Adam Boqvist seems to be the odd man out of the Blue Jackets lineup as Jiricek skated alongside Jake Bean at the team's morning skate on Tuesday. Jiricek last played for the Blue Jackets on November 4th, recording one assist and one shot in 12:06 time-on-ice. The 19-year-old Czech defender has three points (1G / 2A) in 10 games with the Blue Jackets this season.
With the Minnesota Wild travelling to Sweden as part of the NHL Global Series, the team has recalled Jesper Wallstedt to serve as their third goaltender. Wallstedt, a native of Sweden, was the 20th overall pick of the Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. In eight games with Iowa (AHL) this season (6-2-0), Wallstedt has a 2.01 GAA and .932 SV%.
Gaudreau has not played since October 24th and has now been placed retroactively on the long-term injured reserve. In six games this season, Gaudreau was held without a point while taking nine shots and racking up a -2 plus/minus rating.
Fleury will be back in the Wild goal on Sunday after Filip Gustavsson got the call against the Sabres on Friday. Fleury seems to have a slight edge over Gustavsson on the Wild starting job at the moment, as Sunday will mark the fourth time Fleury's been between the pipes in Minnesota's last five games. The 20-year veteran has been particularly solid of late, registering a .914 SV% over his last three starts. He draws a challenging matchup at home on Sunday against the Stars.
Jiricek has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, so he heads back to the AHL to make room for Patrik Laine, who will return from an upper-body injury. Jiricek had one goal and two assists in 10 games with Columbus during his call-up.
Spurgeon has missed the Wilds' first 13 games of the season due to an upper-body injury but has been activated from the LTIR Friday and will make his season debut Friday vs. Buffalo. The 33-year-old is entering his 14th NHL season and had 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games played in 2022-23.
Spurgeon has missed the Wilds' first 13 games of the season due to an upper-body injury but has been activated from the LTIR Friday and is a game-time decision vs. Buffalo. The 33-year-old is entering his 14th NHL season and had 11 goals and 34 points in 79 games played in 2022-23.
Boyd has yet to score this season but has three assists, nine SOG, two PIMs and a -1 plus/minus in seven games played but will be a healthy scratch Thursday as Jason Zucker (lower body) makes his Coyotes' debut. Boyd is in this seventh NHL season and will hope to be back in the Coyotes' lineup sooner rather than later.
Hinostroza had a goal, an assist, four SOG, two PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in two games played so far in 2023-24 but has been reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) Thursday. The 29-year-old winger heads back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he was succeeding prior to his NHL promotion with two goals, four points and two PIMs in five games played.
Gustavsson will make his first appearance in the Wild crease since being pulled in last Saturday's shootout victory over the Rangers when he allowed three goals on just four shots. One of the breakout goaltenders of the 2022-23 season, Gustavsson has struggled mightily to recapture that same form this year. Through seven starts he owns an ugly .871 SV% and a 4.89 GAA. The good news for Gustavsson owners is that Marc-Andre Fleury has hardly played any better, with just an .898 SV% to show for his efforts, so the starting job could still be up for grabs if Gustavsson is able to get his game back on track. He's got a good chance of getting back in the win column tonight with the Wild being -105 to pick up the win in Buffalo.
Fleury was expected to take a backseat at the start of the season, but the 38-year-old veteran netminder will start for the fourth time in the last six games as he has been the more reliable option between the pipes for the Wild so far this season. Through six games (3-2-1), Fleury has a 2.69 GAA and .899 SV%, highlighted by saving 40 of the last 43 shots he has faced (.930 SV%) in his last two appearances. The Wild are +106 road underdogs against a New York Rangers team that will likely turn to Louis Domingue as their starting goalie on Thursday.
After trading Calen Addison the the San Jose Sharks earlier in the day, the Wild have acquired veteran defenceman Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh-round pick in 2025. Bogosian has zero points and five shots while averaging 11:57 through four games with the Lightning this season and is expected to make his Wild debut Thursday.
In a trade that centred around Calen Addison going to the San Jose Sharks, Adam Raska will be going to the Minnesota Wild along with a 2026 sixth-round pick. The 22-year-old Czech Winger was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Sharks and has 25 points (9G / 11A) through 110 games with the San Jose Baracuda of the AHL.
Bogosian will return to the Bolt's lineup in Montreal as the Lightning do a bit of lineup rotation for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Bogosian has registered zero points, two blocked shots, and two hits across three games this season.
Jiricek will watch the Blue Jackets' matchup against the Panthers from the press box on Monday as he will be a healthy scratch after playing 10 consecutive games. The 19-year-old Czech defenceman registered three points (1G / 2A) and 12 blocks while averaging a conservative 13:34 time-on-ice.
Fleury picked up the rare relief win in the Wild's previous game after coming in to stop 13 of 14 shots (.929 SV%) in the first period vs. the Rangers and will take on the Islanders on Tuesday. The 38-year-old has had a disappointing start to his campaign, as he is 2-2-21 with a .892 SV% and 2.83 GAA. He will head to Long Island Tuesday to take on New York, who has struggled offensively placing 23rd in the NHL in goals per game (2.7) and 18th in shots per game (30.9).
