The Sabres are set to welcome back defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the lineup tonight from a back injury, notes John Vogl of The Buffalo News. He has been out of the lineup since late December after the symptoms from his preseason back ailment resurfaced.
Buffalo traded for Kulikov back at the draft in the hopes that he would help stabilize their defense corps but he has only seen action in 20 games this season, recording just one assist with a -10 rating. With the Sabres also missing Josh Gorges (hip) and Jake McCabe (shoulder) on the back end, he’ll be a welcome addition to their lineup.
As a pending unrestricted free agent, a strong next month could go a long way towards restoring his potential value on the market, not to mention giving the Sabres a quality trade asset if they’re out of the playoff picture by then.
More injury notes from around the NHL:
- Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick’s return date has been pushed back again, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. While the team was hoping he’d be able to return by mid-February, GM Dean Lombardi told reporters that the earliest that he could get back into the lineup is early March. Quick has yet to start skating since injuring his groin in the opening period of the season.
- The Blackhawks announced that they have activated center Marcus Kruger off injured reserve. He suffered a hand injury in late December and has missed the last ten games as a result. The 26 year old has two goals and eight assists in 39 games this year while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
- Nashville has activated left winger Colin Wilson off IR, Adam Vingan of The Tennessean notes via Twitter. He has missed the last eight games due to a lower body injury. Wilson, who has six goals and 11 helpers in 38 contests this season, is expected to play tonight alongside Mike Fisher and Craig Smith, adds Thomas Willis of the Preds’ team website (Twitter link).
- Islanders left winger Andrew Ladd is set to return to the lineup tonight after missing the last four games with an upper body, notes Cory Wright of the Islanders’ team site. The veteran has struggled mightily in his first season in New York with just 12 points in 41 games, nowhere near the production the team was expecting when they gave him a seven year, $38.5MM contract this offseason. He’ll take the place of rookie Anthony Beauvillier who is dealing with a lower body issue after blocking a shot over the weekend.
12 points in 41 games. What a disaster.