NHL Player News

Johnson has been loaned back to AHL Rochester by the Sabres, the team announced Sunday.

Johnson came up just to serve as insurance due to Rasmus Dahlin being out of the lineup. With Dahlin likely back in time for Monday's game in St. Louis, Johnson has been sent back down to AHL Rochester. The 24-year-old has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 25 games in the AHL.

Jiricek has been reassigned to AHL Iowa by the Wild, the team announced Sunday.

Jiricek has bounced back-and-forth between Iowa and Minnesota all season long, and that will continue with his latest demotion. With the Wild's preferred top six defensemen healthy and Matt Kiersted serving as the seventh defenseman, the Wild likely want to see the 22-year-old Jiricek play rather than be a healthy scratch. Jiricek has no points in 18 games in the NHL this season.

McDonagh (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Sunday, per the NHL media site.

McDonagh missed Saturday's 4-2 win over Florida and won't play against Montreal on Sunday. It's unclear when he will be ready to return to the lineup. The 36-year-old defenseman has four goals, eight points, 17 shots on net, 29 blocked shots and nine hits through 18 appearances this season.

Sanheim will be available to play against Seattle on Sunday after being pulled from Tuesday's 3-1 win over Chicago by a concussion spotter, Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Sanheim was a full participant in Saturday's practice, and it seems as though he was probably fine after Tuesday's game. In any event, he won't miss additional time due to the issue. Sanheim has generated three goals, 16 points, 47 shots on net, 65 blocked shots and 23 hits across 36 appearances this season.

Hague dished out two assists in Saturday's 3-2 loss to St. Louis.

Hague picked up an assist on each of the Predators' two goals Saturday, including the lone assist on Tyson Jost's tally. With the pair of helpers, Hague is up to eight assists, nine points, 25 hits and 24 blocks through 29 appearances this season. Saturday's outing was his third multi-point game this season, which could ultimately lead to the first 20-point season of his career. However, his lack of shot attempts and consistent offense leaves stronger options likely available on the fantasy waiver wire.

Werenski (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Sunday.

In a corresponding move, Columbus activated Mathieu Olivier (upper body) from injured reserve. Olivier will return to the lineup against the Islanders on Sunday, while Werenski will miss his second straight game. The 28-year-old Werenski doesn't have an exact timeline for his recovery, but he remains day-to-day and is eligible to come off injured reserve whenever he is ready to play.

Samuelsson produced a goal and two assists with six hits, two shots on net, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

It was the first three-point performance of the blueliner's career. Samuelsson also ended a 15-game goal drought with his second-period tally, and through 35 contests on the season he's delivered six goals and 18 points -- both career highs -- along with 74 blocked shots, 53 hits, 48 shots on net and a plus-15 rating in what's becoming a breakout campaign.

Thrun was assigned to AHL Toronto on Sunday.

Thrun has been a healthy scratch for the Maple Leafs' last four games. He hasn't earned a point in four appearances at the NHL level this season while providing four shots on net, four blocked shots and three hits.

Fowler distributed a power-play assist and had two blocks in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Predators.

Fowler had a hand in St. Louis' power-play goal in the first period, as he slid the primary helper to Brayden Schenn. With the apple, Fowler is up to 13 assists, 14 points, 56 shots on net and 37 blocks over 39 games this season. Despite primarily seeing time with the team's second power-play unit, he has eight power-play points, matching Fowler's total through 68 regular-season games a year ago. He has dished a helper in two of his last three games and makes for a strong streaming option while he's chipping in offensively.

Callahan (lower body) was activated from injured reserve and assigned to AHL Providence on Sunday.

Callahan sat out 11 games after suffering an injury against Detroit on Dec. 2. Now that he's healthy, he will get some playing time in the minors. He hasn't earned a point in five NHL appearances this season while posting three shots on net, nine blocked shots and three hits. Callahan has two assists in 12 AHL outings this year.