The Buffalo Sabres are set to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 18. The Sabres will be looking to stay hot, as they are entering the matchup against the Flyers with a three-game winning streak. 

Now, the Sabres have gotten some very good news ahead of their contest against the Flyers.

According to head coach Lindy Ruff, Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring will be returning to the team's lineup for their game against the Flyers. 

Hearing that Kesselring is getting back into the lineup against the Flyers is undoubtedly good news for the Sabres. Kesselring is expected to be an important part of the Sabres' blueline this season, and he should provide them with a nice boost because of it.

Kesselring's most recent appearance for the Sabres was on Nov. 15 against the Detroit Red Wings, so he has been sidelined for awhile. This was also after he missed the beginning portion of the season due to injury. Now, with Kesselring returning to the lineup, he will be aiming to stay healthy from here for the Atlantic Division. 

In nine games so far this season with the Sabres, Kesselring has recorded zero points, seven hits, and nine blocks. This is after he set career highs with seven goals, 22 assists, and 29 points in 82 games for Utah this past season. 

As the Ottawa Senators get set to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre, Wednesday morning’s practice delivered a mix of interesting injury news.

On the positive side, defenseman Thomas Chabot was back on the ice with his teammates. Chabot was injured on November 11 in a game against the Dallas Stars, attempted a return 11 days later, and re-injured himself against the San Jose Sharks.

He hasn’t played since the Sharks game, but his return to full practice is an encouraging sign. Chabot was paired with Belleville call-up Dennis Gilbert during drills, suggesting the Senators are still preparing to play without him for now. But simply being back on the ice is a step toward getting the blue line back to full strength and players slotted into their natural roles.

"I mean, it's been a long road," Chabot admitted. "But no, it's good to be back practicing with the guys. Helps the mental side of things and the morale a little bit to be back on the same schedule as the team. It was a fun day, it was a great practice. I went through the pace of a normal NHL practice, the contact, and competing a little bit. So it felt nice to be out there.

While Chabot said he didn't know if he'd be playing on Thursday, head coach Travis Green confirmed that he will not.

Green provided some more details on Lars Eller, revealing that he has a broken foot from blocking a shot and is expected to be sidelined for about three weeks. So that probably means that centre Stephen Halliday will remain with the club into the new year.

There was also a brief scare in practice at the goaltender position. Linus Ullmark left practice early after speaking with the Senators’ athletic therapist, Dom Nicoletta, near the bench. Jake Sanderson also exited early, although Green (as he does) downplayed any concern, saying he isn’t worried about either Ullmark or Sanderson.

Since Chabot was injured, Green has been working Sanderson like a rented mule, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the Sens' top defenseman has carte blanche to bail on any practice if he isn't feeling it that day.

Senators Fire Their American Hockey League Head Coach On Wednesday

Senators Fire Their American Hockey League Head CoachThe slumping Belleville Senators have fired their head coach, promoting assistant Andrew Campbell to the interim role.

Ullmark has started in three-quarters of the club's games so far, but hasn't been injured or overworked in a back-to-back. At the moment, he stands 41st in the NHL in goals against average (3.00) and 49th in save percentage (.879). If he's suddenly not feeling his best, that doesn't bode well for an imminent turnaround.

Finally, there has apparently been some progress on Shane Pinto’s recovery from a lower-body injury. Pinto has been out since December 4th after taking a body check from former Ottawa Senator Mika Zibanejad. Green says Pinto has now resumed skating, another encouraging development as the Senators work through their injury picture.

Following their Wednesday skate, the Senators held their annual 'Melnyk Skate for Kids' hosted by team co-owners Anna and Olivia Melnyk, carrying on a tradition started 20 years ago by their late father, former Sens owner Eugene Melnyk.

The Senators will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at the CTC.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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ST. LOUIS – Perhaps an infusion of new blood can spur the St. Louis Blues in the right direction.

That’s what they’re hoping for when the Blues (12-15-7) entertain the Winnipeg Jets (15-15-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).

It’s because Otto Stenberg and Jonatan Berggren will each make his Blues debut in the game.

For Stenberg, it will be his first NHL game and the second of three first-round picks from the 2023 NHL Draft to play in the NHL along with Dalibor Dvorsky, who was the No. 10 pick; Stenberg was No. 25, and defenseman Theo Lindstein, who is in Springfield of the American Hockey League, was No. 29.

Stenberg was called up from Springfield on Thursday, the latest of Thunderbirds recalls with the rash of forward injuries the Blues are dealing with.

On Tuesday, he was skating on a line with Jake Neighbours and Dvorsky.

“Of course, I’m excited,” Stenberg said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s something special. Just try to act like a normal game, soak it all in and enjoy, but I’ll just try to prepare like a normal game, I guess.

“Just play my game and do what got me here in Springfield before I get here. Be myself I guess. I’ll try to do my best to give the team energy. Try to play as good as I can and help the team any way I can.”

Berggren, claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, will also be in the lineup.

The 25-year-old, a second-round pick in the 2018 draft, had an inkling that something might happen, and was hopeful of it, too. He last played for the Red Wings on Dec. 11 and prior to that, Nov. 24.

“It’s a business and when you don’t play many games in a row in Detroit to kind of know (something was going to happen),” Berggren said. “Maybe it was something I was hoping for too to get a fresh start. I’m really happy that the Blues took me.

“It’s been a lot for sure. I’m just so excited to come to St. Louis and meet the guys and meet the coaches and just play hockey. It’s been a lot, but I’m also excited.”

Blues coach Jim Montgomery said the infusion of new players could be just what the team needs.

“Every time you get new blood, it’s like the first game of the year, everybody’s hopes and desires are all positive and a positive attitude usually permeates in the group so it’s going to bring us good energy,” Montgomery said.

Stenberg will have his parents, David and Cecilia and girlfriend on attendance after some scurrying of getting plane tickets from Sweden.

“My mom and dad are actually coming here. And my girlfriend is here; she came here from Springfield,” Stenberg said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I think they got tickets yesterday.”

Berggren, who had two goals and four assists in 15 games with the Red Wings this season after 12 goals and 12 assists in 75 games last season, hopes to add some offensive prowess into the lineup for the Blues, and the fact he’s played with a couple of the guys and that there are fellow Swedes, should make for an easy transition.

“I’m a skillful forward that likes to play with the puck and likes to create offense,” he said. “I feel like this team has skillful players and like to play offensive style of hockey. That’s kind of what I want to do too. I’m excited.

“It’s a lot of Swedes and guys I played with in Detroit too and Grand Rapids. It makes it a lot easier to adapt to the team when you know people from before.”

Montgomery said the Blues took a flier on Berggren because, “the speed and skill is something we believe with our current situation that he could add to our group, and that’s what we’re expecting him to fit in. We have a lot of Swedes so the language barrier won’t be so hard.

“You have a technical package ready to show your players that this is what we want to do in all three zones with the puck and with the schedule this year, I watched the Florida-Tampa game and I don’t recognize some of the names that are on the ice and that’s happening to everybody this year.”

- - -

Tuesday’s game is the first between the Blues and Jets since that epic first-round seven-game series from last year’s playoffs.

“I think for our group it means a lot, and not because of the outcome of the series,” Montgomery said. “Obviously we felt we would have liked to win Game 7, but more importantly, I think it’s we were playing a really good brand of hockey and for a lot of players, I think that brings excitement to get back to that brand of hockey that we were playing.

“It brings back more of what a great series it was. I saw some things like they ranked the best series of the playoffs, it was ranked No. 2 behind the Final, which was epic with a lot of great comebacks in that series. It was old-school hockey. It was mean, it was hard, it was vicious and in the end, you had two teams that really I think were competed and emptied the tank so much that the handshake line was what you want in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

- - -

Blues Projected Lineup:

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Robbi Fabbri

Otto Stenberg-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jake Neighbours

Brayden Schenn-Pius Suter-Jonatan Berggren

Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Mathieu Joseph

Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko

Matthew Kessel-Justin Faulk

Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux

Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

Healthy scratches could include Tyler Tucker and Matt Luff. Dylan Holloway (high ankle sprain), Jordan Kyrou (lower body), Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Nathan Walker (upper body) and Nick Bjugstad (upper body) are all out.

- - -

Jets Projected Lineup:

Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi

Nino Niederreiter-Vladislav Namestnikov-Cole Perfetti

Morgan Barron-Adam Lowry-Alex Iafallo

Cole Koepke-Jonathan Toews-Gustav Nyquist

Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg-Neal Pionk

Logan Stanley-Luke Schenn

Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal; Eric Comrie will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Colin Miller, Tanner Pearson and Haydn Fleury. The Jets have no injuries.

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The St. Louis Blues have assigned winger Hugh McGing to the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds. 

McGing was called up from the AHL on Dec. 9, playing in three games, scoring once and adding an assist. He played in a limited role, averaging 10:52 of ice time, but garnered positive results with his ice time and notched his first career NHL goal and point. 

Since his call-up, the Blues have seen additional injuries, most notably to Dylan Holloway, but have also made moves in response. They recalled 2023 first-round pick Otto Stenberg and claimed winger Jonatan Berggren off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings. Both Swedish wingers are confirmed to be in the lineup tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. 

McGing's success during this NHL stint came as a bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one at that. In 18 AHL games this season, the 27-year-old has scored just four goals and six points. Last season, he finished with a modest 14 goals and 34 points in 68 games.

Drafted in the fifth round (138th overall) in the 2018 NHL draft, McGing was always expected to be a long shot to make the NHL, but getting into the lineup and making a difference allows us to recognize his hard work and the development of the Blues staff. 

McGing showed several positive traits during his call-up and should be high up in the pecking order the next time the Blues need to make a corresponding move due to an injury. 

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Vancouver Canucks are two games through their mid-December road trip, having already won 2–1 against the New Jersey Devils and 3–0 against the New York Rangers. Already, they’ve faced four of their former players, and could easily take on five more by the end of this trip. With at least one former Canuck faced during each stop in this trip, let’s take a look at these former players’ connections to Vancouver. 

After Devils goaltender Jake Allen was given the start on Saturday for his team, it was former Canuck Jacob Markström who took on the team that he played for over six seasons. Vancouver and Markström parted ways during the 2020 off-season, in which the goaltender signed a six-year contract with the Calgary Flames in free-agency. The Flames traded Markström to the Devils back in June of 2024. 

Another former Canuck who suited up against Vancouver on Sunday was Juho Lammikko, who spent a total of 75 games with the team. Lammikko was acquired by the Canucks back in October of 2021 alongside Noah Juulsen (who appears later on this list) in exchange for former fifth-overall draft pick Olli Juolevi. Lammikko went on to spend three seasons in Switzerland before making his NHL return with the Devils this year. 

As well as Markström and Lammikko, another former Canuck who is now with the Devils is Zack MacEwen, who began his NHL career with Vancouver but was ultimately claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers and proceeded to bounce around the league. He did not play against the Canucks when they stopped in New Jersey on Sunday. 

J.T. Miller made his presence known in Vancouver throughout the near-six years he spent with the team. Now the captain of the Rangers, Miller played in his second game against his former team on Tuesday. Vancouver traded Miller to New York, the team that drafted him 15th overall back in 2011, at the end of January. 

Only a couple of months after Vancouver moved on from Miller, Carson Soucy found himself packing his bags as well. Soucy was traded to the Rangers only one day before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, with Vancouver receiving a third-round pick (which later became center Kieren Dervin) in exchange. Soucy signed with the Canucks back in July of 2023 and amassed five goals and 11 assists in 99 games played with Vancouver during his time there. 

While he isn’t a current player, Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan did spend some time as a member of the Canucks. Serving as an assistant coach during the 2013–14 season, Sullivan was part of John Tortorella’s staff in a season that saw the Canucks finish fifth in the Pacific Division with 83 points. 

Vancouver’s game against the New York Islanders may or may not feature two former Canucks. The reason for this is the fact that Bo Horvat, former Canucks captain and 2013 ninth-overall pick, is currently injured after sustaining a lower-body injury last week. The forward spent nine years as a member of the Canucks, four as captain, and was regarded as an important piece in the team’s core prior to being traded in January of 2023. Horvat is currently day-to-day and could return to his team’s lineup within the next week or so. 

While Horvat’s potential — but likely — absence means Vancouver will face one less former player, this doesn’t mean that their match against the Islanders will be without a former Canuck. Marc Gatcomb, who has played in the Islanders’ past two games, did not end up playing for Vancouver but spent some time with their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Gatcomb’s time with Abbotsford spanned 112 games, during which he scored 12 goals and 16 assists. 

The next stop on Vancouver’s road trip is Boston, where they’ll take on two former Canucks (and Flames) who both signed with the Boston Bruins back in 2024. Traded to Vancouver in a blockbuster in January of 2024, Elias Lindholm only played in 26 regular season games with the Canucks but scored six goals and six assists. He has since moved on to the Bruins, where he has put up 22 goals and 45 assists in 105 games. 

Also traded to Vancouver from Calgary during the 2023–24 season, Nikita Zadorov joined former Flames and Canucks teammate Lindholm in Boston after signing with the team during the 2024 off-season. Vancouver initially acquired Zadorov in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round and 2026 third-round pick. Zadorov quickly became a fan-favourite in Vancouver due to his sharp personality and intense style of play. 

Vancouver’s final stop in this east coast road trip is Philadelphia. The Flyers currently have one former Canucks player and a former Canucks Head Coach. The player, who’d been with the Canucks for four years before signing with the Flyers in free-agency this off-season, is none-other than Juulsen. He was sent from the Florida Panthers to Vancouver via trade alongside Lammikko back in 2021 and skated in 109 games with the Canucks. 

Now Head Coach of the Flyers, Rick Tocchet spent nearly three years as the Canucks’ Head Coach. During this time, he helped coach Vancouver to Game 7 of the second-round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He finished his time in Vancouver with a record of 108–65–27, good for a points-percentage of .608. As the Flyers’ Head Coach, Tocchet has established a current record of 17–9–6. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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