The NHL is increasing its popular outdoor games, which in the past had been limited to on or around New Year’s Day. There likely will be six next season.

Toronto and Detroit will meet at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Jan 1, the Anaheim Ducks will play the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 5 and the Chicago Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field on March 1.

The games at Yankee Stadium were announced Wednesday. A game between Ottawa and Vancouver at BC Place on March 2 also is being planned.

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The clubs announced the swap of minor league forwards Monday.

Wilson has played in 39 NHL games and has five points in 22 AHL games this season with Syracuse. The Lightning acquired the two-time Calder Cup champion from Nashville last summer.

Sexton has 16 points in 27 games with the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in Norfolk this season. He signed with Anaheim in 2009 and has played in 88 NHL games.

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Powe was helped off the ice after a frightening collision with Washington’s Matt Hendricks early in the second period of the Rangers’ 2-1 win against the Capitals on Sunday.

“I missed him right away on the bench, especially protecting a lead,” Tortorella said. “I don’t know how long he’s going to be out. He doesn’t have the stats, but it’s not always about the stats. He’s done a lot of good things in his role.”

Powe was said to be feeling better a day after the collision. He appeared to be unconscious after the hit and was down on the ice for several minutes looking dazed, and the team is handling the injury with caution.

Down one of their best penalty killers, the Rangers recalled physical forward Brandon Mashinter from the team’s AHL club, the Connecticut Whale. It is not yet clear whether Mashinter will make his debut or whether Chris Kreider will play in place of Powe in Tuesday’s game against Montreal.

“I’ve been interested to look at Mashinter. He’s an interesting one to me, but I’m not sure,” Tortorella said. “I’m not sure what the lineup’s going to be. A number of things come into play.”

Both skaters practiced with the team Monday.

Mashinter, 24, has five goals and six assists in 14 games this season for the Whale. He previously played 13 NHL games for the San Jose Sharks in 2010-11.

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The Hawks recalled goaltender Henrik Karlsson from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.

Crawford missed the morning skate as the team prepared to face the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

“He’s out for today, day to day, upper body,” coach Joel Quenneville said after Friday’s morning skate. “Didn’t feel great (after Thursday’s) practice. That’s where he’s at.”

When asked if Crawford could play Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings, Quenneville said, “We’ll see.”

Karlsson was at Friday’s practice along with goaltender Ray Emery, who is scheduled to start against the Sharks.

Emery is 3-0-0 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. He made a career-high 45 saves and stopped all three shootout shots in a 3-2 win win against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 2. “The guys have played well no matter who’s in net,” Quenneville said. “They’ve been consistent. I think there’s confidence no matter who’s in the net in both ways this year. I think Ray is coming off another solid game after a spectacular game in Calgary. I think he’s had a real good approach to the season as well. I’m sure he’s excited about playing today as well.”

The 29-year-old Karlsson was acquired from the Flames for a 2013 seventh-round pick on Jan. 21. He had a 2-2-0 record with a 2.23 GAA and a .919 save percentage with the IceHogs this season.

“Well, he’s big,” Quenneville said of the 6-foot-6, 209-pound Karlsson. “He’s got some NHL games under his belt. He looked all right in practice today, too, so he gives us a nice addition to lineup as far as the organization as well when we picked him up a couple weeks ago.”

Karlsson, who is originally from Sweden, played 26 regular-season games with the Flames spanning the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. He was 5-9-8 with a 2.79 GAA and a .905 save percentage with Calgary. After beginning his professional career in the Swedish Elite League, he was signed by the Sharks in 2009 and traded to the Flames in 2010.

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Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff says he still has confidence in Scheifele.

He adds that Scheifele was a top performer with his junior club and will get a chance to continue his development with the Colts.

Scheifele, who was selected by the Jets with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft, did not record a point in four NHL games this season.

Cheveldayoff says that the Jets are expecting defenseman Zach Bogosian to return soon after wrist surgery.

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The team announced Friday that it has officially suspended the 36-year-old veteran defenseman. Despite conflicting reports whether he would return from Russia to fulfill his contractual obligation with the Islanders, he has not yet arrived for training camp.

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Visnovsky, acquired in June from Anaheim, attempted to have the trade overruled but an arbitrator ruled in December that the deal was valid.

The Islanders open the season Saturday at home against the New Jersey Devils.

Visnovsky has tried to remain with his European club, Slovan Bratislava, in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, despite a rule prohibiting that. The NHL and KHL have a memorandum of agreement that any player with an NHL contract must return to his club once the lockout is lifted.

The KHL is complying and won’t let Visnovsky play in Russia now that the lockout has ended.

The suspension was done in order for the Islanders to officially get down to the 23-man roster needed for opening night.

Visnovsky scored six goals and had 27 points — 10 on the power play — in 68 games with the Ducks last season.

In 771 games over 11 NHL seasons with Los Angeles, Edmonton and Anaheim, Visnovsky has 117 goals and 450 points. He was an All-Star in 2007.

The Islanders also announced on Friday that they claimed defenseman Brian Strait off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Strait has played in 12 NHL games with the Penguins, notching one assist and four penalty minutes.

Pittsburgh chose him with the 65th pick (third round) of the 2006 draft, but the 25-year-old native of Boston has spent most of his time in the minors. Strait has eight goals and 32 assists in 220 career AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

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