Ice Chips: Senators' Ullmark ready for action, Merilainen assigned to AHL
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Ottawa Senators
Goaltender Linus Ullmark appears to be ready to return to the Senators lineup after the team assigned goaltender Leevi Merilainen to the AHL's Belleville Senators on Sunday, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
Ullmark, 31, has been out since Dec. 22 with a back injury.
The 6-foot-4 netminder was red hot before the injury, winning eight of his last nine starts before leaving the Senators' 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers early with the back injury.
Ullmark has a 12-7-2 record this season with a .915 save percentage and 2.38 goals against average. He was acquired from the Boston Bruins in the off-season in exchange for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a first-round draft pick.
Merilainen, 22, was outstanding in Ullmark's absence, going 8-3-1 with a shutout to go along with a 1.99 GAA and .925 save percentage.
He is coming off a 16-save shutout against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
The Senators also recalled forward Cole Reinhardt from the AHL Belleville on Sunday.
Reinhardt, 25, appeared in 12 games in Ottawa this season, recording a goal and two points.
The 6-foot-1 winger also has seven goals and 17 points in 16 games with Belleville this season.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks recalled defenceman Victor Mancini from the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks on Sunday.
Mancini, 22, was acquired by the Canucks, along with forward Filip Chytil, and a draft pick, from the New York Rangers on Friday in exchange for forward J.T. Miller.
The 6-foot-3 right-shot defenceman appeared in 15 games with the Rangers this season, recording a goal and five points while averaging 15:05 of ice time.
He also has three goals and 10 points in 23 games with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack this season.
Mancini was drafted 159th overall by the Rangers in 2022.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks assigned goaltender Yaroslav Askarov to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda and recalled netminder Vitek Vanecek from his conditioning sting with the Barracuda on Sunday.
Askarov, 22, appeared in 13 games with the Sharks this season, going 4-6-2 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .896 save percentage.
The 6-foot-3 goalie was acquired by the Sharks, along with forward Nolan Burke and a draft pick, in the off-season from the Nashville Predators in exchange for goaltender Magnus Chrona, prospect David Edstrom, and a 2025 first-round pick.
Askarov also has a 9-4-2 record with a .938 save percentage and 2.00 GAA with the Barracuda this season.
Vanecek, 29, hasn't played since Dec. 14 while he was dealing with an upper-body injury.
The 6-foot-2 netminder has a 3-8-1 record this season with a 3.84 GAA and .885 save percentage.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild placed forward Kirill Kaprizov on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 26 on Sunday.
The team announced on Tuesday that Kaprizov will undergo surgery to repair a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of January.
Kaprizov will miss at least four weeks for recovery and is considered week-to-week.
The 5-foot-10 winger has 23 goals and 52 points in 37 games this season.
Dallas Stars
The Stars activated winger Mason Marchment off of injured reserve on Sunday.
Marchment, 29, has missed the team's last 17 games while dealing with an upper-body injury.
He is considered a game-time decision for the Stars game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
The 6-foot-5 winger has 12 goals and 27 points in 33 games this season.
Additionally, the Stars assigned forward Kyle McDonald and defefnceman Christian Kyrou to the AHL's Texas Stars on Sunday.
McDonald, 22, has three goals and five points in 31 games in the AHL this season
Kyrou, 21, has four goals and 13 points in 26 games in Texas this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning assigned goaltender Matt Tomkins to the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Sunday.
Tomkins, 30, has a 6-8-4 record with the Crunch this season to go along with a 2.87 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.