Pionk, Niederreiter week to week for Jets; Carlson questionable for Capitals
© Mark LoMoglio/NHLI
Welcome to the NHL Status Report. Here is the latest lineup/injury news around the NHL.
Brayden Point and Victor Hedman are expected to play when the Lightning return from the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Benchmark International Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS), assistant coach Rob Zettler said. An undisclosed injury prevented Point from playing for silver medalist Team Canada. The forward left after scoring a power-play goal at 4:29 of the second period in a 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan 12. … Hedman was in uniform and on the bench for Team Sweden, but the defenseman missed a 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA in the quarterfinals because of a lower-body injury sustained during warmups. “It’s good,” the Lightning captain said following practice Tuesday. “It’s frustrating and still a little bit of disbelief it happened before one of the most important games of my career, but it is what it is. Representing your country is more than yourself, so you have to be a little unselfish. I felt like not playing was the best for the team. I don’t think I could have played at my level in that game.” Hedman has 13 assists in 21 games this season for the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning (37-14-4), who are also tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Eastern Conference and have won five in a row. “Now the focus is on this group in here,” he said. “It feels great to be back and finally starting to feel like myself again, so it’s good.” … Canada forward Brandon Hagel, United States forward Jake Guentzel and Team Slovakia defenseman Erik Cernak were given a rest day and will be in the lineup Wednesday.
Neal Pionk has a new injury and is week to week, Jets coach Scott Arniel said Tuesday. The defenseman practiced Monday and was expected to face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN3). Pionk has been sidelined since Jan. 13 with a lower-body injury. … Nino Niederreiter is also week to week with an injury Arniel said he was playing through prior to joining Team Switzerland for the Olympics, where he scored one goal and was minus-3 in five games. Niederreiter skated Wednesday but it did not go as well as hoped. … Josh Morrissey (upper body) will not be on Winnipeg’s three-game road trip. Arniel hopes the defenseman is available for when the Jets return home to play the Chicago Blackhawks on March 3. He was placed on injured reserve Tuesday retroactive to Feb. 12, when he was injured during Canada’s 5-0 win against Team Czechia to begin the preliminary round. … Kyle Connor will play Wednesday. He took rushes on the first line with Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi after averaging 10:35 of ice time in two games for the United States. “He wants to play tomorrow,” Arniel said. “That’s the biggest thing. He wants to get back on the ice and get going and help us.” … Haydn Fleury skated in noncontact jersey, and the Jets are taking it day by day. The defenseman was taken from the ice on a stretcher in the first period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Winnipeg on Jan. 6.
Auston Matthews is expected to be in the lineup for the Maple Leafs when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS), coach Craig Berube said. The captain, who helped the United States win gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, had seven points (three goals, four assists) in six games. Matthews has 48 points (36 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games with Toronto this season. “I do (expect Matthews to play),” Berube said. “He’s riding a pretty good high right now, you know? He’s feeling good. Again, we will evaluate that tomorrow and see where he is at and I will get a better feel when I talk to him here tonight.”
Matthews discusses Team USA and Team Canada rivalry, winning gold
Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin will not play for the Golden Knights when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNO, SNE, SN1, TVAS).
Eichel, a forward, and Hanifin, a defenseman, won the gold medal with Team USA at the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Sunday.
“That’s a little fluid,” coach Bruce Cassidy said after practice on Tuesday. “The American guys are at the State of the Union (in Washington, D.C.) tonight, so they won’t join us (tomorrow). They’re going to go and enjoy that moment. They deserve it. They’ve earned it.
“Jack and Noah I would anticipate would play on Friday (at the Washington Capitals) and be ready to go. They’ll have had a little bit of a break.”
Forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone, and defenseman Shea Theodore are questionable to play against the Kings. All three represented Team Canada, which won the silver medal at the Olympics after losing 2-1 in overtime to the United States in the gold medal game.
Cassidy said, though, that forward Tomas Hertl (Czechia), defenseman Rasmus Andersson (Sweden), and goalie Akira Schmid (Switzerland) would each be available.
“The Canadian guys we’re still sorting through to see how they feel. The other guys are here,” Cassidy said. “Tomas came back I think over the weekend, Akira, Rasmus, so, they’ve kind of acclimated and will be ready to go.”
Vegas (27-16-14) is in first place in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.
John Carlson skated on his own in a noncontact jersey Tuesday and is questionable to play when the Capitals host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSP) in their first game following the Olympic break. Carlson sustained a lower-body injury in Washington’s final game before the break, against the Nashville Predators on Feb. 5. “He’s day to day,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of the defenseman. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow and then we’ll assess for tomorrow night.” … Forward Connor McMichael will be activated from injured reserve to play Wednesday after missing the final four games before the break because of an upper-body injury. Carbery said it’s still to be determined whether forward Tom Wilson and goalie Logan Thompson will play. Neither practiced Tuesday after returning late Monday from playing for Canada at the Olympics. Defenseman Martin Fehervary, who returned Sunday after playing for Slovakia at the Olympics, practiced Monday and is expected to play against the Flyers.
Dylan Larkin is expected to play for the Red Wings against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FDSNDET). The center and Detroit captain helped the USA win gold at the Olympics, where he had three points (two goals, one assist) in six games. “If all goes well and the weather and flights and everything cooperate, I think he can sleep in his own bed tonight,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said Tuesday. “We’ll have him around the arena tomorrow. I’m not sure if he’ll skate. Expect him to be on the plane and be a factor in Ottawa on Thursday night.” Larkin has 51 points (26 goals, 25 assists) in 58 games this season.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson will be back when the Senators host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FDSNDET), coach Travis Green said Monday, after winning Olympic gold with the U.S. Sanderson leads Senators defensemen with 46 points (11 goals, 35 assists) in 57 games. Tkachuk, Ottawa’s captain, has 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 37 games.
Dylan Holloway likely will return when the Blues host the Kraken on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, KHN/Prime, KONG) in their first game after the Olympic break. The forward has missed 23 of 24 games because of a right high ankle sprain sustained during practice Dec. 14. He returned for a 5-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18 after missing 15 games but hasn’t played the past eight and admitted he probably came back too soon. “I feel much better,” Holloway said. “Obviously it’s been tough being out. It [stinks]. It’s hard mentally, but I’m definitely feeling a lot better than I did before I tried to play the last time.” Holloway has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 34 games. … Robert Thomas practiced for the second time since having a right leg procedure, which the Blues announced Jan. 31, but the forward’s status for Thursday is to be determined. “I just talked to him at the end [of practice],” coach Jim Montgomery said. “Said he felt good. It’s a good step, but it’s not all the way there yet.”
Filip Chytil could miss the rest of the season after being hit in the face by a puck during practice Friday. “He had a couple breaks under his eye,” coach Adam Foote said Monday. “They haven’t determined if he’ll be out for the season yet. They are going to see another specialist. They don’t think it’s going to have to be surgical. Fingers crossed and we’ll wait and see.” Chytil has three goals in 12 games this season but didn’t have a point in six games before the Olympic break after he returned after missing three months because of a concussion he sustained Oct. 19. … Goalie Kevin Lankinen‘s return to Vancouver from playing for Team Finland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 has been delayed by a snowstorm that blanketed the northeast United States. Foote said Lankinen is stuck in New York, and the hope is he can return to Vancouver sometime Tuesday or Wednesday and potentially play against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Lankinen likely won’t be available against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN3). … Brock Boeser returned to practice in a noncontact jersey Monday, but Foote said it was more because of a virus than a recurrence of symptoms from the concussion that kept the forward out for the final five games before the Olympic break. Foote said he expects Boeser to skate in a regular jersey Tuesday.
Ryan Winterton and Ben Meyers each signed a two-year contract with the Kraken on Tuesday. Each contract will begin next season.
Winterton, a 22-year-old forward, signed a contract worth $2.25 million ($1.125 million average annual value). He has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 54 games for the Kraken this season, and 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 75 NHL games, all with Seattle. The Kraken selected Winterton in the third round (No. 67) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
“Ryan has taken big strides as a member of the Kraken this season,” general manager Jason Botterill said. “He’s been able to carve out a role on this team with his speed and strong two-way game. We’re excited to have him under contract through the 2027-28 season.”
Meyers, a 27-year-old undrafted forward, signed a deal worth $2 million ($1 million AAV). He has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 31 games this season, his second with Seattle. Meyers has 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 106 regular-season games with the Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks and Kraken, and no points in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“Ben is an integral part of our team,” Botterill said. “He’s a versatile player who plays with passion. We’re happy to have him signed for another two years.”
The Kraken (27-20-9) are in third place in the Pacific Division, tied with the Anaheim Ducks (30-23-3) with 63 points. Seattle will visit the Dallas Stars on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; FOX4, KHN/Prime, Victory+, KING 5, KONG), when the NHL schedule resumes after the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
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