NHL Buzz: Laine returns for Canadiens against Stars
Lindgren placed on injured reserve by Capitals; Stamkos in lineup for Predators
© Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
Montreal Canadiens
Patrik Laine returned for the Canadiens against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
The forward had missed the past four games because of an illness. He has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in 13 games, with all of his goals coming on the power play.
Laine replaced Michael Pezzetta in the lineup.
David Savard returned after missing four games because of an upper-body injury. The defenseman has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 35 games and replaced Jayden Struble in the lineup. -- Sean Farrell
Washington Capitals
Charlie Lindgren was placed on injured reserve Saturday after the Capitals goalie sustained an upper-body injury during their 3-2 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Friday.
Lindgren was injured in a collision with Montreal center Nick Suzuki, who was shoved into him by Washington forward Brandon Duhaime 16 seconds into the second period. Lindgren initially remained in the game but left at 2:29.
The 31-year-old is 10-8-2 with a 2.65 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 21 games (all starts) this season.
Hunter Shepard was recalled from Hershey of the American Hockey League to back up Logan Thompson against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Shepard is 15-7-1 with a 2.68 GAA, .898 save percentage and one shutout in 23 AHL games this season. The 29-year-old is 2-1-1 with a 3.19 GAA and .894 save percentage in four NHL games, all last season with Washington. -- Tom Gulitti
Nashville Predators
Steven Stamkos was in the lineup for the Predators against the Capitals at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
The forward left in the second period of a 5-2 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury. Stamkos did not practice Thursday because of a “maintenance day.”
“Hope so,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said of Stamkos’ chances of playing Saturday. “Obviously a little bit of a game-time [decision] here, but things are trending that way.”
Stamkos practiced with Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault at the morning skate Saturday. He has 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists) in 41 games and has yet to miss one this season, his first with the Predators.
Nashville recalled forward Kieffer Bellows from Milwaukee of the AHL in case Stamkos is unable to play. Bellows has 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 95 NHL games. -- Robby Stanley
Vegas Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev (upper body) remained sidelined when the Golden Knights hosted the New York Rangers on Saturday.
The forward practiced fully Friday and took part in line rushes. He was injured during a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 16 and has missed 12 games.
Barbashev is tied for the Golden Knights lead in goals (15) and has 30 points in 31 games. -- Paul Delos Santos
New York Islanders
Ilya Sorokin (illness) and Alexander Romanov were out for the Islanders at the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday.
Sorokin, a goalie, is 13-13-4 with a 2.83 GAA and .902 save percentage in 30 games this season, all starts. He has started 16 of New York's past 17 games, but was unavailable due to illness.
Marcus Hogberg will start against Utah, and goalie Jakub Skarek was recalled form Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis.
It will be Hogberg’s first start since Dec. 29, when he made 39 saves in a 3-2 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins, his only NHL start since April 28, 2021. Hogberg is 0-1-0 with a 1.93 GAA and .948 save percentage in three games with New York.
Semyon Varlamov has not played since Nov. 29 because of a lower-body injury.
Romanov, a defenseman, left the morning skate Saturday early and did not return. He has nine assists in 30 games this season while averaging 21:45 of ice time. -- Matt Komma
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury when the Penguins lost 5-0 against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
The center skated before the game with forward Philip Tomasino, who has been out since Jan. 3 with a lower-body injury.
"[Malkin and Tomasino] will not play today," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said before the game. "Their status is day to day. They're making progress."
Malkin has practiced twice since being a late scratch prior to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. After that game, Sullivan said he was unsure when the injury occurred.
Malkin rotated at second-line center in practice Friday with Cody Glass, who took most of the reps and played there Tuesday and in a 5-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Glass had two shots on goal in 15:49 of ice time on Saturday.
Malkin is tied for third on the Penguins with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 41 games. He has three goals in 25 games since Nov. 11. -- Wes Crosby
San Jose Sharks
Jake Walman and Nico Sturm returned for the Sharks against the Wild on Saturday.
Walman, a defenseman, had missed the past eight games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Oilers on Dec. 21. He leads Sharks defensemen with 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 31 games this season.
"He's a puck-moving defenseman; it's probably been a big struggle for us in the last two games," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "He'd be a big boost."
Walman wanted to make sure he was playing to full health before a potential return to the lineup.
Sturm, a center, missed three games with a lower-body injury. He has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 36 games.
Forwards Klim Kostin (lower body) and Alexander Wennberg (illness) did not play. Kostin left in the first period of a 2-1 loss to Utah on Friday.
"I would say, right now, he's day to day until we get a better update this afternoon," Warsofsky said. -- Max Miller
Florida Panthers
Aaron Ekblad did not play for the Panthers in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury.
The defenseman did not practice Friday after playing in a 4-1 win against Utah on Wednesday. Ekblad left Florida’s 3-2 shootout win against Pittsburgh on Jan. 3, then missed the following game against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
“We want to be careful,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said Saturday morning. This is nothing sinister or long-term, but he played the other night. I thought he played very well with it. The question is, how many times do we want to do that? We have to let this thing heal.’’
Tobias Bjornfot was inserted into the lineup Saturday with Ekblad unavailable. -- George Richards
Calgary Flames
Connor Zary will be out indefinitely because of a knee injury that will not require surgery.
The forward sustained the injury when he collided with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson at 6:34 of the second period during a 3-2 overtime win Tuesday. Zary was helped off the ice and did not return.
Helleson received a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.
Zary has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 40 games this season, his second in the NHL. He had 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 63 games with the Flames last season. Zary was selected by Calgary in the first round (No. 24) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
The Flames recalled forward Rory Kerins from Calgary of the AHL on Friday. He leads that league with 21 goals and is second with 34 points in 34 games this season.
Calgary hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, FDSNW).
Utah Hockey Club
Dylan Guenther is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
The 21-year-old forward sustained the injury on a hit from Aleksander Barkov during a 4-1 loss to the Panthers on Wednesday.
Guenther leads Utah with 16 goals and is third on the team with 34 points in 40 games. He signed an eight-year contract Sept. 20.
Coach Andre Tourigny said, "it's long, but not that long," when asked if the injury was season-ending. Tourigny also said Guenther was in the building Friday morning to start his rehab.
Forward Josh Doan was recalled from Tucson of the AHL on Friday and was in the lineup against the New York Islanders on Saturday.
He has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 25 games since being assigned there Oct. 28.
Doan has two points (one goal, one assist) in 10 NHL games this season.
