Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Dallas Stars
Evgenii Dadonov will return to the lineup when the Stars host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT).
The 35-year-old forward missed the past 29 games because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 3-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 10. He has 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 50 games this season.
“I’m excited to play, but at the same time a little bit worried. It’s been a long time,” Dadonov said. “Not sure exactly what to expect, but I feel good and should be fine. I hope [after] a couple of shifts, I get into the game.”
Dallas (51-21-9) can clinch the Western Conference if it gets at least one point Wednesday.
“Back at the right time,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “I’ve got a history with him (with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights), and he’s always been a playoff-type player. I think his game translates to playoffs. He’s heavy, he’s hard, he plays inside, he goes to the tough areas of the ice. He’s coming back at the right time. He was nonweight-bearing for six weeks, so that hasn’t been easy. Worked really hard to keep himself in game shape, so excited to have him back and as an option here going into the playoffs.”
Forward Tyler Seguin will be scratched to make room for Dadonov. The coaching staff has been managing Seguin’s ice time after he sustained a lower-body injury Feb. 22 that kept him out a month. -- Taylor Baird
Los Angeles Kings
Alex Turcotte is likely to return from an upper-body injury when the Kings host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, NBCSCH, SN360).
Turcotte, a forward who was the No. 5 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has missed 13 games since sustaining the injury in a 5-0 win at Chicago on March 15. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in 20 games.
Turcotte practiced for the first time Wednesday since returning from a conditioning loan with Ontario of the American Hockey League, working on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Quinton Byfield.
Forward Carl Grundstrom (lower body) is currently with Ontario on a conditioning loan. Grundstrom has missed 31 games since sustaining the injury in a 7-0 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 13. He has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 50 games.
Kings coach Jim Hiller said Grundstrom is trending in the right direction after he had a goal and an assist in his first game in the AHL on Saturday. Grundstrom is set to play again for Ontario on Wednesday.
“Talked to him just the other day, came in and we talked about his game,” Hiller said. “He said he felt sluggish in some areas, better as it went on, nothing to be unexpected. So, he just needs to play. He’ll play a lot of minutes, and we’re just trying to speed up the process of him getting his timing and all those kinds of things back.”
Los Angeles (43-27-11) holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference but still has a chance to finish third in the Pacific Division. The Kings trail the Vegas Golden Knights by one point; each has one regular-season game remaining. -- Dan Greenspan
Boston Bruins
Derek Forbort will report to Providence of the American Hockey League on a long-term injury conditioning loan.
The 32-year-old defenseman has four assists in 35 games with the Bruins this season but has not played since March 2 because of a lower-body injury.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said March 8 that Forbort was "more than likely" out for the season because of two separate undisclosed injuries.
Forbort, who signed with the Bruins as a free agent July 28, 2021, has 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) and is plus-22 in 165 games for Boston.
The Bruins (47-20-15) finished second in the Atlantic Division and will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
