NHL Buzz: Seguin ‘looks good’ during skate with Stars

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Dallas Stars

Tyler Seguin participated in the Stars' morning skate prior to their 5-1 win at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, the next step in his recovery process.

Seguin, a center, has not played since a 3-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 1. The 33-year-old had hip surgery Dec. 5 and was expected to need 4-6 months to recover.

"He looks good," Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. "Next steps are getting the wind and the cardio [back], so he had a good little skate there."

Seguin had 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 19 games before the surgery. He remains on long-term injured reserve.

"We've got a whole sports science department that really comes up with a plan on work rate and workload, and you can see they monitor everything," DeBoer said on how Seguin is working his way back to game speed. "Everything is structured and orchestrated, so we just try and follow the recommendations, but he’s taken some big steps."

The Stars (48-21-4) clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday. They visit the Kraken again on Monday (10 p.m. ET; KHN, Victory+, KONG, TVAS). -- Darren Brown

Calgary Flames

Connor Zary is week to week with a lower-body injury.

The Flames forward left a 5-2 loss to the Stars on Thursday in the third period following a collision with Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen. He had an assist in 12:56 of ice time.

"Hopefully it’s on the shorter end of that (week-to-week) scale, so we’ll see how it goes," Calgary coach Ryan Huska said Saturday before a 3-2 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers.

Zary previously missed 14 games from Jan. 11-Feb. 23 because of an injury to his left knee. He has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games this season.

"He went through a lot after his first injury trying to get back ready to play, so you hate to see a player get injured again," Huska said. "Unfortunately, he’s going to have to do the same thing again to get himself ready to go. He’s a good young man with a good head on his shoulders and I know he'll commit to his rehab."

The Flames (34-26-12) are seven points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference with three games in hand.

St. Louis Blues

Jimmy Snuggerud signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blues on Friday and is expected to join them Monday.

The 20-year-old forward led the University of Minnesota with 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in 40 games, tying for sixth in goals and fifth in points in the NCAA. The junior, who was Minnesota captain, was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and named a top 10 Hobey Baker finalist.

St. Louis (40-28-7) has won nine straight games and holds the second wild card in the West, six points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks. The Blues are even in the wild-card standings with the Minnesota Wild but have played one more game.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Bokondji Imama will miss the rest of the season after having biceps surgery Saturday.

The forward is expected to recover in 4-6 months. He was out for a 7-3 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday after playing 5:41 in a 6-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 25.

Imama had one goal in 16 games for Pittsburgh after playing most of this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Imama scored in a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 21, his second goal in 31 NHL games during four seasons.

"He's a terrific person," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after that victory. "He brings so much positive energy to the rink every day. It's hard not to smile when you're around him. He's just an enthusiastic person.

"He loves hockey. He loves being at the rink. He loves being part of the team. He loves being a Penguin."

Imama signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Pittsburgh on July 1, 2024.

Evgeni Malkin skated on an individual basis Saturday. The center could miss a third straight game with an upper-body injury against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, TSN5, RDS).

The Penguins (29-34-11) trail the New York Rangers by eight points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. -- Wes Crosby