Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar did not play for the Colorado Avalanche in their 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday because of a lower-body injury.
Makar, a defenseman, participated in the morning skate. He has 37 points (eight goals, 29 assists) in 27 games this season.
With Makar unavailable, defenseman Caleb Jones was inserted into the lineup.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews did not play for the Maple Leafs in a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday because of an illness.
The center, who has scored seven times during a four-game goal streak, participated in Toronto’s full morning skate on a line with left wing Matthew Knies and right wing William Nylander.
Matthews leads the NHL with 23 goals in 27 games, one more than Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks.
Center Max Domi skated on a line with Knies, who missed two games with an illness, and right wing Mitchell Marner.
Defenseman TJ Brodie was also unavailable Saturday because of an illness.
Pontus Holmberg, who was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Saturday, was in the lineup.
Timothy Liljegren returned for the Maple Leafs after the defenseman missed 17 games with a high ankle sprain. He has one assist in 11 games this season.
Forward Ryan Reaves, who sustained a lower-body injury in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, will be placed on injured reserve, though the injury is not as bad as initially thought.
“Dont have an exact timeline but it is not as bad as it appeared,” Keefe said. “I was talking with him yesterday and he was riding the bike, so it’s encouraging that way. … It’s not a long-term thing.” -- Dave McCarthy
Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman returned for the Lightning when they visited the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, SNW, BSSUN).
Hedman missed two games because of an upper-body injury sustained in a 4-3 overtime win at the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 9. He had played in every game this season before sustaining the injury.
"Those are guys that play 25-plus minutes, so you take them off the back end and there's a little bit of a hole," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We were able to get some points (1-1-0) with him out of there, which is great for us, but we're definitely a much better team when he's in."
Hedman, who won the Norris Trophy as the best NHL defenseman in 2017-18, is tied for fifth in League scoring at his position with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 29 games.
He leads Tampa Bay in time on ice per game at 23:39.
Defenseman Haydn Fleury was scratched with Hedman's return. -- Aaron Vickers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Daniil Tarasov made his season debut when the Blue Jackets lost 6-3 to the New Jersey Devils at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
The 24-year-old goalie allowed five goals on 29 shots after missing the first 25 games of the season because of a knee injury. He was 2-1-0 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in four games with Cleveland of the AHL on a conditioning assignment.
The Blue Jackets are carrying three goalies. Spencer Martin was the backup Saturday and Elvis Merzlikins did not dress. Vincent said the busy schedule has not allowed Merzlikins enough practice time.
“This morning he had a good workout, a good practice seeing some shots,” Vincent said.
Complicating the situation is that Tarasov must clear waivers in order to be assigned to Cleveland. -- Craig Merz
Philadelphia Flyers
Carter Hart was the backup goalie for the Flyers in a 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday after missing a 4-3 shootout victory against the Washington Capitals on Thursday because of an illness.
Hart also missed two games Nov. 10-11 because of what he believed was food poisoning. But his symptoms Thursday were closely related to what happened in November, which has him believing there might have been more going on at the time.
"It's been going on for a while," he said Saturday. "I used to never get sick and now I've been sick three times in the last month. Something's going on and it's good we got to the bottom of it and figured it out and now I can take the right steps to treat it and fix it and feel better going forward."
Hart said he got a diagnosis regarding his health recently and is feeling better about his prognosis moving forward.
"Knowing what's been going on, it makes sense," he said. "Now that we know, we can fix it. I'm feeling better today and doing the right things collectively here with the medical staff to fix it and feel better."
Hart said the next step is to put on some of the weight he lost while he was sick.
"Just now got to make sure to eat, fluids and get back to feeling normal," he said. "[But] it should't take too long to get it back."
Samuel Ersson started and made 33 saves to shut out the Red Wings.
Defenseman Travis Sanheim did not play Saturday because of an illness. -- Adam Kimelman
