The Calgary Flames made a series of roster moves Sunday, removing forward Mikael Backlund from the injured reserve and recalling forward Kerby Rychel from the AHL's Stockton Heat, the team announced.

In corresponding changes, the Flames reassigned goaltender Jon Gillies and forward Andrew Mangiapane to Stockton.

Gillies' demotion indicates netminder Mike Smith may no longer be sidelined with an injury he sustained against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 12.

Backlund missed the last four games with a concussion. He's notched 17 points in 29 contests this season.

Rychel has yet to make his debut with the Flames. He's scored 13 goals and added eight helpers in 25 AHL games this season after spending last year in the Montreal Canadiens' organization.

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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green will be out three-to-five weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach Jeff Blashill said Friday.

Filip Hronek has been called up from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins to replace Green on Detroit's back end.

Green logged 15 minutes of ice time in the Red Wings' 6-2 loss against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. He missed the first nine games of the season with a virus.

Hronek, considered one of the Wings' top prospects, has 18 points in 20 games for the Griffins. The 21-year-old blue-liner made six appearances for Detroit earlier this season.

The Red Wings take on the Ottawa Senators at home Friday night.

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will return to the crease for Thursday night's tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Jon Cooper confirmed after the team's morning skate.

The Bolts netminder missed the last 14 games with a broken foot, an injury he sustained during a November practice.

Tampa Bay went 12-2 in his absence and has won seven straight games. It holds the best record in the NHL.

Before his injury, Vasilevskiy started 13 times for the Lightning, posting a 9-3-1 record with a .927 save percentage.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered an uninspiring 4-0 loss at home to their division rival Washington Capitals on Saturday, and two days later, head coach John Tortorella is still fuming.

"I'm embarrassed as the coach of this team," Tortorella told reporters after Monday's hour-long practice, according to The Atheltic's Aaron Portzline. "I missed something along the way. I'm part of it also. I'm embarrassed that we embarrassed our organization."

The Jackets' effort came two games after they let a 4-1 lead slip away to the Calgary Flames, a contest they eventually lost 9-6.

"It was disgusting," Torts added when asked if the Blue Jackets' struggles looked like a lack of passion. "After our last home game, that debacle, 9-6 (to Calgary on Tuesday), to show up on a Saturday night for first-place seeding, against a team that knocked us out of the playoffs, in front of a full house, it's embarrassing."

Columbus boasts one of the worst home-ice records in the Eastern Conference this season, going 7-6-1 at Nationwide Arena.

"We're trying to get this into a place, into a hockey town. You're going to do shit that way. That has to stop," Tortorella said.

The Blue Jackets sit three points behind the Capitals for top spot in the Metropolitan division. They host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

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Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will miss Thursday night's contest against the Arizona Coyotes due to a concussion, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.

Head coach Todd Reirden said Wilson is day to day and will travel with the team to Columbus, where they end their three-game road trip on Saturday.

Wilson sustained the injury during the second period of Tuesday's game against the Vegas Golden Knights when he was tagged with a blindside hit from Ryan Reaves.

Reaves was handed a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct but did not receive a suspension.

The 24-year-old Capitals winger missed the first 16 games of the season while serving a suspension for a preseason hit on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist.

Wilson has recorded eight goals and six assists through 11 games this season.

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The cities of Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, were announced as hosts for the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championship on Thursday. That edition of the tournament will mark the fifth time in the previous 10 years that it's been played in Canada.

"To return to Alberta is an incredible opportunity for Hockey Canada and the IIHF World Junior Championship," said Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer of Hockey Canada. "The province of Alberta and the cities of Edmonton and Red Deer have a history of hosting successful, world-class events."

Edmonton and Calgary hosted the 2012 edition of the tournament.

Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers, will be one of two venues used to host games. The ENMAX Centrium, where the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels play, will be the other site.

This year's under-20 competition will be played in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The Czech Republic will host in 2020 before the tournament returns to Alberta.

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From center ice to center stage.

Toronto Maple Leafs superstars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will take their talents to the theatre when they debut as Cannon Dolls at The National Ballet of Canada's 'The Nutcracker.'

The National Ballet describes the Cannon Dolls as guest roles, "colorfully costumed Russian Petrouchka dolls who shoot a cannon into the audience to being the battle scene in Act I."

Unfortunately, the roles require no choreographed dancing, but it's possible one of the two could bust out an impromptu move.

Matthews and Marner aren't the first Maple Leafs to make an appearance in the show. Hall of Famer Mats Sundin took the stage in 2007, and legendary goaltender Jacques Plante performed back in 1971.

So, what's the price to witness the young Leafs in the ballet? About the same as it is to see the duo lace them up at Scotiabank Arena, as tickets currently start at CA$85.

Their performance is scheduled for Dec. 19 at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

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William Nylander will make his long-awaited return to the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup Thursday night on home ice versus the Detroit Red Wings, he told reporters on Wednesday.

The Swede missed the team's first 28 games of the season due to a well-documented contract dispute, which ended when he signed a six-year deal minutes before the Dec. 1 deadline.

During Thursday's morning skate, the winger was spotted practicing on a line with Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton, bumping Kasperi Kapanen off the top unit.

Nylander, 22, notched 61 points in each of the last two seasons with the Leafs.

Toronto posted a 20-8-0 record in Nylander's absence.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Marcus Pettersson from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Daniel Sprong.

Sprong, 21, has been in and out of the Penguins' lineup this season recording four assists in 16 games. The Dutch forward posted 65 points in 65 AHL games last year.

The 22-year-old Pettersson was averaging 14 minutes of ice time for the Ducks. He tallied six helpers in 27 games with four of those assists coming in the last two weeks.

Pettersson is set to become a restricted free agent this summer while Sprong is in the first season of a two-year, $1.5-million deal, according to CapFriendly.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs traded forward Josh Leivo to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday in exchange for AHL forward Michael Carcone.

Leivo, 25, played in 27 games this season for the Leafs, collecting four goals and two assists. He's set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.

The trade came soon after William Nylander ended his standoff and signed a long-term deal with Toronto, making Leivo expendable.

Carcone, 22, has yet to play a game in the NHL. He has six goals and 11 assists for the Utica Comets in his third season in the minors and will now join the Toronto Marlies. He was signed by the Canucks as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

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