NHL Buzz: Malkin returns from upper-body injury for Penguins against Stars

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Pittsburgh Penguins

Evgeni Malkin returned from an upper-body injury against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

The center practiced Friday after missing four games. Malkin has 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) in 62 games.

The Penguins sent forward Emil Bemstrom to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Pittsburgh (30-34-12) is nine points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. -- Taylor Baird

Ottawa Senators

Brady Tkachuk did not play in a 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday because of an upper-body injury and is doubtful to play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, FDSNOH).

The forward, who missed his third straight game, has not resumed skating.

"I was hoping he was going to skate today, but he’s not going to," coach Travis Green said Friday. "So, it's about all I can say about it."

Tkachuk was injured on a hit by Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves during Ottawa's 1-0 overtime loss March 30. He remains day to day.

Tkachuk leads Ottawa with 29 goals in 71 games, and his 55 points are third.

"He's a big piece to our team," forward Ridly Greig said. "He brings a lot of compete and that kind of emotional side of the game. Everybody has kind of got to step up a little bit and there's a lot more minutes for somebody out there, so guys have to step up."

The Senators (41-29-6) hold the first wild card in the East, seven points ahead of the Canadiens, and are four points back of the Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division. -- Callum Fraser

Florida Panthers

Aleksander Barkov did not play in a 3-0 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and will also be unavailable against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday because of an upper-body injury.

"It's not serious, but he’s not playing this weekend," Florida coach Paul Maurice said Friday.

The forward and Panthers captain appeared to sustain the injury during a 3-2 overtime loss at Montreal on April 1. Barkov left with 6:09 remaining in the second period but returned for the start of the third, ultimately playing 18:27.

Barkov did not play in a 3-2 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. He is second on the Panthers with 67 points (19 goals, 48 assists) in 64 games.

Florida was also without forward Nico Sturm, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Canadiens.

Sturm could play when the Panthers start a four-game homestand against he Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

"He'll get pushed here today, off ice today and tomorrow on ice," Maurice said. "If all goes well, he'll be available to us when we get back or the middle part of the week."

Florida, which is 0-3-1 in its past four games, is one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division, and four ahead of the fourth-place Senators. -- Derek Van Diest

St. Louis Blues

Dylan Holloway is week to week because of a lower-body injury.

The forward was hit by Penguins forward Rutger McGroarty with 2:51 remaining in the first period of the Blues' 5-4 overtime win Thursday. He played one more shift before leaving the game with 1:03 left in the first.

"He went and saw a doctor today and he's not back yet so we don't have information, but he's not going to be a player for the next couple of games," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said earlier Friday. "Saturday and Monday [against the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets], he's not going to play. That I know."

Holloway is third on the Blues with 63 points (26 goals, 37 assists) in 77 games.

At practice on Friday, Jake Neighbours skated in Holloway's spot on a line with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, and Jimmy Snuggerud was on a line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

"He's shown us a lot. He's a hockey player," Montgomery said of Snuggerud, who had an assist Thursday for his first NHL point in his second game. "He's making plays and he's competing. As long as that maintains and stays up, I say that cautiously. This is the NHL and to be an every-day player in the NHL is not easy. You see it a lot with young players."

Forward Alexandre Texier did not practice Friday and won't play Saturday because of an upper-body injury.

The Blues (42-28-7), who have won 11 straight games, are two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. -- Lou Korac

Dallas Stars

Jamie Benn missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury against the Penguins on Saturday.

The forward didn't play in a 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, ending his consecutive games played streak at 371, which was the fifth-longest active streak in the NHL. It was the first game the Stars captain had missed since Jan. 30, 2021.

“It's very rare. I don't know if I've coached a game without him on the bench," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said Thursday. "But when he's not there you see other guys step up and it's not just the guys wearing the letters. We've got a lot of hidden leadership in that room behind Jamie. Jamie is obviously the guy, but we have a lot of layers of leadership underneath Jamie which you see when he's not around."

Benn has 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 74 games this season.

Dallas (50-21-4) is four points behind the first place Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division, and can tie a Stars/Minnesota North Stars record with an eighth straight win Saturday. -- Taylor Baird

Toronto Maple Leafs

Jake McCabe and David Kampf will not play for the Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP, FDSNOH).

McCabe, a defenseman, left a 3-2 win against the Panthers on Wednesday late in the third period because of an undisclosed injury.

Kampf, a forward, left after the second period against Florida because of an upper-body injury.

Coach Craig Berube said each is day to day.

Philippe Myers, who has been scratched the past 11 games, will replace McCabe in the lineup and skate on a pair with Simon Benoit, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson moving up to play with Chris Tanev.

"I'm not sure when it happened [for McCabe]," Berube said. "He does a lot of things for us in terms of a shutdown defenseman. His defensive play, physical play, leadership. He brings a lot, penalty kill. It's hard to sit here and say we can replace him. It's pretty tough."

McCabe has 23 points (two goals, 21 assists), a plus-23 rating and averages 21:31 of ice time in 66 games.

Nicholas Robertson, who has been scratched the past three games, will replace Kampf and skate at right wing on a line with left wing Steven Lorentz and center Pontus Holmberg.

Kampf has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 59 games.

The Maple Leafs are three points ahead of the Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division. -- Dave McCarthy

Vancouver Canucks

Tyler Myers has an undisclosed injury and did not play against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said Friday the defenseman is considered day to day. Myers left a 5-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday with 11:47 remaining in the third period.

"Something happened last game," Tocchet said. "Tried to play thought it, that's 'Mysie,' but we shut him down the last 12."

The Canucks were also without forward Nils Aman, who left practice early after falling hard into the boards.

"He's going to get evaluated," Tocchet said. "That didn't look good either. ... Hopefully it's nothing really bad, but it looked bad from my angle."

Nils Hoglander practiced Friday and said he was feeling good, but the forward did not play Saturday. Hoglander has missed six games because of an undisclosed injury.

"He's getting close," Tocchet said. "He'll problaby phone me tonight that he wants to play, but we've got to just wait a game or two and see."

Filip Chytil watched practice but remains in concussion protocol, Tocchet said. The forward has been out since March 15.