Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Olympic gold medalist Auston Matthews participated in the team’s optional skate on Wednesday morning.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters after the practice session that Matthews and John Tavares will both be in the lineup on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rookie Easton Cowan will be scratched in Toronto’s first game back, along with injured forward Dakota Joshua and defenceman Philippe Myers. Cowan, 20, has seven goals and 17 points in 43 games this season, posting one assist in five games before the Olympic break.
Matthews captained Team USA to a gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026, and accompanied the team on a visit to the White House on Tuesday. Per reports, Matthews was not with the team as they visited the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Tavares was also on the ice at the optional skate on Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s practice due to the flu.
Per TSN’s Mark Masters, Anthony Stolarz will get the start in net for the Maple Leafs against the Lightning on Wednesday, and Joseph Woll is expected to start against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators were missing a number of players at practice on Wednesday morning.
Defenceman Jake Sanderson did not participate in the practice, and forwards Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle were also absent, per The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie.
Sanderson and Tkachuk are expected to return to Ottawa in the evening and skate on Thrusday morning. The two were at the White House on Tuesday visiting the president of the United States after helping Team USA win a gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026.
Stutzle missed the practice session due to an illness, according to head coach Travis Green.
Defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo is considered day-to-day and skated in a green non-contact jersey on Wednesday. Green told McKenzie that Matinpalo is “a little banged up,” after helping Team Finland to bronze at Milano Cortina 2026.
The Senators host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in their first game back from the Olympic break.
St. Louis Blues
Forward Robert Thomas is taking a leave of absence for a family matter and is expected to return to the team on Friday.
Thomas will Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken as the Blues return from their Olympic break.
Thomas, 26, has 11 goals and 33 points this season. He last played on Jan. 10, missing an extended stretch ahead of the Olympic break with a lower-body injury.
The Blues sit second last in the Western Conference as play resumes with a 20-28-9 record this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning activated forward Brayden Point off long-term injured reserve Wednesday and he appears set to make his return against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Point has been sidelined since Jan. 12 with a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the Olympics after being named to Team Canada.
The 29-year-old centre has 11 goals and 30 points in 37 games this season.
Forward Anthony Cirelli, who was also forced to miss the Olympics due to injury, will not return Wednesday. The team is targeting Saturday to see him back on the ice.
Some @TBLightning lineup updates: Assistant coach Rob Zettler confirms Brayden Point returns tonight, the #GoBolts will likely run 11 & 7.
Don’t expect to see Cirelli in the back to back, targeted return is Saturday vs. Buffalo.
— Benjamin Pierce (@BenjaminJReport) February 25, 2026
Head coach Jon Cooper will not be behind the bench Wednesday or Thursday due to the passing of his father.
Tampa Bay sits atop the Atlantic Division with a 37-14-4 record as play resumes, leading the Montreal Canadiens by six points.
Buffalo Sabres
Tage Thompson was on the ice at the Buffalo Sabres’ morning skate on Wednesday in New Jersey.
Thompson helped the United States win a gold medal at Milano Cortina on Sunday over Canada.
Thompson joined the team on a visit to the White House on Tuesday, and was present with the team at the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Thompson, 28, has 30 goals and 59 points in 57 games this season for the Sabres.
Washington Capitals
Logan Thompson will start in net for the Washington Capitals against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, according to reports.
According to head coach Spencer Carbery, Tom Wilson is under the weather and will be a game-time decision.
Thompson and Wilson were both members of Canada’s silver-medal winning team at Milano Cortina 2026.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers skated the following lines in practice on Wednesday, per The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano.
#NYR practice look:
Brodzinski – Miller – Perreault
Cuylle – Trocheck – Lafrenière
Sheary – Laba – Raddysh
Edström – Carrick – Othmann
Gavrikov – Fox
Schneider – Borgen
Robertson – Iorio
Vaakanainen – Morrow
(Guessing Brodzinski is a placeholder for Zibanejad)
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 25, 2026
Brodzinski – Miller – Perreault
Cuylle – Trocheck – Lafrenière
Sheary – Laba – Raddysh
Edström – Carrick – Othmann
Gavrikov – Fox
Schneider – Borgen
Robertson – Iorio
Vaakanainen – Morrow
The Rangers will play the Philadelphia Flyers in their first game back from the Olympic break on Thursday.