NHL - News

Detroit - No. 5 will return to the Detroit Red Wings lineup for one night this season, well, the Red Wings' alumni team lineup. Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who retired following the 2011-12 season, will play for the Red Wings team at the 2013 Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings Alumni Showdown on Dec. 31 at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, as part of the festivities surrounding the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Lidstrom spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the Red Wings, the team that drafted him in the third round (No. 53) of the 1989 NHL Draft. He won seven Norris Trophies, tied for second all-time, and four Stanley Cups. He spent his final six seasons as team captain, and in 2008 became the only European-born and -trained player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup. His 1,564 games are second in Red Wings history and 10th all-time in League history. His 1,142 points are fourth in team history, and the most among the club's defensemen. Lidstrom finished his career with 264 goals, 878 assists and a plus-450 rating, which ranks sixth all-time among NHL defensemen. The Red Wings will retire his No. 5 during a pre-game on-ice ceremony prior to a game March 6, 2014, against the Colorado Avalanche.

"I will be part of that game," Lidstrom told the Red Wings' website. "I'm really looking forward to the Winter Classic and being a part of something like that again, and to play with some of my former teammates when I played back in '90s and early 2000s. It'll be exciting. … I'm excited for the opportunity to play again."

 

Calgary - The Flames on Friday named defenseman Mark Giordano the 19th captain in franchise history. The 29-year-old defenseman has played all seven of his NHL seasons with the Flames. He had four goals and 11 assists in 47 games last season. He also was second on the team with 93 blocked shots after leading the team the previous three seasons. Giordano also is in the third season of a five-year contract. Signed by the Flames as an undrafted free agent in July 2004, Giordano has 41 goals, 150 points and a plus-13 rating in 385 games. His best season was 2009-10, when he had a career-best 11 goals, 30 points and a plus-17 rating in 82 games. Giordano replaces Jarome Iginla, whose decade-long tenure as captain ended at the trade deadline last season when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Curtis Glencross and Mike Cammalleri will return as alternate captains.

"Mark represents all the qualities that we set as a coaching staff and an organization," said coach Bob Hartley. "He is a quality man who is proud to represent the Calgary Flames both on and off the ice. We are very happy with these three men leading and setting the example for our team, and especially our young players, as we move through this crucial yet exciting period in the history of the Flames franchise."

Toronto - Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier missed practice Friday with knee irritation, which according to coach Randy Carlyle was caused by his new pads. Bernier revealed the injury, one that first occurred at the team's morning skate, after the Maple Leafs' 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, one that he left after the first period. Bernier is expected back Saturday.

"Bernier has an irritation on his knee from some new equipment he’s wearing, part and parcel to the equipment change," Carlyle said. "I guess the under-kneepads are new and they irritated the top of his knee cap. It's what we're dealing with. I really haven't got a true explanation of why or how that happened. We're doing what's necessary to fix it. Colton Orr looked good out there. He didn't leave [practice] early. So I would say he's progressing. He's an option for us starting [Saturday]."

Competing for the starting job with James Reimer, Bernier stopped 11 of 12 shots in 20 minutes. The 25-year-old was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in a June trade for forward Matt Frattin, goalie Ben Scrivens, and a second-round draft pick in either 2014 or 2015. Nazem Kadri did practice Friday, centering a line with Joffrey Lupul and David Clarkson after he left the game Thursday with a bruised hand sustained when he blocked a shot. X-rays taken after the game were negative and Kadri skated without a wrap on his hand. Colton Orr (leg bruise) continued to work out on his own, while Lupul (back spasms) practiced Friday and could play Saturday in Buffalo.

"It's a little sore, a little sensitive," Kadri said. "It's my bottom hand on my stick, where I'm leaning on it the most."

NY Islanders - Forward Cal Clutterbuck will miss the next four to six weeks with a leg laceration, the team announced Friday morning. Clutterbuck was injured Tuesday in the third period of a preseason game against the Calgary Flames when he went to make a hit on Paul Byron and got cut by a skate. It was his first game in an Islanders uniform since coming to the team from the Minnesota Wild in a draft-day trade. The Islanders sent prospect Nino Niederreiter, the No. 5 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, to the Wild in exchange for Clutterbuck, who then signed a four-year, $11 million contract. Clutterbuck had 110 points in 346 games over five seasons with the Wild.

Colorado - The Avalanche held Nathan MacKinnon, the first pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, out of the team's morning skate Friday due to a hip flexor. MacKinnon wasn't scheduled to play in the team's preseason game Frday against the Los Angeles Kings. According to the team, a predetermined schedule has MacKinnon set to be in the lineup again Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

New Jersey - Forward Jaromir Jagr was not part of either of two groups taking part in practice Friday, multiple sources reported. Forward Ryane Clowe, who suffered what coach Pete DeBoer termed "a charley horse" in the first period of Thursday's preseason loss to the New York Islanders, also did not skate in either group. On Friday, DeBoer said Clowe was "day-to-day." DeBoer told Northjersey.com that Jagr skated again on his own Friday and could return to practice "any day now." He left the initial practice of the season with what was reported as general soreness. Left wing Mattias Tedenby left Friday's practice with lower body injury, which he felt when he was skating and pushed off. He also has a cut on his chin thanks to a high stick from defenseman Adam Larrsson.

"It's OK," Tedenby said. "I'm short."