NHL Buzz: Stone to return for Golden Knights against Stars
O'Reilly week to week for Predators; Barzal skating on his own for Islanders
© David Becker/NHLI
Vegas Golden Knights
Mark Stone will return for the Golden Knights when they play the Dallas Stars on Friday (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, SCRIPPS, SN, TVAS).
The forward has been out since Nov. 6, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the Edmonton Oilers.
“Yeah, I feel good," said Stone, the Vegas captain. "Definitely took a longer than I anticipated when it first happened. Ready to go. Team’s playing good, so excited to get back into the lineup.”
The Golden Knights (17-7-3) have gone 8-4-2 in 14 games without him, including allowing one goal combined in winning their past two.
“Things are going on the right track," Stone said. "We’ve been playing really good defensive hockey the last little bit, so [it] should be seamless, hopefully. … The team’s playing well, so don’t really need to come in here and try to be a hero or anything. Just play the game.”
Stone has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 13 games this season. -- Paul Delos Santos
Nashville Predators
Ryan O'Reilly is week to week for the Predators because of a lower-body injury.
The 33-year-old forward was minus-2 in 16:50 of ice time in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
O'Reilly is third on the Predators with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 26 games this season. He also leads the team in face-off attempts (453) and is second in face-off percentage (55.2, minimum 10 draws).
“We try the best we can,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said after a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. “I think it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up and solidify a little bit of a role and add a little bit to the team.”
Nashville (7-14-6), which has lost six straight (0-3-3), is 31st in the NHL this season, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks.
Anaheim Ducks
Trevor Zegras will not play when the Ducks host the Minnesota Wild on Friday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNOX, Victory+, KCOP-13).
The forward sustained a lower-body injury 40 seconds into the second period of a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
Zegras, who missed 51 games last season because of a groin injury and a broken ankle, has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 24 games this season.
"I thought 'Z' was playing really well, the best hockey he's played over the last seven or eight games," coach Greg Cronin said Friday. "I was really proud of the way he's played and adapted to his game. He's gotten in on the forecheck and he's gotten points because of it."
Brock McGinn, who missed the past seven games with a lower-body injury, will enter the lineup against Minnesota, and Cutter Gauthier will replace Zegras on the top line.
Forward Leo Carlsson skated with the Ducks on Friday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 25. He wore a red noncontact jersey. Carlsson has missed the past four games and is day to day. -- Dan Arritt
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov remains day to day with an undisclosed injury for the Lightning.
Kucherov sustained the injury in the second period of a 3-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Friday, though he returned to the game.
The 31-year-old forward, who leads the Lightning with 34 points (12 goals 22 assists) in 22 games, then missed practice Tuesday but returned to the ice Wednesday before leaving practice early.
The Lightning's next game will be on Sunday at the Vancouver Canucks.
"We have nothing positive so far," coach Jon Cooper said. "... Hopefully he'll play on the West Coast trip."
Cooper added that forward Mitchell Chaffee, who has been practicing with a red noncontact jersey, is expected to be available for the upcoming road trip. -- Corey Long
New York Islanders
Mathew Barzal has begun skating on his own for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury in a 2-0 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 30.
The initial timeline for Barzal's recovery was 4-6 weeks. The forward has been out for five weeks and has missed 17 games but there is no update on when he will be able to return to practice.
Barzal has five points (two goals, three assists) in 10 games this season.
Forward Anthony Duclair, who has been out since Oct. 19 with a lower-body injury, continues to skate on his own., and defenseman Adam Pelech, who sustained a jaw injury on Nov. 1, skated with the team for a second straight day in a noncontact jersey.
Semyon Varlamov missed his second straight practice and third in the past four days due to a lower-body injury. There is no update on his status ahead of the Islanders back-to-back games this weekend, beginning against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (5 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN).
Marcus Hogberg, who was an emergency recall from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Thursday, remains with the Islanders. --Stefen Rosner
Minnesota Wild
Forwards Mats Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek, and defenseman Jonas Brodin are each week to week for the Wild.
Zuccarello, who has missed nine games because of a lower-body injury, was placed on long-term injured reserve. Brodin has missed four straight games.
Erikson Ek left in overtime of a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
"He's doing some light activity," coach John Hynes said of Zuccarello. "He has increased from basically doing nothing to now he’s doing some light stuff, using the gym. I think it’s going to be now, say this week getting into the activity and getting himself moving around again. And then I think next week we might have a better feel on if we're going to advance that to on the ice and there will be a whole process with that as well."
Forward Jakub Lauko is day to day with a lower-body injury. He has missed the past four games. -- Jessi Pierce
Carolina Hurricanes
Brendan Lemieux was placed on unconditional waivers by the Hurricanes on Friday for the purposes of contract termination.
The 28-year-old is on a one-year, $775,000 contract he signed with Carolina on March 11.
Lemieux has not played in the NHL this season after having five points (three goals, two assists) in 32 games last season, his first with the Hurricanes. He had two goals in 12 games for Chicago of the American Hockey League this season.
"Brendan asked to be released from his contract so he could pursue a new opportunity," Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky told the Hurricanes website. "We wish him nothing but the best in the next stage of his career."
Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (No. 31) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Lemieux has 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists) in 307 NHL regular-season games for the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Hurricanes, and one goal in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.
