Ice Chips: Carrier to make Canadiens' debut Friday vs. Red Wings
Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.
Montreal Canadiens
Head coach Martin St. Louis confirmed that recently acquired defenceman Alexandre Carrier will make his Habs debut Friday against the Detroit Red Wings. Carrier was acquired Wednesday from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Justin Barron.
Carrier, 28, has a goal and six points in 28 games with the Predators this season while averaging 20:08 of ice time.
Sam Montembeault will make his eighth consecutive start.
The Canadiens practiced with the following forward lines on Thursday:
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Newhook - Dach - Laine
Anderson - Dvorak - Gallagher
Heineman - Evans - Armia
Ottawa Senators
The Senators have recalled forward Cole Reinhardt from the AHL's Belleville Senators.
The 24-year-old has one goal and one assist in five NHL games this season.
The Calgary native was originally selected by the Sens in the sixth round (181st overall) by the Sens in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Reinhardt has six goals and 16 points in 13 games in the AHL this season.
Edmonton Oilers
Viktor Arvidsson practiced alongside Connor Brown and Adam Henrique at Thursday's practice.
Arvidssson has missed the past 15 games due to injury and has not played since Nov. 12 against the New York Islanders.
Zach Hyman skated on Connor McDavid's line this morning after sustaining a broken nose in Monday's game against the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers skated with the following lines:
Nugent-Hopkins-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Arvidsson-Henrique-Brown
J. Skinner-Janmark-Perry
Ryan
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson
Calgary Flames
The Flames projected lineup for tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators:
Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Backlund-Coronato
Sharangovich-Zary-Pelletier
Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr
Bahl-Andersson
Hanley-Weegar
Bean-Pachal
Vladar
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin skated at Capitals practice Thursday in a no-contact jersey.
Head coach Spencer Carbery said Ovechkin is 'real close' to returning to the lineup.
"I'm not going to give a percentage or anything like that, but he's getting real close.," Carbery said after practice on Thursday. “Won’t play tomorrow and then we'll sort of see how the next 48 hours go and see if there's a potential of him playing in one of those, LA or Boston.”
Ovechkin was originally given a four-to-six week timeframe for his return after sustaining a fractured fibula injury on Nov. 18
The 6-foot-3 winger was on a tear prior to the injury, recording 15 goals and 25 points in 18 games and is 26 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
Forward Lars Eller (maintenance) is not at Thursdays practice.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have activated goaltender Petr Mrazek from injured reserve and assigned Drew Commesso to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Mrazek, 32, has not played since Dec. 7 due to a left groin injury. Prior to being placed on injured reserve, the veteran appeared in 20 games, posting a 7-11-1 record with a 2.83 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
New Jersey Devils
Curtis Lazar was not on the ice at Devils' practice Thursday. His spot on the fourth line was filled by Kurtis MacDermid. Jake Allen is in the starters net.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Lazar will not play tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Palat - Hughes - Bratt
Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Cotter - Haula - Noesen
Tatar - MacDermid - Bastian
Dillon - Hamilton
Siegenthaler - Kovacevic
Hughes - Pesce
St. Louis Blues
The Blues have recalled defenceman Tyler Tucker from the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds.
The 24-year-old has recorded four goals and 10 points in 19 AHL games this season.
The Thunder Bay, Ont. native has two goals and four assists in 52 career NHL games since being drafted by the Blues in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Dallas Stars
The Stars have loaned defencemen Alexander Petrovic and Lian Bichsel to the AHL's Texas Stars.
Buffalo Sabres
Ryan McLeod missed Thursday's practice due to a maintenance day and is questionable for Friday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jordan Greenway will be out 'long-term' after undergoing surgery for a middle-body injury, per head coach Lindy Ruff.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have recalled forward Tanner Laczynski from the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights.
The 27-year-old last played in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022-23, recording two goals and two assists in 32 games.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings have assigned goaltender Ville Husso to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins
The 29-year-old has a 1-4-2 record this season with a 3.47 GAA and .877 save percentage.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning announced that defenceman JJ Moser will miss eight-to-10 weeks with a lower-body injury.
The 24-year-old has two goals and 10 points in 27 games this season.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild placed forward Yakov Trenin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and re-assigned forward Devin Shore to the AHL's Ottawa Wild.