NHL Buzz: Mrazek returns with shutout for Hurricanes against Stars

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2020-21 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

#

Carolina Hurricanes

Petr Mrazek made 28 saves in a
1-0 win against the Dallas Stars
on Sunday in his return after missing 29 games.
The goalie had right-thumb surgery Feb. 3.
Mrazek made 43 saves in a 5-2 win for Chicago of the American Hockey League against Grand Rapids in a conditioning stint Thursday. He returned to North Carolina after the Hurricanes defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 that night.
"It's been eight weeks since I played a game, so I was really happy I could see the action and see the puck, see the puck through traffic and battle hard so it was positive," Mrazek said. "I don't think there's anything better than facing 45 shots. That's a good conditioning game." -- Tracey Myers

Dallas Stars

Jake Oettinger made 37 saves in his second start in as many days at the Hurricanes with no change in the status of goalie
Anton Khudobin
, who was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Saturday.
Oettinger made 41 saves in a 3-2 win against Carolina on Saturday, when Khudobin was expected to start.
Dallas coach Rick Bowness left the game Sunday after the second period due to COVID-19 protocol.
Prior to the season, Khudobin said he had COVID-19 for several weeks. He is 7-9-4 with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts in 20 games.
Stars forward Jason Dickinson is out after leaving in the first period Saturday with an undisclosed injury. -- Tracey Myers

Ottawa Senators

Shane Pinto
is expected to make his NHL debut soon after he completes a seven-day quarantine.
The 20-year-old arrived at an Ottawa hotel Saturday, one week after the University of North Dakota was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division 1 championship tournament with a 3-2, five-overtime loss to Minnesota Duluth. He said Senators coach D.J. Smith plans to play him at center.
"I'm just excited to get these seven days out of the way because I know it's going to be a grind," Pinto said.
Pinto is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the player voted the best in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey. Chosen by the Senators in the second round (No. 32) of the 2019 NHL Draft, he scored 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 28 games, third among National Collegiate Hockey Conference players.
"Obviously it's a huge jump," Pinto said. "But I think having this young core here, kind of learning from them, and they're kind of going through the same experience that I'll go through here in the next couple of weeks, that will help a lot. I think North Dakota prepared me for this. The NCHC is such a hard league and you have to bring it every night."
Pinto and defenseman
Jacob Bernard-Docker
, his teammate at North Dakota and Ottawa's first-round pick (No. 26) in the 2018 NHL Draft, each signed with the Senators on April 1. They drove four hours from Fargo, North Dakota, to Minneapolis the next day, then flew via Atlanta to Montreal before a two-hour drive to Ottawa.
"It's been the craziest couple of days of my life," Pinto said. "It's been such a whirlwind, from when we lost to Duluth in that five-overtime game, a lot of emotions the next couple of days after that, and then realizing I had to leave all the boys. You know, it's just how it is sometimes." -- Sean Farrell