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Atlantic Notes: Tkachuk, Matheson, Carlo, Canadiens

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As much as he would have liked to, forward Matthew Tkachuk won’t play in the Winter Classic tomorrow for the Florida Panthers. The Panthers announced the news earlier today from team reporter Jameson Olive.

Still, it shouldn’t be too much longer for the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Tkachuk has been working his way back from a groin injury for the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, and has been skating in a non-contact jersey for the last handful of practices.

Although it won’t come in the Winter Classic, the return of Tkachuk will be a major boost to the defending Stanley Cup champions. Despite being outpaced by the red-hot Buffalo Sabres in the last few days, the Panthers are only one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Returning a player of Tkachuk’s caliber, who’s scored 88 goals and 254 points in 211 regular-season contests, should help them recoup some lost ground in the standings.

Other updates from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Montreal Canadiens have a little bit of a different look to their defensive core tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Before the game, the Canadiens announced that defenseman Mike Matheson would miss the game due to an upper-body injury, and rookie Adam Engstrom would take his spot in the lineup. Matheson’s injury has caused some controversy, as it’s likely linked to being elbowed by Panthers forward Brad Marchand in yesterday’s overtime win. Marchand was penalized on the play, but didn’t receive any supplemental discipline.
  • Although they’ve lost veteran defenseman Chris Tanev for the foreseeable future, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have a different right-handed defenseman return this weekend. Earlier today, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun highlighted in his article that Brandon Carlo could be activated from the injured reserve for Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. Carlo, in his first full season with the Maple Leafs, has been largely disappointing this year, registering two assists in 18 games while being injured for much of the year due to lower-body concerns.
  • Back in Montreal, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels provided a few injury updates on Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle. Engels suggested that the Canadiens are remaining cautious with Dach, who has missed the last six weeks with a fractured foot. He’s expected to return soon, but could need additional time before he’s fully ready to return. Meanwhile, Engels stated that the team is far more optimistic about Guhle, who could return when Montreal returns from their current road trip, which would be on January 7th against the Calgary Flames.

Pacific Notes: Jarry, Hyman, Vatrano, Chiarot

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It appears the Oilers won’t have to wait too much longer to get their new starting goalie back.  Head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters following last night’s game (video link) that they’re hoping to have Tristan Jarry back around mid-January.  That would mean he’ll miss another couple of weeks but ideally not much more than that.  Diagnosed as out week-to-week just before the holiday break due to a lower-body injury, Jarry was injured in just his third game following last month’s swap.  Connor Ingram has played well in three of his four games in Jarry’s absence and will now have a couple more weeks to make the case that he should take over as Edmonton’s backup moving forward over Calvin Pickard.

More from the Pacific:

  • While Hockey Canada didn’t reveal any of its players on their standby list for next month’s Olympics when they announced their roster yesterday, Oilers winger Zach Hyman is on that list, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Hyman missed the start of the season while recovering from wrist surgery but has been productive in his limited action, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games, 16 of which have come in his last 11 outings.  That made him a candidate for the team given his chemistry with linemate Connor McDavid but he’ll now need someone to miss due to injury to have a chance to make it.
  • Unsurprisingly, following Wednesday’s announcement that Frank Vatrano will miss six weeks due to a fractured shoulder, the Ducks have moved him to injured reserve, notes Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Anaheim had been carrying a full 23-player roster so they now have an opening to recall someone from AHL San Diego, a move that could be made relatively soon.
  • Earlier this week, Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot was traded in the OHL with Kitchener announcing that they acquired him from Brampton in exchange for eight draft picks. The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver back in June, going 175th overall.  He has 15 goals and 10 assists in 33 games so far this season.  Chiarot turns 20 in mid-September, meaning he is eligible to play full-time in the minors in 2026-27 so this could be a particularly expensive rental if the Canucks decide that moving to the next level is better than an overage season in junior.

Conor Garland And Marco Rossi Out At Least A Week

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The new calendar year hasn’t started off on a good note on the injury front for Vancouver.  Sportsnet 650’s Randip Janda relays (Twitter links) that winger Conor Garland and center Marco Rossi will be out at least a week with respective lower-body injuries.

Garland sustained his injury on Tuesday against Philadelphia when he received a slew foot.  The veteran has had an okay first half to his season, notching 22 points in 33 games but just seven have been goals.  Given that Vancouver is likely to be a seller before the trade deadline in March, the 29-year-old has popped up in trade speculation again, even with a new six-year, $36MM extension set to begin next season.

As for Rossi, he was one of the pieces that came to the Canucks in last month’s Quinn Hughes trade.  Injured at the time he was acquired, he has since returned and got off to a quiet start with his new team.  In eight games since the swap, the 24-year-old has been held to just one goal and one assist but he was more productive in Minnesota, notching four goals and nine assists in 17 outings.  The hope is that he’ll be a top-six piece for the long term but that’s on hold for now with this latest injury.

Since they each will miss at least a week, both Garland and Rossi will be eligible to go on injured reserve and open up some roster flexibility.  Janda adds that the team does intend to recall at least one forward from AHL Abbotsford which would bring them back to 13 healthy options on their active roster.

Evening Notes: Hutson, Plante, Sherwood, Leddy

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Washington Capitals defense prospect Cole Hutson and Detroit Red Wings prospect Max Plante are both dealing with day-to-day injuries with Team USA at the 2026 World Junior Championship per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale.

Hutson was injuried when a stray puck hit him in the back of the head in Saturday’s game against Switzerland. It was a scary moment that ended with Hutson being carted off the ice and transported to the hospital. Luckily, he left the hospital later that night avoided the worst case scenario. He returned to Team USA’s practice on Monday morning.

Plante hasn’t yet returned to practice after sustaining an injury in the second period of Monday’s game against Slovakia.

Both players sat out of USA’s Wednesday matchup against Team Sweden. The Americans lost that matchup 3-6. Hutson led the 2025 World Juniors in scoring with 11 points in seven games. Plante led the NCAA in scoring before leaving for this tournament. He has 30 points in 20 games. The two are major pillars of the American lineup. Their day-to-day status will be a silver lining as the Americans eye a tough elimination round.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The San Jose Sharks have expressed interest in Vancouver Canucks scorer Kiefer Sherwood per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in a recent interview on the FAN Hockey Show. The 30-year-old winger would be an interesting buy for a Sharks club well outside of playoff contention. He has offered Vancouver a unique mix of goal-scoring and heavy-hitting. Sherwood recorded 19 goals, 40 points, and an NHL record 462 hits in 78 games last season. He is continuing in that line this year, with 16 goals and 184 hits in only 39 games. Those numbers put him on pace for 34 goals and 387 hits in 82 games this season. Bringing in that impact could help San Jose protect their young stars and add a bit more veteran shooting to the mix as they eye cheap additions to the lineup.
  • Sticking in San Jose, young defender Shakir Mukhamadullin rotated back into the lineup for Nick Leddy in Wednesday’s shootout win over the Minnesota Wild per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. He recorded two shots on goal and no points. The Sharks have rotated between the two defenders over their recent stretch. Mukhamadullin has managed six points, 10 hits, and 21 shot blocks in 21 games. Leddy has three assists and 20 shot blocks in 15 games. The two will continue rotating while San Jose waits on Timothy Liljegren’s nearing return.

Ducks’ Frank Vatrano To Miss Six Weeks

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The Anaheim Ducks provided an injury update mid-game, as Frank Vatrano will miss approximately six weeks. The forward has suffered a shoulder fracture which occurred on Saturday against Los Angeles. Vatrano was listed as out two days ago, with uncertainty on how long he would be absent, so today’s news is perhaps worse than anticipated.

Based on the timeline, Vatrano will miss all of January and could be in line to return sometime before mid-February. A major story to start the season, Anaheim has slipped of late, but still hold onto the third spot in the Pacific Division. The 31-year-old has just six points in 38 games on the season, a major step backward from his output over the past three seasons as a Duck, including a 37-goal campaign in 2023-24.

With the emergence of young stars such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, the veteran’s role has dropped under Head Coach Joel Quenneville, mostly a third line deployment. The injury is a tough blow for Vatrano as he’s sought to find his game under the new regime, in what is year one of his three year contract extension, finally on an imposing team, no less. However, there should be ample time to get healthy and provide leadership for the group as they could end their seven-year playoff drought, even if it does not show on the score sheet for the Massachusetts native.

Vatrano did make a mark in the physical game. He has 67 hits this season, second-most on the Ducks’ offense behind Ross Johnston (111). He also ranks second on the offense with 24 blocked shots. Those will be hard impacts to replace – though Anaheim could have a perfect fit in extra forward Jansen Harkins. Harkins has 55 hits in just 17 games this season, making him the only Duck with a higher hits-per-game average than Johnston or Vatrano. He also has 12 blocked shots – already half of Vatrano’s total.

Harkins will take on the fourth-line center role with Vatrano on the mend. The extended injury could also provide a chance to test strong minor-leaguers like Tim Washe or Sasha Pastujov.

Pro Hockey Rumor’s Gabriel Foley contributed to this article.

Sabres’ Alex Lyon Out Indefinitely

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Dec. 31: Lyon has left the Sabres’ road trip to continue his evaluation and is out indefinitely, the team announced today. Ellis will be activated from injured reserve and will back up Luukkonen tonight against the Stars.

Dec. 30: Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon is undergoing evaluation for a lower-body injury he sustained late in last night’s win over the Blues, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters (including Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News). He didn’t leave the contest, and it’s unclear if he’s going to miss time, but if they don’t have an update by tomorrow morning, he won’t be going in the crease against the Stars on Wednesday.

If Lyon is to miss time, the Sabres won’t need to recall a body from AHL Rochester. Ruff said third-stringer Colten Ellis has cleared concussion protocol and will be available to come off injured reserve if needed in Dallas.

Lyon hasn’t been the sole architect of Buffalo’s nine-game win streak to get back into playoff contention, but he’s been in the crease for most of it. He’s started seven out of nine to boost his numbers on the year to a 10-6-3 record, .906 SV%, 2.82 GAA, and one shutout, recovering well after a strong start followed by a steep crash.

The 33-year-old was signed to be the backup to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen over the offseason but has instead emerged as Buffalo’s leading option in a crowded crease, starting 19 of 38 games with the best numbers on the team. He’s stopped 6.5 goals above expected compared to 1.5 combined from Luukkonen and Ellis, per MoneyPuck.

It was clear after Jarmo Kekäläinen took over the GM’s chair several weeks ago that the Sabres would look to get down to two goalies once Ellis was cleared to return. With the Sabres signing Ellis’ praises after claiming him off waivers from the Blues and Luukkonen signed through the 2028-29 season, Lyon was the most logical trade candidate and has been a person of interest in the Oilers’ search for added depth.

However, his injury could allow Kekäläinen more time to determine Lyon’s future and reconsider his options. Trading away the team’s best overall netminder this season won’t go over well for a team that’s done some heavy lifting as of late to try to end their league-record playoff drought at 14 years. Flipping Ellis, who’s only churned out a .895 SV% through eight starts and has the worst advanced numbers of the three, would be the smarter win-now move, regardless of the 25-year-old’s ceiling.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

Blue Jackets’ Brendan Smith Out Indefinitely With Lower Leg Injury

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Blue Jackets defenseman Brendan Smith is going to be out “a while” due to the lower right leg injury he sustained Monday against the Senators, head coach Dean Evason told reporters (including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic).

Smith fell awkwardly in the late stages of the win, appearing to strain or twist something near his right knee when attempting to stand up. He wasn’t putting any weight on the leg as he was helped to the locker room and did not return to the game.

The 36-year-old spent training camp on a professional tryout with Columbus before being released. He caught on with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, and showed out well enough there through the first several weeks of the season to earn a two-way deal from the Jackets in late November.

He’s been rostered as a depth option ever since and has seen plenty of playing time with Erik Gudbranson and Zach Werenski on injured reserve. Smith, now in his 15th NHL season, had appeared in 15 straight games since signing his contract and recorded two assists with a -1 rating while averaging 11:05 of ice time per game.

With Gudbranson and Werenski still unavailable, Dysin Mayo will step into the lineup on the third pairing with Jake Christiansen for Wednesday’s game against the Devils. Mayo, a righty, will be making his second appearance of the season after being recalled from Cleveland on an emergency basis on Tuesday. His Columbus debut came back on Nov. 5 in a 5-1 loss to the Flames, posting a -1 rating and five shot attempts in 7:33 of ice time.

Kings Activate Darcy Kuemper, Reassign Pheonix Copley

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The Los Angeles Kings will have a major piece back in the lineup when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. 2025 Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper has been activated off of injured reserve after missing the last six games and 15 days with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice on Saturday. To make room for Kuemper’s return, the Kings have reassigned depth goaltender Pheonix Copley.

Kuemper could be eased back into Los Angeles’ lineup over their upcoming four-game home stretch. He has continued to be an elite option in net for the Kings, posting 10 wins and a .917 save percentage in the 23 games he has played in this season. That’s narrowly in-line with the .921 save percentage that Kuemper recorded in 50 games last season, while again battling routine injury. He earned a third-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting – and a top-20 finish in Hart Trophy voting – with that performance.

Overall, Kuemper has averaged a .920 save percentage over the last two seasons, tying him with Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the highest in the NHL. He also has seven shutouts in that span, tied for second in the league behind Hellebuyck, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson who all have eight.

The Kings have struggled significantly in Kuemper’s absence. They posted a 2-4-0 record and 16-to-20 goal differential since his injury, while leaning on Anton Forsberg as their starter. Forsberg has totaled a 6-6-3 record and .901 save percentage in his first season with the Kings. He held the lion’s share of minutes while Kuemper was out, though Copley did appear in one game. Los Angeles lost that game while Copley recorded a .893 Sv%. That is narrowly above the .885 Sv% he has recorded in 13 AHL games this season. With this move, Copley will have a chance to boost up those minor-league numbers, while Los Angeles get a much-needed upgrade in net.

Golden Knights’ William Karlsson Won’t Be Healthy For Olympics

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Bad news has come through for a potential core memebr of Team Sweden’s 2026 Winter Olympics squad. Despite hoping to return before the tournament, Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson won’t be healthy enough to play per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Karlsson is recovering from a lower-body injury sustained in Vegas’ November 8th loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He appeared in 14 games and scored seven points before the injury.

Karlsson has run into a streak of bad injury luck stretching back to the start of last season. He didn’t make his season debut until Vegas’ ninth game of the 2024-25 season and fell back out of the lineup for 21 games in late January. Those absences, and 23 missed games this season, give Karlsson more than 50 absences since October 2024.

That injury luck has left Vegas with a major hole in their center position. Tomas Hertl has stepped up to help fill the hole – posting a 58.0 faceoff percentage on 584 faceoffs. That success rate puts Hertl near the bottom of the top-10 faceoff takers this season. Hertl also has 29 points in 37 games this season, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his 61 points last season. Those impacts have helped Vegas lean on Colton Sissons and Brett Howden as their bottom-six centers. Both have posted faceoff percentages north of 50 percent though they only have five and 11 points respectively.

Karlsson is routinely challenges 50 points  when he’s at full health. He scored 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games during the 2023-24 season, the highest marks he’s reached since posting career-highs with 43 goals and 78 points in 2017-18. Karlsson was scoring well below his career-average to start this season. Now, he won’t be able to right that ship until Vegas returns from the NHL’s Olympic break on February 25th, at the soonest. That return date would force Karlsson to miss 20 more games.

More than hurting Vegas’ lineup for the start of the new year, this news will pull Karlsson’s first chance to play for Sweden’s Olympic roster. He has seldomly played for his country over the course of his NHL career, largely thanks to Vegas’ success in the postseason. An appearance at the 2025 World Championship, where Karlsson posted one point in four games, was his first international tournament since the 2017 World Championship. Karlsson has won a Gold medal at the World Championship and World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.

The former SHL ’Rookie-of-the-Year’ would be a reliable center for Sweden in the Olympic games, even though he has only scored four points in 14 World Championship games in his career. Sweden leaned on Mika Zibanejad, Joel Eriksson Ek, Leo Carlsson, and Elias Lindholm as their centers at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. This news could help cement those four down the middle when Sweden heads to the Olympic games in Milan.

Blue Jackets Place Isac Lundestrom On IR, Recall Dysin Mayo

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have made a minor roster adjustment ahead of tomorrow’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The Blue Jackets announced that they’ve placed forward Isac Lundeström on the injured reserve, and recalled defenseman Dysin Mayo on an emergency basis in a corresponding roster move.

In the announcement, the team added that Lundeström sustained his injury during a team practice and is expected to miss the next few weeks, which was already reported yesterday. The 26-year-old center is in his first year with the Blue Jackets and has missed the team’s last two games due to the lower-body injury.

Even with relatively low expectations coming into the year, Lundeström has had mixed results with his new club. He has scored one goal and five points in 35 games, pacing for four fewer points than he had last year with the Anaheim Ducks.

Still, outside of his tepid offensive production, Lundeström is one of the best faceoff takers on the team with a 53.7% success rate, and is maintaining a respectable 90.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength, offering solid defensive value.

Even with Lundeström on IR, and the status of Sean Monahan up in the air after being a late scratch yesterday, the Blue Jackets have 12 healthy forwards on the active roster, which wouldn’t have triggered the necessity of an emergency recall.

However, the team only has six defensemen on the roster, with Zach Werenski and Erik Gudbranson on the IR, meaning Mayo’s recall is related to a defenseman being unable to go tomorrow. That blue liner is likely veteran Brendan Smith, who sustained an injury toward the end of Columbus’s game yesterday.

It’s not the first time Mayo has been recalled this year, though it is the first time on an emergency basis. Throughout his two previous recalls, Mayo appeared in one game for Columbus, skating in 7:33 of action and earning a -1 rating. He’s had a respectable year with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, scoring two goals and seven points in 19 games with a -2 rating.

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