According to HC Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson is a game-time decision.

The Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena tonight after a four-game Eastern Conference road trip to take on the Boston Bruins and are in line to welcome back a key contributor to their lineup. 

Karlsson has been out of the lineup since Jan. 20 with a lower-body injury, but if all goes to plan, he will make his long-awaited return. He's currently listed as a game-time decision, but Cassidy mentioned "that the plan is for him to play."

The 32-year-old has been a full participant in practice in the previous two skates, centring Nicolas Roy and Reilly Smith on the third line. At the current stage of his career and the injury issues he's faced, Karlsson hasn't produced offensively like he did just last season but has maintained his effectiveness on the defensive side of the puck. 

"When you do get injured and you can't be playing, it's kind of like a reminder of how much you do actually love the game of hockey and how much fun it is," said Karlsson.

The Golden Knights are a far more consistent team with Karlsson in the lineup and will be glad to welcome him back if he is indeed available tonight.

He'll allow Cassidy to give Jack Eichel more rest and more favourable matchups, allowing his offensive game to shine. He'll also provide a boost to the Golden Knights' second power play unit and penalty kill.

In all, Karlsson's eventual return is far more valuable than what it may seem on the surface and with 15 games remaining, it gives him plenty of time to gear up for the playoffs.

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The 47-18-4 Winnipeg have travelled to Edmonton for a test against the 40-24-4 Oilers on Thursday night.

Another late-night showdown in the third affair of a three-game road trip, Winnipeg will look to bounce back from an uncharacteristic loss against Vancouver on Tuesday night.

After giving up a rare five-spot  in the 6-2 loss to the Canucks, Connor Hellebuyck will be back in goal for Winnipeg on Thursday. 

No changes have been made following Tuesday's loss, despite some lineup adjustments in-game by head coach Scott Arniel.

Winnipeg is not expected to face the NHL's goal scoring leader, as the Oilers will likely be without the injured Leon Draisiatl on Thursday.

Puck drop is set for 8:00 PM central time and the game can be viewed live on TSN.

Winnipeg Jets expected line combinations for Thursday, March 20 at Edmonton:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi

Ehlers-Namestnikov-Perfetti

Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton

Tanev-Barron-Iafallo

Morrissey-DeMelo

Samberg-Schenn

Fleury-Miller

Hellebuyck

Injured: Pionk

Healthy Scratches: Stanley, Heinola, Gustafsson, Kupari

The San Jose Sharks will play their fourth game of an eight-game homestand on Thursday, and two NHL firsts will occur against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Georgi Romanov will make his first career start in goal despite tonight's game marking his fourth career appearance. He's been forced to come in on relief duty during the final two games of the 23-24 season and against the Capitals last Saturday.

Romanov will make his first NHL start tomorrow. #SJSharks

— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) March 19, 2025

Luca Cagnoni was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda and will make his NHL debut. He will be paired on defense with Vincent Desharnais and run the Sharks' first power play unit. 

Marc-Edouard Vlasic will miss Thursday's game with an upper-body injury he's dealt with the entire season. Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said this injury was the same one that held him out through the first half of the season. 

"Vlasic is going to be out. Upper body, and he's still being evaluated. I'd say it's day-to-day right now," Warsofsky said. "It's probably the same thing he's been dealing with since training camp. He's been trying to play through it, and it got to the point, just after the practice yesterday, that was probably a little bit too much."

Brent Burns will play in his 912th consecutive game and passes former San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau for fifth all-time on the NHL's Iron Man list. 

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Burns set to surpass Marleau milestone in San Jose return vs. Sharks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on X at @Sheng_Peng.

Brent Burns didn’t want to talk about it.

When the Carolina Hurricanes step on the ice against the Sharks on Thursday night at SAP Center, Burns will play his 911th consecutive game, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history, passing ex-San Jose teammate Patrick Marleau.

But Burns, whether because of superstition or the typical hockey player’s penchant to not want to talk about himself, brushed off the question.

That, of course, doesn’t diminish the accomplishment.

It’s always special to see Burns in San Jose, where the 40-year-old became a superstar. From 2015 to 2019, Burns was the most productive defenseman in the NHL, his 84 goals and 217 assists and 301 points pacing the league. He won the Norris Trophy in 2017 and was a finalist two other times in that four-season span.

And three years since the Sharks traded him to the Hurricanes, Burns keeps ticking, 17 games away from 1,500 in his career, and 153 from Phil Kessel’s record iron man streak of 1,064.

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The New York Islanders find themselves within reach of a playoff spot following their comeback victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

The win, led by four unanswered goals in the third period, puts Patrick Roy's squad within three points of a playoff spot with a chance to make it one point with a win over the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

The Islanders pulled off their second consecutive comeback in as many games, scoring four third-period goals to secure a regulation win after starting the final frame with a 2-0 deficit in both games.

Islanders Tie NHL Record with Another Third-Period Comeback, Keep Playoff Hopes AliveThe New York Islanders earned a comeback win for the second time in as many games on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the Islanders once again rattled off four straight goals to pull out a 4-2 win and keep their playoff hopes alive. 

At this point in the season, the Islanders know what they are getting from their top forwards.

Anders Lee is all about rebounds, Kyle Palmieri drives to the net, Bo Horvat can create plays and score, and JG Pageau is elusive and responsible on both ends of the ice.

If the Islanders are going to make the playoffs, it will be from the depth contributing offensively, something seen in the team's two latest games.

“We’re getting a lot of important goals from those bottom two lines,” Roy said.

"We talk about it. I mean, if we're making that push, it's got to be everybody. Everybody's got to have to participate and give it a little bit of an extra [push], and that's what you're looking for.”

In Sunday night's comeback against the Florida Panthers, the scoring began with Marc Gatcomb, followed by Max Tsyplakov getting the equalizer:

Tsyplakov breakaway 🚨beats Vanecek and it's 2-2 with 7:44 to go in the third. pic.twitter.com/K0F4bDaKv3

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 17, 2025

Nine different skaters, including six forwards, registered a point.

Against the Penguins, Pierre Engvall scored the game-winning goal, with five forwards registering a point and no forward registering a negative plus/minus.

Pierre Engvall.#Isles now up 3-2 with 6:52 to go in the third. pic.twitter.com/61cZdehdYh

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) March 19, 2025

These three goal-scorers have not found the scoresheet too often this season, yet they showed up at the most important time to lead the Islanders to four massive points in the standings.

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Former Columbus Blue Jackets blue liner David Jiricek is in a situation he is all too familiar with. He has been a healthy scratch for the last nine games for his new team, the Minnesota Wild.

The 21-year-old has missed the last nine games while his team is in the thick of a playoff race, which shows that he may not have been ready for the NHL regardless of which team he was with.

Now is a good time to look back on the trade that sent him to the Wild, which took place only four months ago, back in November.

Sean Monahan Back Soon? Sean Monahan, who was injured back on January 7th against the Pittsburgh Penguins, practiced with the main group today at Nationwide Arena. Does this indicate his return is close?

The Wild sent Daemon Hunt, a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, third- and fourth-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft to the Blue Jackets for Jiricek and a fifth-round pick in 2025.

This was very tidy work by Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell, who was able to trade a defenseman who may not reach his potential for another young player in Hunt and four draft picks that will help restock talent at the AHL level.

It'll be interesting to see how long the healthy scratch streak lasts and if the organization will think about sending him down to the AHL again this season or keep him sitting in the press box for the last stretch of games.

Blue Jackets Weekly Injury Report: Week 22The NHL season is winding down, but injuries are piling up across the league. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, they have 16 games left in the season, but unlike most teams, they’re getting players back from injury. 1st Annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk & Family Day Set For May 31st In New JerseyOn May 31st, the 1st annual Gaudreau Family 5K Run/Walk & Family Day will occur in Washington Lake Park, Sewell, NJ. If you’re in Columbus, Calgary, or anywhere else in North America and would like to participate, you’ll be able to do just that by completing a virtual 5k.

On Thursday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings—taking advantage of a brief home spell between legs of their two-part road trip—held practice at the BELFOR Training Center in Little Caesars Arena.  

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Two players from the Red Wings' lineup on Tuesday night in Washington were unable to take part in the skate because of injury: forward Elmer Soderblom and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.

"Elmer is day-to-day right now," said coach Todd McLellan after the skate concluded.  "Obviously didn't skate, but yeah, day-to-day."  Soderblom appeared to suffer the injury in the third period of Tuesday's game against the Capitals.  His final shift of the night came with just over seven minutes to play. 

McLellan added that Detroit would "likely" call up a forward to join them for the final three games of the road trip (in Vegas Saturday, then Utah Monday, and Colorado Tuesday).  Even without Soderblom, the Red Wings could bring Dominik Shine back into the lineup to return to a full complement of forwards, but that would leave them without a spare.

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Meanwhile, McLellan said that Gustafsson "is still being evaluated today.  We'll call it day-to-day.  There's potential for a longer term injury.  We need some results [from testing]."  Without Gustafsson, Detroit's immediate replacement option would be William Lagesson, who has played twice for the Red Wings this season, though not since Dec. 23 (incidentally, the final game of Derek Lalonde's tenure).

There is positive injury news on the blue line, however, as Jeff Petry continues to get closer to his return to action for the first time since Jan. 2.  McLellan described Thursday morning as the "first true heavy hard practice" for Petry.  He added that Petry is "getting close" and while he won't be an option against the Golden Knights Saturday, McLellan said he could be an option against Utah or the Avalanche.

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