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Lightning Likely To Activate Victor Hedman

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In what could be the most positive injury update for the team in some time, it appears the Tampa Bay Lightning will welcome back their captain tonight. According to team reporter Benjamin Pierce, defenseman Victor Hedman said he feels “probable” for tonight.

It’s been a long time coming for Hedman. The 17-year veteran has been working his way back from an undisclosed injury for the last month. Having missed 12 games and 28 days, Hedman has satisfied both requirements to be activated from long-term injured reserve.

Notably, the Lightning have not only been able to withstand the absence of their top defenseman but have excelled. Tampa Bay has managed an 8-4-0 record without Hedman and has climbed to the top of the NHL’s Atlantic Division.

Although the team’s offense has been more than respectable throughout that duration, averaging 3.5 GF/G on a 12.4% shooting percentage, the wins have largely been generated by a pieced-together defensive core. Without Hedman, the Lightning have held opposing teams to a 2.5 GF/G average while limiting them to a 9.74% shooting percentage on 26 shots per game on average.

Especially if Tampa Bay’s defense can maintain its high level of play, Hedman’s return to the lineup would provide an even bigger boost than normal. The former Norris Trophy winner has registered 12 assists in 15 games for the Lightning so far this year, managing a 53.9% CorsiFor% and 91.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

The largest impact Hedman will likely have is on the team’s power play. Averaging an 18.0% success rate on the man advantage with Hedman in the lineup, Tampa Bay’s power play has only maintained a 13.8% conversion rate without him.

Regardless, the Lightning have taken advantage of a wide-open Eastern Conference, especially as rivals such as the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs work their way out of disappointing starts. Considering the number of injuries Tampa Bay has had to deal with already this year, they could gain even more momentum as they return more players to their active roster.

New York Rangers To Activate Jonathan Quick

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According to a team announcement, the New York Rangers have assigned netminder Spencer Martin to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. The transaction all but guarantees that the Rangers will activate veteran Jonathan Quick from the injured reserve ahead of their matchup against the Colorado Avalanche tonight.

While Quick has been on the Rangers’ injured reserve since November 25th, Martin has only been with the team since the 30th. New York had originally opted for 23-year-old Dylan Garand, who has managed a 4-6-2 record for the Wolf Pack this season with a .902 SV% and 2.87 GAA, to serve as Igor Shesterkin’s backup.

Like Garand, Martin didn’t feature in any game throughout his recall. The veteran journeyman only recently joined the Rangers organization after beginning the season with the KHL’s CSKA Moskva. Martin registered a 5-6-0 record in 14 games overseas with a .905 SV% and 2.69 GAA. He immediately jumped at the chance for another opportunity in North America.

Regardless, it wouldn’t have been easy for Garand or Martin to replicate what Quick has provided New York the last three years, even if they earned an opportunity. Formerly a consistent Vezina Trophy nominee with the Los Angeles Kings, Quick has managed a 32-16-4 record with the Rangers with a .907 SV% and 2.74 GAA as Shesterkin’s backup.

It remains to be seen if the 2025-26 season will be Quick’s last in the NHL. The 19-year veteran is playing out a one-year, $1.55MM contract with the Rangers this season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to play into his age-40 campaign. However, while it’s unlikely to come in New York, Quick could explore his options next summer in pursuit of one last Stanley Cup ring.

Maple Leafs Place Joseph Woll On IR

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The Toronto Maple Leafs’ situation between the pipes has hit a new low for the 2025-26 season. The Maple Leafs announced that they have placed netminder Joseph Woll on the injured reserve and have recalled Artur Akhtyamov in a corresponding roster move.

Woll, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, had become Toronto’s de facto starter over the last few weeks. Considering fellow netminder Anthony Stolarz has missed nearly a month with an upper-body injury, the Maple Leafs had to rely on Woll for some stability in the crease.

That’s exactly what he provided. In his eight starts since Stolarz departed from the active roster, Woll has managed a 4-3-1 record with a .923 SV% and 2.44 GAA. According to Hockey Reference, Woll’s 6.1 Goals Saved Above Average has already surpassed Stolarz’s output, despite the latter playing in five more contests.

Moving forward, until one of Woll or Stolarz returns, Toronto will have to rely on an inexperienced duo to navigate them through the next little while. It’s expected that Dennis Hildeby will assume the starting role, as he’s earned a 1-2-1 record in six starts this year with a .919% SV% and 2.86 GAA.

However, Hildeby has only 13 NHL appearances under his belt, earning a combined record of 4-5-1 with a career .896 SV% and 3.12 GAA. Akhtyamov, on the other hand, has never suited up in an NHL contest and is only in his second professional season in North America.

Despite being in his second campaign with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Akhtyamov, 24, hasn’t shown any meaningful signs of growth. He owns a career 18-13-7 record with the Marlies with a .900 SV%, and has only averaged a .896 mark this season.

Ottawa Senators Recall Hayden Hodgson

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As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled a forward for tonight’s contest with the news that Shane Pinto would miss with a lower-body injury. To that end, the Senators announced they have recalled Hayden Hodgson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

It’s the second recall of the year for Hodgson. The 29-year-old winger was first recalled on November 8th and spent the rest of the month with the Senators before being reassigned only a few days ago.

He was largely ineffective through his first trip of the season with Ottawa. Despite reaching a career-high of eight games played already, Hodgson went scoreless with a -1 rating, averaging 6:55 of ice time per game.

Additionally, his underlying metrics didn’t paint a better picture. At even strength, Hodgson managed a 48.0% CorsiFor% and 88.9% on-ice save percentage. Still, it isn’t easy nor fair to make too many judgments on a player who garnered such a limited opportunity.

Regardless, Hodgson typically doesn’t make his presence known on the offensive side of the puck, even during his tenure in the AHL. A hyperphysical forward, Hodgson has managed 490 PIMs across 234 AHL contests.

At any rate, it’s somewhat surprising that the Senators didn’t recall a more direct replacement to fill the void made by Pinto’s absence. Arthur Kaliyev, who signed with Ottawa this past summer, has been on a torrid pace with Belleville and will be ineligible for waivers for some time after clearing in early October. In 22 games with the AHL Senators, Kaliyev has scored 15 goals and 24 points, bringing similar skills to the roster as Pinto.

Capitals’ Ryan Leonard Out With An Upper-Body Injury

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After last night’s shootout loss against the Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery updated the media, saying that forward Ryan Leonard is “going to be out” with upper-body injuries (via Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post). No additional recovery timeline was provided, though that should change relatively quickly with the Capitals returning home from the road trip.

Although it only happened last night, Leonard’s injury has already become the subject of debate. The rookie forward was coming behind the net in the offensive zone and was intercepted by a vicious hit from Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba, while already being engaged with Olen Zellweger. He was clearly in a vulnerable position to receive a hit, though it was technically clean contact, as no penalty was assessed on the play.

Despite typically being isolated on Washington’s third forward unit, Leonard had scored seven goals and 18 points in 29 games with a +7 rating, averaging 13:20 of ice time per game. Leonard’s line was far from the best performing on the Capitals, though they had averaged a 50.8% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck. Missing any amount of time will ultimately have some impact on the 20-year-old’s development.

The Capitals were understandably upset postgame. Speaking with Sammi Silber of The Hockey News, veteran winger Tom Wilson said, “I could see it coming. He knows exactly what he was doing. Kid’s in a vulnerable spot and Leno’s obviously banged up.” Despite the two teams only matching up twice in any given season, Washington has likely already circled January 5th on the calendar when the Ducks come to play at Capital One Arena.

Canucks Recall Nikita Tolopilo, Elias Pettersson

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Dec. 4: The demotion for both Pettersson and Tolopilo was brief and solely to get them into game action for Abbotsford last night. The Canucks have added both players back to the active roster today, with Patera being loaned back to the minors in a corresponding move.

Dec. 3: According to a team announcement, the Vancouver Canucks have assigned netminder Nikita Tolopilo and defenseman Elias N. Pettersson to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. The transaction indirectly confirms that the Canucks had previously activated Tolopilo from the non-roster designation.

It’s been nearly 10 days since Tolopilo was initially recalled by the Canucks. Dealing with an injury to Thatcher Demko and a brief leave of absence from Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver had to rely on Tolopilo and Jiří Patera for a short period.

He played relatively well in his first NHL action of the 2025-26 campaign, securing a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on 41 shots. Unfortunately, that success didn’t translate to his next start against the San Jose Sharks, where he managed a .875 SV% on 24 shots.

Following the loss to San Jose, Tolopilo took his own leave of absence for the birth of his child and hadn’t played since. He’ll return to Abbotsford, where he’s managed a 1-3-1 record in five games with a .901 SV% while Vancouver moves forward with a combination of Lankinen and Patera for the time being.

Meanwhile, Pettersson will suit up in his first AHL appearance of the season. Cracking the Canucks roster out of training camp, the 21-year-old blueliner has tallied two assists in 24 games with a -6 rating, averaging 13:29 of ice time per night. It’s essentially the same production he provided last season, when he scored one goal and three points in 28 games with a -4 rating while finishing with an ATOI of 12:49.

Simply put, the former 80th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft hasn’t earned a spot on the NHL blue line, even on a disappointing Vancouver team. He’ll look to build confidence and develop in the AHL for the foreseeable future. Unless the Canucks unexpectedly activate Derek Forbort from the LTIR or make a separate call-up, they’ll play their next few contests with six defenseman on the active roster.

Pacific Injury Notes: Marchment, Mrazek, Prosvetov

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After losing Jaden Schwartz for the next month and a half a few days ago, the Seattle Kraken are dealing with another injury to a middle-six winger. Earlier today, team broadcast producer Scott Malone reported that Mason Marchment is dealing with an undisclosed injury and won’t travel with the team to Edmonton.

Furthermore, Malone indicated that Marchment didn’t skate in any of the Kraken’s practices this week, although the team is only giving him a day-to-day recovery timeline. Regardless, it’s another absence in the team’s middle-six, albeit brief. Depth forward Jani Nyman will likely fill in tomorrow night against the Oilers, unless Seattle makes a separate recall.

Outside of the minor injury, it’s been a relatively productive year for Marchment in what could be his only year with the Kraken. He’s scored two goals and 11 points in 23 games, which is tied for seventh on the team in scoring. Carrying a $4.5MM salary and a 10-team no-trade clause, there is a high chance that Marchment is moved by the end of the season if Seattle continues their fall out of the Western Conference playoff race.

Additional injury notes from the Pacific Division:

  • Head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Joel Quenneville, provided an update on injured netminder Petr Mrázek earlier today (via Derek Lee of The Hockey News). Quenneville stated that Mrázek’s lower-body injury would sideline him between two and three weeks. The 14-year veteran had started seven games for the Ducks this season, earning a 3-3-0 record with a .876 SV% and 3.69 GAA. Goaltender Ville Husso, who was recalled last week, will fill in the gap for the time being.
  • The Calgary Flames got an injury scare to one of their organizational netminders last night. Ivan Prosvetov, currently playing for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, left last night’s game with under eight minutes remaining in regulation (Twitter Link). There have been no further updates to his status. Regardless, he finished the game with the win, stopping 31 of 33 shots.

Capitals To Activate Nic Dowd, Reassign Bogdan Trineyev

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The Washington Capitals should be getting a boost to their bottom-six tonight against the San Jose Sharks. According to Sammi Silber of the DC Backcheck, the Capitals have activated Nic Dowd from the injured reserve and assigned Bogdan Trineyev to the AHL’s Hershey Bears in a corresponding roster move.

Dowd has been participating in a few skates over the last couple of days, but hasn’t played since mid-November. The 11-year veteran has been recovering from an upper-body injury since November 17th, missing eight games in the process.

Before his absence, Dowd was again his steady self down the middle for Washington. He typically centered a line between Justin Sourdif and Brandon Duhaime, and the trio combined for a 53.3% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck.

Regarding the boxcar stats, Dowd was relatively quiet, scoring one goal and five points in 19 games with a 51.0% success rate in the faceoff dot. He’s additionally averaged nearly two hits per game and has managed a 94.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength — far and away the best on the team for those who have played in more than 10 games.

Meanwhile, Trineyev’s recall lasts exactly one week, without an NHL debut. He’ll return to the Bears, where he’s gotten off to the best start of his career, scoring six goals and 12 points in 15 games. To put that production into context, the former 117th overall pick finished last season with 14 goals and 22 points in 62 games. Should he continue his pace, which admittedly is unrealistic, Trineyev would more than double last year’s performance if he plays in 62 or more games.

St. Louis Blues Recall Matt Luff

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The St. Louis Blues have recalled a stopgap as the team navigates multiple injuries to their forward core. According to a team announcement, the Blues have recalled veteran depth forward Matt Luff from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.

It’s been several years since Luff last played in the NHL. Dating back to the 2022-23 season, Luff played 19 games for the Detroit Red Wings, scoring two goals and four points with a -4 rating, while averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game.

He actually spent one additional year within the Red Wings organization, although he played exclusively for their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. Before that season with Detroit, and a one-year stint with the Nashville Predators, Luff had spent three years as a depth forward for the Los Angeles Kings, registering 10 goals and 17 points in 64 games.

Without a pathway back to the NHL, Luff settled on a PTO with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers last season before ultimately signing a one-year AHL deal with Springfield. It turned out beneficial for both sides as Luff enjoyed the best season of his professional career, tallying 18 goals and 45 points in 50 games. That extra offense was enough to earn the Thunderbirds a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, though they were eliminated in the First Round by the Providence Bruins.

Regardless, there’s no guarantee Luff will suit up in another NHL contest during this recall. The Blues are reportedly leaning toward giving Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, who was recalled yesterday, his NHL debut. Additionally, Pius Suter is expected to return to the lineup after missing St. Louis’ previous two games.

Central Injury Notes: Brindley, O’Connor, Hellebuyck, McCarron

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Speaking on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (via Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette), head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar, provided a few injury updates to forwards Gavin Brindley and Logan O’Connor. In a positive development, Bednar indicated that Brindley is ahead of schedule and is expected to return by the end of the team’s current road trip.

Brindley, 21, has been a valuable depth scorer for the Avalanche this season, registering four goals and seven points in 18 games, averaging 9:17 of ice time per night. That production in so few minutes garnered a two-year, $1.75MM extension from Colorado earlier in the season. Despite offering quality production in the team’s bottom-six, it’s difficult to say if the scorching Avalanche even noticed Brindley’s absence, as they’ve managed a 5-0-1 record in the six games without him so far while outscoring opponents 22-6.

Meanwhile, Bednar was more neutral when speaking on O’Connor. The seven-year veteran hasn’t played since Colorado’s Game Seven loss to the Dallas Stars last postseason due to a hip injury, and the team is still waiting for a clearer picture of his return.

Other injury updates from the Central Division:

  • According to Mitchell Clinton of the Winnipeg Jets, the team is expected to have netminder Connor Hellebuyck resume skating relatively soon. Although he won’t be returning early, it’s a positive update that Hellebuyck is staying on his original recovery timeline at the very least and has not suffered a setback. In the report, head coach Scott Arniel jokingly said, “I’m going to make sure he has four yellow (non-contact) jerseys on.” Winnipeg is 2-5-0 without Hellebuyck, allowing 25 goals against on 204 shots (.877 SV%).
  • It doesn’t appear that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron will miss any more time with a lower-body injury. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reports that McCarron fully participated in practice today after missing the team’s most recent contest against the Calgary Flames. The bottom-six center has scored one goal and five points in 25 games for the Predators this season, with a 53.8% success rate in the faceoff dot.

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