NHL notebook: Canucks facing center shortage

The Vancouver Canucks have two injured centers, and they are not sure if either will play Friday night. With Elias Pettersson still out due to a knee injury sustained on Jan. 3, the Canucks lost Bo Horvat temporarily during their Wednesday night shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. After the game, Horvat received treatment for what the team later termed a charley horse. Horvat likely will play in the Canucks' Friday home game against the Buffalo Sabres, but Pettersson is doubtful, according to coach Travis Green. Speaking with reporters after practice, Pettersson said he pushed himself harder on Thursday and that while he is not worried about when exactly he will return, it will be soon. --The Minnesota Wild traded forward Nino Niederreiter to the Carolina Hurricanes for center Victor Rask. Niederreiter, 26, posted nine goals and 14 assists in 46 games for the Wild this season. He was the No. 5 overall pick in 2010 by the New York Islanders, who traded him to the Wild before the 2013-14 season. He has 112 goals and 119 assists in 498 career games. Rask, 25, played in 26 games for Carolina in 2018-19 and has one goal and five assists. A second-round pick by the Hurricanes in the 2011 draft, he has 63 goals and 100 assists in 339 games. --The Anaheim Ducks acquired center Derek Grant from the Penguins in a deal that sent forward Joseph Blandisi to Pittsburgh. Grant, 28, had two goals and five points in 25 games with the Penguins after signing as a free agent over the summer. He played last season in Anaheim, scoring 12 goals and adding 12 assists. Blandisi, 24, has played the majority of this season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, tallying 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) and a plus-9 rating in 27 games. He has played in 74 career NHL games with the Ducks and New Jersey Devils, recording eight goals and 26 points. --The Columbus Blue Jackets activated veteran center Brandon Dubinsky off injured reserve. He missed four games with a strained hamstring. Dubinsky, 32, has four goals and six assists in 32 games this season, his seventh season with Columbus. He ranks second on the team in faceoff percentage (.534), third in penalty minutes (34) and fourth in hits (73). The Blue Jackets return to action Friday night when they host the Montreal Canadiens. --Field Level Media