News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins activated defenseman Kris Letang off of Injured Reserve today. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Jason Mackey tweeted that Letang was on the ice for the Penguins warmup skate before tonights game against the Nashville Predators. Letang suffered a lower-body injury January 14th against the Detroit Red Wings, and has been out ever since. The Penguins did not struggle without him, but adding Letang back into the mix should propel the Penguins higher atop the Metropolitan Division.
- The Penguins aren’t the only Metropolitan team getting their defenseman back. The Washington Capitals welcome John Carlson back to the ice after the young defenseman missed the last two weeks. Carlson suffered a lower body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 15. Carlson has 5G and 20A in 43 games so far for the Capitals and the leads all Capitals skaters in average ice time.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the NHL plans to have two regular season games in Sweden next season, pending NHLPA approval. Dreger says that the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche will likely play each other in two games in November. Both teams have Swedish captains: Erik Karlsson for Ottawa and Gabriel Landeskog for Colorado. It is unclear whether both games will take place in one city or divided amongst two.