NHL Buzz: Marner out for Maple Leafs with 'bumps and bruises'

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Toronto Maple Leafs

Mitchell Marner will not play for the Maple Leafs when they host the Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m.; SNO, BSDET, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The forward, who leads Toronto with 95 points (28 goals, 67 assists) in 75 games, did not have a point and was held without a shot in 21:50 of ice time in a 3-0 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
"Mitch is not going to play today," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's got some bumps and bruises that he's been going through, as someone who has played as much as he has would. So, he's not going to play tonight."
Defenseman Mark Giordano and Jake McCabe also will not play in order to rest.
The Maple Leafs recalled Nick Abruzzese from Toronto of the American Hockey League. The forward, who will make his season debut, has 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists) in 65 AHL games this season.
Defenseman Conor Timmins, who has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 22 games with Toronto this season, will play for the first time since Feb. 24. He has been a healthy scratch the past 16 games.
Forward Wayne Simmonds, who did not play Saturday because of an illness, will return to the lineup. -- Dave McCarthy

New York Islanders

Mathew Barzal will skate this weekend for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury.
The center has been out since Feb. 18 and was listed as out week to week.
"He will begin skating either today or tomorrow and then whatever the progress is, how long it takes, I couldn't tell you," general manager Lou Lamoriello told the Islanders website Saturday. "The doctors, the physical therapists, they will determine [the timeline]. … Him skating is extremely positive and we just go from there."
Barzal has 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists) in 58 games this season. New York, which visits the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, is 11-5-2 without Barzal.
When asked on Friday if Barzal could return in the regular season, coach Lane Lambert said, "Possibly, yeah."
New York holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Florida Panthers and three ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Forward Oliver Wahlstrom, who has been out since Dec. 27 with a lower-body injury, won't play again this season. Wahlstrom has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 35 games.
"It's extremely disappointing," Lambert said. "He was really coming along and adds a certain element to our hockey team. We've missed him and it's just a matter of him getting better and getting ready for what's to come next."

Washington Capitals

With backup goalie Charlie Lindgren unable to play because of a non-COVID illness, the Capitals signed Mitchell Gibson to an amateur tryout agreement prior to a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Washington selected Gibson in the fourth round (No. 124) of the 2018 NHL Draft and announced plans to sign the 23-year-old to an NHL entry-level contract at a later date.
"We knew that his could possibly be a scenario," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "As soon as we found out that 'Chuckie' was ill, the plan went into place. Scotty (Murray), our goalie coach, was talking about the decision and where [Gibson] was at, so he's here today."
Gibson helped Harvard reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, going 18-7-2 with a 2.25 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and three shutouts in 27 games as a junior. He ranked third among Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) goalies in GAA and save percentage and was named to the All-ECAC Hockey Second Team.
The Capitals also played against the Rangers without forward T.J. Oshie (upper body) and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body) after both were injured during a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. -- Tom Gulitti