Gabriel Landeskog To Return To Avalanche Lineup
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will return to the ice against the Washington Capitals, head coach Jared Bednar told the media (including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti) today. Landeskog has been out since March 6 with a lower-body injury, and has missed seven consecutive games.
Landeskog’s return will give the Avalanche a boost as they ready for what the team hopes (or even expects) is to be a deep playoff run starting next month. Landeskog, who missed nearly three full years of hockey recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, has returned to being a top-six player for the Avalanche.
While he hasn’t produced at the same level he was at when he was last a healthy NHL player (he scored 30 goals and 59 points in just 51 games in 2021-22), he’s still been a productive member of an Avalanche team that has been the class of the league in 2025-26. Through 47 games, he’s scored nine goals and 29 points, which is a 16-goal, 51-point 82-game scoring pace. He’s scored at that rate despite no longer being a staple on the team’s first power play unit.
With Landeskog injured, the Avalanche elevated veteran Valeri Nichushkin to Landeskog’s previous role, which was as the first-line left wing alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas.
Nichushkin is coming off of a game two days ago in which he scored a goal and added an assist in the team’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks, so it’s possible Bednar won’t want to separate that first line even with Landeskog returning. If that’s the case, he could find a landing spot on Colorado’s second line, which is currently a trio of three centers (Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, Nicolas Roy).
If anything, Landeskog’s return could provide better balance to the Avalanche lineup, as the team is currently staffing its bottom-six with players relatively short on NHL experience. In the team’s most recent game, their fourth line combined for 41 games of total NHL experience from before 2025-26.
East Notes: Greer, Stolarz, Quick
In a somewhat surprising development, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced it would have a phone hearing for Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer for his hit against Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Ultimately, it means that Greer won’t be given a suspension any longer than five games. On the play in question, Greer was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking, a five-minute major for interference, and a 10-minute game misconduct. Essentially, Greer hit Zary from behind into the boards, well before there was any expectation of incidental contact.
At the very least, it suggests that the NHL DoPS isn’t feeling any outside pressure to change the way they assess supplementary discipline. After Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for five games for delivering a knee-to-knee hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who suffered a season-ending injury due to the incident, there was an outcry from fans and media for the DoPS to impose stricter discipline to prevent such situations in the future.
Other Eastern Conference notes:
- Netminder Anthony Stolarz did not make his scheduled start tonight because of an injury suffered in warm-ups. Before the game, the Maple Leafs announced that Stolarz was struck in the neck by a puck during warm-ups and was subsequently taken to a local hospital for further testing. Toronto has not provided any additional updates regarding Stolarz since.
- There is additional context regarding the New York Rangers’ recall of netminder Dylan Garand yesterday. According to Andrew Crane of the New York Post, veteran netminder Jonathan Quick is dealing with a minor upper-body ailment. Regardless, the expectation is that Garand will make his NHL debut while Quick is sidelined.
Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Sanderson, Rielly
The Detroit Red Wings have been without their captain, Dylan Larkin, for just over two weeks due to a leg injury suffered on March 6th. Fortunately for the Red Wings, Ansar Khan of MLive reported that Larkin is nearing a day-to-day status, meaning he should return relatively soon.
Larkin has missed Detroit’s last six games due to his leg injury. Although the team has gone 3-2-1 in that stretch, they’re entering crunch time for their postseason lives. Their upcoming schedule won’t give them any favors, with consecutive games against the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Red Wings would welcome a return at any time. Not only is Larkin the team’s top center by a significant margin, but he is the heart and soul of the team. Simply put, Detroit typically looks like a completely different team without Larkin. If he returns by the end of next week, the Red Wings will get a major boost as they look to string some wins together to close out the regular season.
Additional notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Another Atlantic Division team in the playoff hunt is the Ottawa Senators, who are also dealing with a significant injury to an important player. Like Larkin, defenseman Jake Sanderson has missed the last few weeks with the Senators, this time due to an upper-body injury. Similar to Detroit, Ottawa has played fine without Sanderson, but he objectively gives them a better chance to win each night. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, Sanderson is expected to return by the end of March or early April.
- Staying in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Morgan Rielly would miss today’s game due to a lower-body injury. It is believed that Rielly did not suffer the injury due to any direct play in Toronto’s recent game against the Carolina Hurricanes, but rather re-aggravated an issue from earlier in the season. The 13-year veteran has scored nine goals and 33 points in 67 games for the Maple Leafs this season, averaging 21:15 of ice time.
Injury Updates: Mikkola, Girard, Oilers
Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola suffered a lower-body injury on Friday against Calgary and is expected to miss some time, notes George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 29-year-old has been a key piece of Florida’s back end this season, logging over 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. Gustav Forsling missed last night’s game with an undisclosed injury while Uvis Balinskis is dealing with an undisclosed injury himself. If one of those two can’t return by their next game on Tuesday, Florida would be able to utilize an emergency recall from AHL Charlotte that wouldn’t count against their post-deadline limit.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Penguins welcomed back one of their blueliners today versus Winnipeg as Samuel Girard returned to the lineup after missing five games due to an undisclosed injury. Acquired from Colorado last month, the 27-year-old had been held off the scoresheet in seven games since the swap while averaging 18:25 per game. With Girard returning and the recent returns of Ryan Graves and Jack St. Ivany from conditioning stints, Pittsburgh’s back end is now much deeper with nine players available.
- The Oilers could be welcoming back an important defenseman tonight against Tampa Bay. Team reporter Tony Brar relays (Twitter link) that it looks like Ty Emberson will be back in the lineup after missing the last five games with an undisclosed injury. He has been a regular on the third pairing and penalty kill this season so getting him back will be a welcome addition at a time when they’ve had a lot of tough news on the injury front as of late. Meanwhile, Brar adds that center Curtis Lazar is expected to return to the lineup sometime next month. He has been out for nearly three weeks with an undisclosed injury of his own.
Noah Laba And Urho Vaakanainen Out Week-To-Week
With the Rangers well out of playoff contention and playing out the stretch, this is the time of year when it would be good to get some of their younger players or depth pieces a bit more playing time to help evaluate things for next season. That won’t be happening for a pair of players, however. Newsday’s Denis P. Gorman relays (Twitter link) that center Noah Laba and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen are listed as out week-to-week.
Laba sustained a lower-body injury on Wednesday against New Jersey. The 22-year-old came into training camp, locked down a roster spot to start the year, and hasn’t looked back since as he has been a regular in New York’s bottom six. Through 65 games this season, Laba has nine goals and 12 assists while winning just over half of his faceoffs. He has also chipped in with 90 hits while logging over 13 minutes a night of ice time, a solid freshman year overall.
As for Vaakanainen, he also was injured against the Devils, though with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old has been a depth defender for the Rangers since coming over as part of the Jacob Trouba trade early last season. Through 33 games, he has six assists and 26 blocks in 13:48 per game of ice time. Instead of possibly getting a chance to make a case for a more stable role down the stretch, he’ll now be sidelined for the next little while.
With Connor Mackey being recalled on Thursday and New York still having 12 healthy forwards on the roster, it’s unlikely that there will be any further promotions from AHL Hartford for the time being. If they do elect to call up someone, that move would count against their post-deadline limit of five since they have enough healthy players to not be eligible for an emergency recall.
Trent Frederic Out Indefinitely
It has been a rough few weeks on the injury front for the Oilers, particularly up front. Within the last few weeks, Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, Colton Dach, and Leon Draisaitl have all landed on LTIR, with Janmark being done for the season.
Now, another forward can be added to the injury list. Speaking after practice today, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Sportsnet’s Gene Principe (Twitter link) that winger Trent Frederic is dealing with an injury with no timeline for his return.
The injury was sustained on Thursday against Florida late in the second period while forechecking. He was able to get up and finish the shift but didn’t return to the game for the third.
This is Frederic’s first full season with Edmonton and to say he has underwhelmed would certainly be fair. Signed to an eight-year contract worth $3.85MM per season back in June, the 28-year-old has struggled offensively. Through 67 games this season, he has just four goals and two assists in a little under 11 minutes a night of playing time. However, he does sit second on the team in hits with 170, only behind winger Vasily Podkolzin.
The next man up approach has been used a lot lately thanks to these injuries and the one who will get the next opportunity is winger Roby Jarventie, recalled into the cap space opened up by Draisaitl’s LTIR placement. It will be Jarventie’s first NHL action since November 2023.
In the meantime, Edmonton has more than ample cap space to bring yet another forward up from AHL Bakersfield. However, given that they still have 12 healthy forwards on the roster, they won’t be in a position to utilize an emergency recall. Accordingly, any forward that comes up from the Condors would count against their post-deadline limit of five. If the Oilers want to keep some flexibility on that front for later in the year or into the playoffs should they qualify, they might elect not to bring up a replacement for Frederic right away.
Flyers’ Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey, Luke Glendening Out
The Philadelphia Flyers will be without a forward for Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. Sean Couturier has been announced as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, head coach Rick Tocchet told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. Tocchet did not have an official timeline for Couturier’s injury, though said he doesn’t believe it will be long-term. Philadelphia was also without winger Denver Barkey due to an upper-body injury, and Luke Glendening to a lower-body injury. Both share Couturier’s day-to-day designation.
Couturier was on the ice for the Flyers’ opening goal in their 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. He appeared in just over 15 minutes of ice time in that matchup, sticking to the bottom-six role that he has spent much of the year’s second half in. Couturier has seven goals and 29 points in 66 games this season, his lowest scoring pace since the 2012-13 season – his second year in the NHL. He is also averaging his lowest ice time, 17 minutes a game, since that season.
Couturier’s slide into a smaller lineup role has coincided with handful of injuries over the last five seasons. He missed much of the second half of 2021-22, and all of the 2022-23 season, due to a string of injuries including back surgery. He has missed 12 games since returning to a full-time role in 2023-24 season.
Glendening has split a center role with Couturier since joining the team via waivers just after the NHL Trade Deadline. He has two points in five games and a 57.9 faceoff percentage on 38 faceoffs so far. That reliability has helped form an all-three-zones bottom line next to Couturier and Garnet Hathaway.
Rookie winger Barkey has also spent the majority of his time in Philadelphia’s bottom-six. He has three goals and 11 points in 32 NHL games this season, to go with 16 points in 26 AHL games.
The Flyers will have to look towards their extra forwards to fill Couturier’s lineup role. They currently carry two extra forwards: Carl Grundstrom and Garrett Wilson. Grundstrom has been the de facto option this season, stepping into 37 games and scoring 12 points on the year. The hard-nosed winger could again slot into a fourth-line role, while the top of Philadelphia’s lineup remains unchanged.
Wilson played in 84 NHL games between 2013 and 2019, recording eight points and 42 penalty minutes. He has spent the last seven seasons in a full-time, AHL role where his grinder presence stands tall. Wilson leads the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with 101 penalty minutes in 54 games this season. He racked up 134 PIMs in 63 games last season and a career-high 216 PIMs in 59 games in the year prior. The grinder made his Flyers debut filling in for the trio of injuries on Thursday.
Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov Out Day-To-Day
The Minnesota Wild won’t have their superstar winger on Thursday night. Kirill Kaprizov is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury sustained in the team’s last game against the Chicago Blackhawks per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Specifically, Kaprizov’s injury was sustained on a check from Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato, per Russo, and his absence from the lineup is a precaution after Kaprizov skated in full at Thursday morning’s practice. In-season trade acquisition Quinn Hughes will serve as an alternative captain in Kaprizov’s spot.
Minnesota will struggle to make up for Kaprizov’s absence. He brings a nightly impact, including recording one assist and a team-high six shots on goal in Tuesday’s overtime win over the Blackhawks despite getting injured. He leads the Wild with 38 goals and 80 points in 69 games this season. Kaprizov was also one of only four Wild skaters – alongside Brock Faber, Yakov Trenin, and Jared Spurgeon – to appear in every game this season. That streak will come to an end on Thursday, forcing Minnesota to find a replacement for their star winger on top of replacing injured center Joel Eriksson Ek.
Centerman Hunter Haight will step into the lineup for Kaprizov. This will be the rookie’s first NHL game since a three-game stint in the lineup in mid-January. He has no points and a minus-four in five NHL games, and 23 points in 43 AHL games, this season. Haight should assume a bottom-line role, while speedy winger Bobby Brink joins Matt Boldy and Danila Yurov on Minnesota’s top line. Brink scored one goal in three games with the Wild after being acquired at the Trade Deadline, and before going down with an injury that’s held him out of the last nine days. He’ll return to the lineup in a big way, with Minnesota seeking additional scoring in lieu of Kaprizov. Brink could be fighting to stick in the top-nine after Kaprizov returns with this spot start next to one of Minnesota’s top scorers.
Auston Matthews Undergoes MCL Surgery, Out For Season
March 19: Matthews underwent successful surgery to repair his MCL tear today in New York City, the team announced. The procedure carries a 12-week recovery timeline, meaning he shouldn’t have any issue hitting the ground running for training camp in the fall.
March 13: After sustaining a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim’s Radko Gudas on Thursday night, the Maple Leafs won’t have their captain down the stretch. The team announced (Twitter link) that center Auston Matthews will miss the remainder of the season due to a Grade Three MCL tear. He will be reevaluated in two weeks and a further update will be provided at that time.
The injury brings a premature end to what has been a tough season for the 28-year-old. After lingering injuries slowed Matthews down off and on at times last season, the hope was that he’d come into this year fully healthy and get back to the level that saw him win three Rocket Richard trophies for the most goals in four years. With Mitch Marner now in Vegas, they were counting on him to be able to shoulder more of the load offensively.
However, that hasn’t happened. In between dealing with a pair of short-term lower-body injuries, Matthews saw his production drop even further this season. After putting up 78 points in 63 games in 2024-25, he was limited to just 27 goals and 26 assists in 60 outings this season. His goal earlier in Friday’s game snapped a 12-game goalless drought, allowing him to avoid tying his career-long stretch in that regard, set back in his rookie season back in 2016-17. Instead of leading the way offensively, Matthews finds himself fourth in team scoring and will likely stay there with Oliver Ekman-Larsson (who’s fifth) being 18 points behind.
Matthews has two years remaining on his current contract, one that carries a $13.25MM AAV that was briefly the richest in NHL history. It’s fair to say that Toronto hasn’t received fair value on that agreement so far given his reduction in production over the past two years. They’ll have to hope that the extended time off before next season will help spur his offense forward in the second half of the agreement.
His absence could also have an impact in the draft lottery. Toronto will retain its first-round pick if they land in the top five of the draft after the lottery. (If they pick outside that range, the selection goes to Boston.) The Maple Leafs are tied for eighth-last in the league right now, five points ahead of St. Louis, which is currently 28th. However, without their number one center in the lineup down the stretch, they could be primed to fall a little further in the standings.
Meanwhile, Gudas had a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety earlier today as part of the supplemental discipline process. That will cap a potential suspension at no more than five games. With Anaheim in action both Saturday and Sunday, a decision on that front should come before too long.
Panthers Place Brad Marchand On LTIR, Expected To Activate Seth Jones
The second half of the season is becoming clearer for the Florida Panthers, who saw multiple players progress and regress from extended injuries. Defenseman Seth Jones and center Jonah Gadjovich, both on long-term injured reserve, have each taken a step forward but both still aren’t ready to return yet, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson.
Maurice spoke more in depth about winger Brad Marchand who will see doctors on Tuesday to determine if he needs surgery for a nagging, undisclosed injury. Marchand has dealt with the injury for most of the season, pushing Maurice to try and control his rest. That task has become tougher as a condensed back-half of the season rolls around. Marchand hasn’t been able to stand up to his top-six role since March rolled around, averaging just 13:30 in ice time over his last four games – over four minutes under his season-long average. The team expects to have an answer on his status for the rest of the season before the week ends.
After a week to weigh his decision, Marchand will indeed land on long-term injured reserve for the Panthers. This move will give the Panthers enough cap room to activate Jones off of LTIR per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. Marchand will be eligible to return as soon as April 6th, when the Panthers have five games remaining in the regular season. If he will be healthy enough to play those games – or, if they’re worth the risk at all – will be the next question facing the Panthers winger.
Marchand has been a cornerstone of Florida’s offense, even while playing through injuries. He has scored 54 points – split evenly – in 52 games, making him one of only two Panthers scoring above a point-per-game alongside Matthew Tkachuk. Marchand’s ability to produce consistently from the first or second line has supported Tkachuk as he’s eased back from a season-opening injury and heavy role at the Winter Olympics.
The Panthers will turn towards trade acquisition Vinnie Hinostroza to fill in the lineup chart with Marchand on the shelf. He scored three goals and 10 points in 48 games with the Minnesota Wild before moving to Florida at the Trade Deadline for future considerations. He will step into a fourth-line role with the Panthers, while Eetu Luostarinen earns a bump into unrivaled, top-six minutes. Luostarinen has 24 points in 55 games this season and is in the midst of a seven-game scoring drought. He and Carter Verhaeghe should be the biggest beneficiary of Marchand’s available minutes.
Florida is missing another major piece in Jones, who ranks second on the defense in scoring with 24 points in 40 games. He led the team in ice time per-game before going down with injury, averaging 23:29 – a good stride above Gustav Forsling‘s 22:44 ranked second. Jones has stood up to a top role in Florida’s offense after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a steep price in 2025. Jones’ return will fortify Florida’s blue-line alongside Aaron Ekblad.
Meanwhile, Gadjovich’s return will round out Florida’s depth alongside waiver acquisition Cole Reinhardt. Gadjovich recorded three assists in 10 games before going down with injury on October 25th. He has missed 53 games, and the Winter Olympics, since.
The Panthers will move forward with a dented lineup as they try to climb back from an 11-point deficit in the standings. It seems they are much more likely to miss the postseason on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, an outcome that – at the least – would allow more time for stars Tkachuk, Marchand, and Jones to work to full health by next season.