Lightning’s Brayden Point Out Week-To-Week
Jan. 13th: Head Coach Jon Cooper spoke with the media ahead of tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Per beat writer Benjamin Pierce, Cooper articulated that they’ve avoided the worst-case scenario with Point, meaning Team Canada has as well. Cooper shared that Point is expected to miss the next few weeks with a lower-body injury.
Jan.12th: A star forward named to Team Canada in the upcoming Winter Olympics may have suffered a significant knee injury tonight, as Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point was helped off the ice in Philadelphia, and will not return, as confirmed by the team.
The incident was a strange play, in which Point banged home a rebound for the power play tally, putting Tampa up 3-0, but immediately after, Flyers defender Cam York landed on Point, making him come down awkwardly. York had been sprawling to try and clear the rebound.
Point immediately shook off his gloves and grabbed at his right knee, subsequently being helped off the ice.
The center missed seven games across November-December to close out 2025, but otherwise has been durable over the last three seasons, absent for just five regular season games over the previous last three campaigns. Turning 30 in March, Point has taken a step back from his usual elite scoring pace, with 29 points in 36 games, but still ranks fifth on the team in scoring. The Alberta native anchors the team’s first line as well as their top power play unit. He needs just seven more games to reach the 700 mark with Tampa Bay.
Returning from the injury in December, Point has been on a tear, with 19 points in his last 16 games, figuring to be fully healthy before tonight.
Currently second in the Atlantic, winners of nine in a row, Tampa has shown off their remarkable resilience despite missing players such as Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. They seem to be a lock to reach the playoffs for the eighth straight season, seeking to make another run after three straight first round exits. If Point has to miss significant time, it may force them to enter the center trade market, but the club lacks trade capital along with cap space, and may be forced to lean on more offense internally from Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde.
Also impossible to ignore are possible implications for Team Canada, as the Olympic Games are set to start next month. If needed, the group would have an embarrassment of riches to choose from down the middle, the likes of Connor Bedard, Sam Bennett, Wyatt Johnston, or Mark Scheifele. GM Doug Armstrong would have no shortage of talent to choose from, but would need to select the player best suited for bottom-six duty.
Although the hope is that the star has avoided a major injury, there is reason for both Tampa Bay and Team Canada to be fearing the worst. Updates will be watched urgently, as the Bolts are back in action tomorrow at Pittsburgh.
Blue Jackets Recall Dysin Mayo On Emergency Basis
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo on an emergency basis. It’s the fourth time that Mayo has been recalled this season.
Unfortunately, the emergency recall indicates that the Blue Jackets have fallen below the threshold of having six healthy defensemen on the active roster. Veterans Erik Gudbranson and Brendan Smith are already on the injured reserve, meaning an additional injury has happened.
Earlier today, team reporter Jeff Svoboda shared that blue liner Denton Mateychuk is visiting with a doctor to get a second opinion on the upper-body injury that he sustained in Sunday’s contest against the Utah Mammoth. Mayo’s recall indicates that Mateychuk has been ruled out for tonight’s contest.
Mayo, 29, is in his first year with the Blue Jackets, much of which has been spent with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Throughout that duration, he has scored two goals and seven points in 21 games with a -2 rating. It’s a similar production to what he showed last season with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, where Mayo scored eight goals and 19 points in 58 contests.
Meanwhile, although it’s expected to be a short-term absence, missing Mateychuk for any duration will certainly hurt Columbus’s chance of winning. The former 12th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is in his first full year with the team, scoring eight goals and 21 points in 44 games, averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game.
Flames Place Blake Coleman On Injured Reserve
As expected, the Calgary Flames announced they’ve placed forward Blake Coleman on the team’s injured reserve. The transaction opens up a roster spot for tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, though the Flames haven’t shared a corresponding roster move.
Assuming he remains on a day-to-day recovery timeline, Coleman should return by the weekend. The Flames likely made the transaction retroactive to his last game on January 8th, meaning Coleman will be eligible to return on Saturday against the New York Islanders. He’s dealing with a minor upper-body issue.
The 34-year-old forward has been the topic of much conversation this season, though not on the injury front. There is a growing expectation that the Flames will trade Coleman ahead of the trade deadline. He has recently been connected to the Montreal Canadiens.
Still, Coleman holds some of the power in any trade negotiations as the owner of a 10-team no-trade list in his contract. Additionally, he’s signed through next season at a $4.9MM salary, giving Calgary plenty of time to pull the trigger one way or another.
When healthy, he’s been his consistent self with the Flames, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 44 games. Being one of the most consistent goal-scorers on the team throughout the duration of his contract, Coleman is only eight goals away from 100 in a Flames uniform. For any team looking to add more firepower to their secondary scoring, Coleman fits the bill.
Oilers Activate Tristan Jarry, Jake Walman
The Edmonton Oilers are nearly back to full force. According to a team announcement, the Oilers have activated goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenseman Jake Walman from their long-term injured reserve.
The moving parts don’t end there either. In the same announcement, Edmonton shared that they’ve moved veteran forward Adam Henrique to the long-term injured reserve, and have converted netminder Connor Ingram‘s emergency recall into standard one.
Despite being acquired a month ago, the Oilers have seen very little of Jarry. In only his third game with the team, Jarry left the contest with a lower-body injury and hasn’t played since.
Throughout his brief intro to the team, he played relatively well, being credited for three wins in his three starts. However, much of that had to do with the performance of the team in front of him, as Jarry only managed an .887 SV%, 3.08 GAA, and -0.7 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA).
It is still too small a sample size to accurately predict his future performance in Edmonton. Before the trade, Jarry had managed a 9-3-1 record in 14 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins with a .909 SV%, 2.66 GAA, and 4.8 GSAA.
Meanwhile, the Oilers will get a major boost to their defensive core with the return of Walman. The 29-year-old blueliner hasn’t played since late November due to a lower-body injury, missing the team’s last 23 games.
Before the injury, Walman was his typically steady self, scoring three goals and 10 points in 17 games while averaging more than 20 minutes per game. Still, Edmonton will want more stability from him on the defensive side of the puck, as he’s only managed an 85.4% on-ice SV% at even strength this season.
On the other side of the transaction, the Oilers have expectedly moved Henrique to the LTIR. The 16-year veteran suffered an undisclosed injury on January 6th and isn’t expected to return until after the Olympics.
Lastly, Edmonton will surprisingly move forward with three netminders on the active roster. Despite having a disastrous performance with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, Ingram has provided some stability in net for the Oilers of late. In his first year with the organization, he has managed a 4-2-1 record in seven games with a .904 SV% and 2.70 GAA. If he continues his success, fellow netminder Calvin Pickard‘s days with the team could be numbered.
Flames Assign Martin Pospisil To AHL On Conditioning Loan
According to a team announcement, the Calgary Flames have moved forward Martin Pospisil to the long-term injury list, and have loaned him to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on a conditioning loan. Pospisil has been on the Flames’ injured reserve for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
There haven’t been many reports specifying Pospisil’s injury. Still, it’s known that he has been dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury dating back to the preseason, and he has been ramping up skating over the past few weeks.
Once he returns, he should provide additional scoring to Calgary’s bottom-six, and could even find his way into the middle-six if the Flames trade from their forward core leading up to the trade deadline. Throughout the past two years, Pospisil has scored 12 goals and 49 points in 144 games, averaging 13:20 of ice time per night.
Outside of being a playmaker, Pospisil is one of the most physical forwards in Calgary’s arsenal. He’s led the team in hits over his past two years, averaging 3.74 hits per game. Additionally, he’s been a solid analytical player for the Flames, averaging a 54.4% CorsiFor% and 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
Meanwhile, another team stands to benefit from Pospisil’s expected return. Pospisil was named to Team Slovakia for the 2026 Winter Olympics, being one of their best international players over the past few years. In the summer of 2024, Pospisil scored three goals and seven points in seven games with a +5 rating during the IIHF World Championships. Additionally, he helped the team reach the Olympic Games this year, registering three assists in three games during last year’s Olympic Games qualifiers.
Blues Activate Nick Bjugstad, Place Mathieu Joseph On IR
According to Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Blues have activated center Nick Bjugstad from the injured reserve. Additionally, the Blues have placed winger Mathieu Joseph on the injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.
Bjugstad’s upper-body injury kept him out for more than a month. He last skated on December 9th, and he’s missed the Blues’ last 15 games. Initially, he was only expected to miss five days.
Still, although it’s never positive when a player is injured, Bjugstad was highly in need of a reset. The 33-year-old forward signed a two-year, $3.5MM contract with St. Louis last summer, and the deal hasn’t proven fruitful for either side.
Throughout his first 25 games with the team, Bjugstad has scored only four goals and one assist, averaging 11:27 of ice time per night. His faceoff percentage has been a benefit to the team, particularly because most of his shifts begin in the defensive zone. Still, the Blues were likely hoping for more offense when they signed him.
There was reason for optimism, too. Two years ago, while playing for the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes, Bjugstad had the best season of his career, scoring 22 goals and 45 points in 76 games, along with a +11 rating. Last season, he experienced a significant drop in performance, finishing with eight goals and 19 points in 66 games with the Utah Hockey Club. However, much of this decline was attributed to injuries.
Meanwhile, Joseph lands on the injured reserve due to an infection in his elbow. He was originally given a day-to-day recovery timeline, though he has already missed the Blues’ last three contests.
Unlike Bjugstad, Joseph is on pace to usurp last year’s totals, his first season in St. Louis. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with four goals and 14 points in 60 games, and has already scored two goals and 10 points in 35 contests this season.
Assuming he remains on a day-to-day timeline, Joseph should return relatively soon. Once he returns, the Blues will have to shed another forward from the roster, given that they’re at a full 23-man roster.
Penguins Place Erik Karlsson On IR, Recall Two
The Pittsburgh Penguins made a series of roster moves this morning. Most notably, defenseman Erik Karlsson has landed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury. He will miss at least two weeks of action per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. The Penguins have recalled defenseman Ryan Graves in place of Karlsson. Pittsburgh has also recalled winger Tristan Broz and reassigned Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
This will be Karlsson’s first time missing games for the Penguins. He is riding a team-best 208-game ironman streak that dates back to Pittsburgh’s trade for the former Norris Trophy winner all the way back in 2023. Karlsson has filled a major role on the Penguins’ blue-line since joining the team but his importance has seemed to only rise this season. He leads Pittsburgh’s defense – and ranks third on the team – with 33 points in 44 games this season. He also leads the blue-line in shots on goal (94), takeaways (21), and power-play ice time (135 minutes).
That level of offense from the blue-line will be impossible for Pittsburgh to replace. Kris Letang is the blue-line’s second-highest scorer with 22 points in 44 games. He has matched a 0.5 point-per-game pace for much of the season and will certainly take on top offensive-defenseman duties in Karlsson’s absence. But who steps up for Letang is less clear. Ryan Shea has 16 points and 37 shots on goal this season, while Parker Wotherspoon has 15 points and 43 shots on goal.
Neither are known for their offense but may be called upon to fill heavy minutes with Karlsson on the shelf. Some focus will also land on Graves, who has an impressive nine points in 13 AHL games this season. That scoring hasn’t risen to the NHL level just yet – Graves has five points in his last 78 NHL games dating back to last season – but an open opportunity could be what changes that. Pittsburgh could also turn towards AHL prospect Owen Pickering, who leads the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ defense with 15 points in 33 games. He has only appeared in four NHL games this season – setting no scoring and a minus-three. He did manage three points and a minus-five in 25 NHL games last season.
The Penguins will also swap out depth forwards on the roster. Broz leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 33 games. He is the only member of the team with double-digit goals this season. He made his NHL debut earlier in the year and recorded no scoring and a minus-one. Back on the NHL roster, Broz will offer a nice bit of skill and scoring upside while Pittsburgh faces injuries to Bryan Rust and Rutger McGroarty. Broz would likely step into the lineup over high-speed bruiser Connor Dewar, in a bottom-six role. Meanwhile, Harvey-Pinard will return to the minors where he has already posted 13 points in 32 games.
Pittsburgh will be without Karlsson for at least seven games. That’s a big window to try and keep their ship sailing straight, after curbing an eight-game losing streak in early December with a 7-3-0 record since December 21st. The Penguins have averaged 3.7 goals-per-game on that recent win-streak, a number that could quickly dwindle with a future Hall-of-Fame, offensive-defenseman on the sidelines.
Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen Leaves With Upper-Body Injury
The Chicago Blackhawks lost a key winger early in Monday night’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Teuvo Teravainen was ruled out of the game due to an upper-body injury after the first period per a team release. There was no noticeable play where Teravainen was injured. Head coach Jeff Blashill emphasized postgame that Teravainen was injured – not a victim of the flu bug going around the Blackhawks – and that the team will know more about his status on Wednesday per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Teravainen will move forward with an unofficial day-to-day injury designation. With Chicago’s next game not until Thursday, there is a chance he won’t need to miss any time. That will be the outcome Chicago hopes for, as they’re already down Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard due to injury and illness respectively. Teravainen takes his reps right alongside those young stars, often serving as the veteran stop gap behind them. That role has earned Teravainen nine goals, 21 points, and a minus-12 in 45 games this season.
The 31 year old ranks fourth on the Blackhawks in total scoring. He finished third on the team in scoring last year – his first in Chicago – when he totaled 15 goals and 58 points while playing in all 82 games. Before his time in Chicago, Teravainen was a core piece of the Carolina Hurricanes’ top-six, where he challenged 60 points in scoring every season.
Losing Teravainen to injury would deal yet another blow to a Blackhawks lineup that seems to change every game. The veteran played off of rookies Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis on Monday, bringing an important bit of experience to the high-skill line. If Teravainen can’t go on Thursday, the Blackhawks could move veteran Tyler Bertuzzi into that role, and hope that Bedard can return to his top-line spot next to Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky. If Bedard is still under the weather, Chicago will have to bring Sam Lafferty down from the press box. Lafferty has two points in 17 games this season and would take on a bottom-line role.
Sharks Issue Injury Updates On Four Players
The San Jose Sharks have sorted out their injuries ahead of a four-game road-trip through the Eastern Conference. Winger Philipp Kurashev will not join the team on the trip, but could return at the tail-end, if he is able to recover from an upper-body injury sustained on December 13th. He was deemed week-to-week at the time. San Jose will have defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Vincent Desharnais on the trip after both recovered from upper-body injuries. Finally, top forward Will Smith will be questionable for Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals pending a return to full-contact practices. All updates were captured by NHL.com’s Max Miller.
Kurashev will continue to sit out of the lineup for at least a couple more games. He has already missed San Jose’s last 12 games, on top of a brief two-game absence in October. Kurashev was among San Jose’s hottest players through the turn into November. He racked up 11 points in 13 games between October 26th and November 20th – enough to earn top-six minutes through mutliple games. He cooled off significantly in the time since, with only three points in his next 12 games before going down to injury. Returning soon would give the Swiss winger a chance to get his legs back under him before going off to join Team Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It will be Kurashev’s first Olympic games, though he has notched 15 points in 32 World Championship games, across four appearances. Kurashev will slot into San Jose’s bottom-six when he’s healthy enough to return.
The Sharks will have two more options on defense through their next stretch. Desharnais has been out since late November but returned to practice on January 4th. He has served as one of many veteran bruisers and fighters on the Sharks lineup and should maintain a low-usage role if slotted back into the lineup. Mukhamadullin will be a more interesting watch, after missing the last four games. The 24 year old was continuing to struggle in his depth role prior to his injury. He posted no scoring and a minus-six in his last five games, bringing his year long totals to six points and a minus-four in 23 games. A return to the lineup would be a chance to continue earning minutes on an increasingly-crowded Sharks blue-line.
Smith will bring the most excitement back to the lineup. The 20 year old hasn’t played since sustaining an injury on December 13th. He has been skating on the side and didn’t rejoin San Jose’s team practices until last Friday. The Sharks will certainly want to ensure Smith is back to 100 percent before slotting him into the lineup – but his impact will be hard to wait for. Smith has 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games this season, good for fourth on the team in scoring despite missing the last 12 games. He has proven a dynamic and capable driver of the offense, able to play with or behind star center Macklin Celebrini.
The Sharks have seen the emergence of rookie Igor Chernyshov – who has nine points in his first 12 NHL games – since Smith’s injury. That will bring up some interesting questions as the Sharks juggle young players at the top of their lineup. Smith should return next to Alexander Wennberg and Tyler Toffoli, which would push Pavel Regenda back into the bottom-six. When those changes will occur will depend on how soon Smith can return to full-contact practice.
Stars’ Jamie Benn To Return After Nose Injury
The Dallas Stars will add captain Jamie Benn back to the lineup in Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings per Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News. Benn has missed the last three games with a nose injury sustained on January 4th.
Benn was seen sporting a visor during Monday’s practice, a surprising move for one of the league’s few remaining players who do not wear face protection. The NHL began requiring visors in 2013 but grandfathered in current players who choose not to wear one. 13 years later, three other players continue to not wear a visor: Ryan O’Reilly, Zach Bogosian, and Ryan Reaves.
Head coach Glen Gulutzan joked about Benn’s visor, having coached the captain in the AHL – where all players must wear visors – back in 2010, as captured by Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports. Benn wore a visor during his rookie NHL season but hasn’t worn one since, save for one game in January 2017 after his nose was broken by a high stick, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports.
Dallas posted a 1-1-1 record in Benn’s absence and scored at least three goals in every game. They will welcome another offensive spark after losing Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks in overtime. Benn hasn’t found his usual offensive spark this season, though. He missed the start of the year due to a collapsed lung and has only scored 14 points, split evenly, in 23 games since. Most of that scoring has come in chunks since December, with Benn sporting two four-game scoring droughts split by a four-game point streak over the last month-and-a-half.
Benn’s return could prompt some shifting in Dallas’ lineup. He has spent the bulk of his time this season alongside Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson – a role that was taken over by Mavrik Bourque over the last three games. Bourque scored one point in the trial run, likely low enough to bump him back to a tandem with Matt Duchene and Justin Hryckowian, while Colin Blackwell falls out of the lineup. Benn could also return to a role on the power-play in place of Bourque or Hryckowian.
Dallas will look to snap a recent lull with their captain back in the lineup. The Stars have posted a 1-3-4 record in their last eight games, a far fall from the 8-2-1 record they posted in their first 11 games of December. Benn was a core member of the lineup through that winning stretch and should bring the Stars lineup closer to normal, though they still face injuries to Tyler Seguin and Lian Bichsel.