NHL Buzz: Demko returns for Canucks against Devils

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Vancouver Canucks

Thatcher Demko was activated from injured reserve and started at the New Jersey Devils on Monday.

"Listen, he's a world-class goalie and he's had some bad luck," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "He's really worked on certain things on his body that he's trying to figure out, and he's starting to get healthy and putting that base together. So, he’s itching to go. I wish we had a couple more practices for him, but we're in a spot right now, but he's healthy enough to play. So, anytime he's healthy, you're going to go with him."

Demko practiced on Sunday for the first time since the goalie sustained a lower-body injury last month. He left midway through the first period of a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 8 after making six saves.

Demko participated in a few morning skates prior to the Canucks starting a six-game road trip on March 20.

It was the third time this season that Demko, who was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL last season, had missed time because of injury. He missed training camp and the first 24 games while recovering from a knee injury he sustained during the first game of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 21. He backed up Kevin Lankinen for two games before making his season debut Dec. 10, when he made 21 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Demko also left a 4-3 shootout win at the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 2 with back spasms, resulting in him missing the next two games.

He is 6-6-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in 17 games this season.

"I feel good," Demko said on Sunday. "I mean, it's that time of year where practices are kind of hard to come by. A lot of tight games, emotions are high, and rest is a weapon this time of year. So, I'm just trying to find the repetitions when I can get them, and whether that's been helping out for morning skates or luckily, today, we had a full team skate, to get out there for that, I felt good."

Elias Pettersson and Nils Hoglander did not play on Monday after each forward sustained an undisclosed injury and did not play in the third period of a 5-3 loss at the New York Rangers on Saturday. Pettersson and Hoglander both returned to Vancouver and will not be with the team for the remainder of their six-game road trip, which has three more games after Monday.

Vancouver (32-26-12) is already without center Filip Chytil (upper body), who is not on the six-game road trip. -- Mike G. Morreale

Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward Sean Monahan and defenseman Erik Gudbranson returned for the Blue Jackets against the New York Islanders on Monday.

"I'm really excited, a little nervous,"Monahan said. "It's been a while, but it's a good feeling to get back out there and play some hockey again. ... It's an important time of the year, so I'm going to try and do whatever I can to help the team win."

Monahan, who missed 28 games due to a wrist injury, has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 41 games. He centered the Blue Jackets' top line on Monday with Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko, with Adam Fantilli dropping to the second line.

Gudbranson had not played since Oct. 15, when he sustained a shoulder injury in just the third game of the season. He skated on the third defense pair alongside Denton Mateychuk.

"They've been a big part of our team," Columbus coach Dean Evason said. "... [Gudbranson's] a big presence within our locker room and obviously on the ice. He wears a letter on our team, so, big presence. 'Monny' obviously is a major part of our team, so it's nice to have both of them back in our lineup here tonight."

The Blue Jackets (31-29-9), who have lost six straight games (0-5-1) and are 1-7-1 in their past nine games, are four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. -- Stefen Rosner

Winnipeg Jets

Gabriel Vilardi is week to week for the Jets with an upper-body injury.

Coach Scott Arniel said it was not an ear injury after a puck struck Vilardi in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Vilardi is third for Winnipeg in goals (27) and points (61) in an NHL career-high 71 games this season. His 12 power-play goals lead the team, and his 25 power-play points are second.

"His puck possession skills, his albility to be around the net," Arniel said about what the Jets would miss in his absence. "Obviously the power play, his netfront presence."

Alex Iafallo will replace Vilardi on the top line with center Mark Scheifele and left wing Kyle Connor.

Winnipeg (48-19-4) is first in the Western Conference and can clinch a playoff berth Tuesday with one point against the Washington Capitals (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN3, MNMT) or if the St. Louis Blues lose to the Montreal Canadiens in any fashion (8 p.m. ET; Matrix-MW, Victory+, TSN2, RDS).

Detroit Red Wings

Jeff Petry will return to the lineup for the Red Wings against the Utah Hockey Club on Monday (9 p.m. ET; FDSNDET, Utah16).

The defenseman has missed the last 31 games with an undisclosed injury and has six points (one goal, five assists) in 34 games this season.

"Well, we're getting a veteran, a guy that's played in must-win situations, and we're getting into that situation already," Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said Monday. "[We're getting] some stability, we're hoping defensively. [We're] giving up too many goals, so we're hoping that we get that. But in fairness to him, if we're counting on him to lead us to the promised land after being out for two months, that's not fair. We just need a good, solid game from him."

Petry will replace William Lagesson in the lineup.

The Red Wings (32-31-6) have lost nine of their past 11 games (2-9-0) and are five points behind the Canadiens for the second wild card in the East. -- Matt Komma

New Jersey Devils

Ondrej Palat will return against the Canucks on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, Prime).

The forward, who missed the past two games with a lower-body injury, participated in the morning skate on a line with center Dawson Mercer and right wing Tomas Tatar and also took shifts on a penalty-killing unit.

"I didn't like what our lineup looked like without Palat," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "When Palat speaks, guys listen. He helps settle the group down. He's played in such high stakes situations and played in every situation ... power play, penalty kill, playing with elite players.

"I think there's been a void in our group, quite frankly, the last couple of games without him and, on the ice, he does a lot of the hard work, gives consistent effort, competitiveness. To me, he drives our group in a lot of ways and is very important and you really felt that when he wasn't around the last little bit."

The Devils (37-28-6) have lost their past two games without Palat and are third in the Metropolitan Division, six points ahead of the Rangers. -- Mike G. Morreale

Calgary Flames

Mikael Backlund skated prior to practice before joining the team on Monday but it is unclear if he could return against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, KONG, KHN).

The Flames captain has missed the past four games since he sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on March 12. He was listed as week to week on March 14.

"I don't even know if we're there yet," Flames coach Ryan Huska said about a return for Backlund. "We have to see how he reacts after practice, so we'll go from there."
Backlund has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 64 games this season, averaging 17:17 of ice time per game.

"I know he worked really hard and it was nice to see him on the ice, so hopefully it continues to progress him along," Huska said. "It's another step in the right direction."

Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar is day to day and did not practice Monday because of a lower-body injury. He did not play in a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Sunday.

He has 41 points (seven goals, 34 assists) in 68 games this season.

"My gut says we see him tomorrow, but we'll have to see how things go," Huska said.

Washington Capitals

Jakob Chychrun is questionable to play at Winnipeg on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN3, MNMT) after not practicing Monday.

Chychrun was cut near the right wrist by Aleksander Barkov's skate blade in the first period of the Capitals' 6-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday and returned at the start the second period to finish the game after being stitched up.

Washington coach Spencer Carbery said there was "a little bit" of concern about whether Chychrun will be able to play Tuesday.

"We'll see how he feels tomorrow, but [we are] very fortunate that there was no significant damage," Carbery said. "But it's still a significant cut." -- Tom Gulitti

Montreal Canadiens

Kaiden Guhle practiced fully with the Canadiens on Monday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Jan. 28.

The defenseman, who has missed 18 games, wore a regular jersey, and will join the team for its upcoming road trip that begins at St. Louis on Tuesday, coach Martin St. Louis said.

Guhle has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 44 games this season.

The Canadiens (33-27-9) hold the second wild card in the East, one point ahead of the Rangers with two games in hand.