helps when you have guys obviously coming back and being part of the practice," Hynes said. "Not only the team's excited, but I also think the players that are coming back from injury, they're glad to be around the guys and the team and being at practice. ...

"…it's important that if those two guys come back, that they come in and they play their roles and play to their identities, but everybody else has to continue to do what they're doing. And then that's when the players come back, of the magnitude of those two guys, and everybody else continues to play at the level that they've played at, now your team can get stronger, and that's something that I'd like to see."

Defenseman Jonas Brodin, who suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 7, has not started skating but is working out off the ice along with forward Marcus Johansson who entered concussion protocol on Jan. 16.

"Both are continuing to make progress," Hynes said. -- Jessi Pierce

Toronto Maple Leafs

Max Pacioretty was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 18, and will miss his second game when the Maple Leafs host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, FDSNOH).

Initially, he was listed as day to day, but coach Craig Berube said Wednesday that the timeline has changed.

"Probably a little longer," Berube said. "Yeah, a little longer than day to day."

The forward, who played 10:19 in a 7-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, took a puck to the side of the head, but he finished the game.

Pacioretty has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 32 games this season.

The Maple Leafs recalled forward Jacob Quillan from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Wednesday; he is expected to be a healthy scratch. Quillan has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 36 AHL games this season. -- Dave McCarthy

Colorado Avalanche

Valeri Nichushkin had a setback in his recovery from a lower-body injury and is week to week.

"Any time without Val is worrisome, and now we don't have a solid timeline on his return," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday. "Whenever you have a setback, you kind of work backwards, start from the ground up again, and start building back up."

Nichushkin, a forward, will miss his 11th straight game when the Avalanche host the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; KTVD, ALT, TSN3).

"It's not fun. I've been there, too," forward Mikko Rantanen said. "You feel like you're getting back and feeling better, and then something happens. So mentally, it's probably the toughest part. The rehab, you have to do it to get back, but mentally, it's hard too."

Nichushkin has 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 21 games this season after returning from a suspension which began on May 13, while he was in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHL Players' Association Player Assistance Program. -- Ryan Boulding

Ottawa Senators

David Perron is expected to return to the lineup for the Senators against the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, TSN5, RDS2).

The forward has not played since Nov. 23 because of an upper-body injury.

“Good to have him back,” coach Travis Green said. “He’s been out for a while now. Veteran leadership, obviously. Good hockey player. It’ll be nice to have him back in the lineup.”

Perron has played in nine games this season and does not have a point. He also missed time earlier this season after his a daughter had to have life-saving surgery.

“I’ve been feeling a lot better,” Perron said. “It’s exciting to be around the guys, just be on the road the last several days. You get the itch to play even more. It’s been a long time coming. Pretty excited.”

Perron was on a line with Zack Ostapchuk and Ridly Greig at practice on Wednesday.

“Just get out there, try and play physical, play my game,” he said. “Be hard to play against. Hang onto pucks down low. Just simple hockey. I’ve never really been a complicated hockey player. I want to shoot the puck when I can and, yeah, I’m really excited.”

Forward Josh Norris (upper body) will not play against the Bruins and is expected to also be out against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and Utah Hockey Club on Sunday. He did not play after the first period in a 5-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

Norris has 27 points (17 goals, 10 assists) in 47 games this season. -- Amalie Benjamin

Winnipeg Jets

Adam Lowry is week to week for the Jets with an upper-body injury.

"So obviously a big blow," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "So just like we've kind of done with other injuries, other people have to step up."

Lowry, a forward and Winnipeg's captain, was injured in the first period of a 5-2 loss at the Utah Hockey Club on Monday. He has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 48 games this season.

"'Lows' is a huge loss. He's our captain, our backbone in a sense," forward Mason Appleton said. "He does a lot of things on all of the ice. He's been scoring too and defending real hard. So he's a huge loss for us, and as soon as we can get him back, that'll be great."

Appleton will return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury.

"It happened before Christmas, and then I thought it was something different," he said. "And I kind of tried to play a game and realized it didn't work," Appleton said. "So after that game, that's when I realized something was more wrong than I thought.

He has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 37 games.

"A month away is decent amount of time where you kind of got to maybe ease back into it a little bit," Appleton said. "Like, you're not going to feel great right away, but I've been a situation like this before, and just try to build my game and get going. Excited to be back, for sure though." -- Ryan Boulding

New York Islanders

Noah Dobson is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

The Islanders defenseman did not practice Tuesday after he was injured from a hit by Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger at 1:14 of the third period in a 3-1 win Monday. Dobson left under his own power but did not return.

"Well, first of all, we have no timetable of [when] he's going to be back," Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. "That's the first thing. Secondly, I mean, you don't replace Noah. He's one of our better defensemen."

Dobson has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 46 games this season and leads New York with 24:01 of ice time per game.

In Dobson's absence at practice, Alexander Romanov skated with Scott Mayfield, while rookie Isaiah George was paired with Dennis Cholowski.

"We played Romanov with Mayfield, and they play really well," Roy said. "Cholowski and George will play together. We have plenty of confidence in these guys, and we're comfortable with them."

Cholowski also took Dobson's place on the top power-play unit.

Kyle Palmieri (maintenance) did not practice Tuesday, but Roy said there was no concern the forward would miss their next game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSP+). -- Stefen Rosner

Boston Bruins

Mark Kastelic was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with an undisclosed injury.

The forward was injured during a 6-3 win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday and did not play in the third period. He had two shots on goal in 7:02 of ice time.

Kastelic, who has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 45 games this season, did not travel with the team for its game at the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, NESN, TVAS-D).

Forwards Max Jones and Patrick Brown were recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League.

Jones, 26, has no points in four NHL games this season, and 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 26 AHL games. He is expected to play Wednesday.

Brown, 32, has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 37 AHL games; he was held without a point in the only NHL game he's played this season, a 7-2 loss at the Dallas Stars on Nov. 14. -- Joe McDonald