Ice Chips: Leafs' Matthews a game-time decision vs. Red Wings

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Forward Auston Matthews is a game-time decision for their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Matthews, 25, missed Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators due to an undisclosed injury that has been lingering for awhile according to Keefe.

Forward William Nylander moved to the centre position between Michael Bunting and Pierre Engvall in Matthews' absence.

The 6-foot-3 superstar has 20 goals and 47 points in 41 games this season.

Drafted first overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews has 279 goals and 504 points in 448 career games.

Montreal Canadiens

Defenceman Mike Matheson skated with the team Thursday morning in a non-contact jersey.

Matheson, 28, has missed the team's last 10 games with a lower-body injury and has only appeared in 10 games this season.

The 6-foot-2 defenceman has a goal and six points in 10 games this season.

Matheson was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick, in exchange for defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling in the offseason.

Drafted 23rd overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2012 NHL Draft, Matheson has 50 goals and 144 points in 427 career games split between the Panthers, Penguins, and Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens are projected to use these lines for Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators:

Caufield - Suzuki - Dach

Dadonov - Evans - Armia

Slafkovsky - Dvorak - Anderson

Drouin - Ylonen

Edmundson - Savard

Harris - Kovacevic

Xhekaj - Wideman

Barron

Montembeault

Primeau

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have activated forward Saku Maenalanen from injured reserve and placed forward David Gustafsson on IR.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks placed forward Patrick Kane on injured reserve and activated forward Mackenzie Entwhistle from injured reserve on Thursday.

Kane, 34, missed the Blackhawks last two games with a lower-body injury.

The 5-foot-10 superstar's placement on injured reserve is retroactive to Jan. 3 so he is eligible to return once he is healthy.

Kane has seven goals and 27 points in 37 games this season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Drafted first overall by the Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, Kane has 437 goals and 1,207 points in 1,144 career games.

Entwhistle, 23, missed the Blackhawks last six games due to a wrist injury,

The 6-foot-3 winger has two goals and five points in 33 games this season.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres recalled forward Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the AHL's Rochester Americans and assigned forward Jack Quinn to the Americans on Thursday.

Luukkonen, 23, has appeared started 13 games with the Sabres this season and has a 9-3-1 record with a .894 save percentage and 3.49 goals-against average.

The 6-foot-5 netminder has a 6-3-0 record with a .898 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average in the AHL this season.

Drafted 54th overall by the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Draft, Luukkonen has a career 12-11-3 record with a .903 save percentage and 3.30 goals-against average.

Quinn, 21, has six goals and 17 points in 33 games this season but has not registered a point since Dec. 13 in a 6-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Drafted eighth overall by the Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft, Quinn has seven goals and 19 points in 35 career games.

The Sabres used these lines during Thursday's morning skate prior to their game with the Winnipeg Jets, according to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News:

Skinner - Thompson - Tuch

Asplund - Cozens - Hinostroza

Mittelstadt - Jost - Olofsson

Girgensons - Krebs - Okposo

Samuelsson - Dahlin

Power - Jokiharju

Bryson - Lyubushkin

Extras: Peterka and Clague

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins recalled defenceman Taylor Fedun from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday.

Fedun, 34, was acquired as a free agent in the offseason.

The 6-foot-1 defenceman has two assists in 30 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent in March of 2011, Fedun has eight goals and 35 points in 127 career games split between the Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, and Dallas Stars.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has been suffering a "lingering illness" and is considered to be day-to-day, according to head coach Brad Larsen.

Merzlikins, 28, has a 4-11-0 record this season with a .865 save percentage and 4.62 goals-against average.

The 6-foot-3 netminder also has lost his last four games.

Drafted 76th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Draft, Merzlikins has a career 52-55-20 record with a .907 save percentage and 3.08 goals-against average.

The Blue Jackets activated defeceman Nick Blankenburg off injured reserve and placed forward Eric Robinson on injured reserve on Thursday.

Blankenburg, 24, hasn't played since Nov. 10 while recovering from a broken ankle.

The 5-foot-9 defenceman has two goals and three points in seven games this season.

Blankenburg was signed as an undrafted free agent in April of 2022 and signed a two-year $1.65 million extension in the offseason.

Robinson, 27, missed the Blue Jackets last four games with an upper-body injury.

The 6-foot-2 winger's placement on injured reserve is retroactive to Jan. 3 and can return to the lineup when healthy.

Robinson has three goals and 10 points in 34 games this season.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent, Robinson has 28 goals and 67 points in 221 career games with the Blue Jackets.

Additionally, the Blue Jackets recalled goaltender Jet Greaves from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters on an emergency basis.

Greaves, 21, has a 6-6-2 record with an .885 save percentage and 3.69 goals-against average with the Monsters this season.

The Blue Jackets used these lines during Thursday's morning skate prior to their game against the Carolina Hurricanes, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda:

Gaudreau - Roslovic - Laine

Nyquist - Johnson - Bemstrom

Foudy - Kuraly - Olivier

Fix-Wolansky -  Sillinger - Marchenko

Gavrikov - Peeke

Berni - Gudbranson

Bayreuther - Boqvist

Korpisalo

Tarasov

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild placed forward Joseph Cramarossa on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination on Thursday.

Cramarossa, 30, has been in the Wild organization over the last three seasons and has a goal in four games this year.

The 6-foot winger has four goals and nine points with the AHL's Iowa Wild this season.

Drafted 65th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2011, Cramarossa has five goals and 13 points in 68 career games split between the Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, and Minnesota Wild.

Calgary Flames

The Flames are projected to use these lines for Thursday's game against the St. Louis Blues:

Dube - Lindholm - Toffoli

Lucic - Kadri - Huberdeau

Mangiapane - Backlund - Coleman

Lewis - Ruzicka - Duehr

Hanifin - Andersson

Weegar - Tanev

Zadorov - Stone

Vladar

Markstrom

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are projected to use these lines for their game against the Vegas Golden Knights, according to team reporter Jameson Olive:

Lundell - Barkov - Reinhart

Verhaeghe - Bennett - Tkachuk

Luostarinen - E. Staal - Cousins

Lomberg - White - Smith

Forsling - Ekblad

M. Staal - Montour

Mahura - Gudas

Bobrovsky

Lyon

Winnipeg Jets

Forward Saku Maenalanen was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets announced.

Maenalanen, 28, last played on Dec. 8.

The Kemi, Finland, native has four goals and two assists in 25 games this season.

The Jets also said they placed forward David Gustafsson on injured reserve.

Gustafsson, 22, has five assists in 38 games in 2022.

The Jets are in Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Thursday night.