NHL Buzz: Marner out again for Maple Leafs

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Toronto Maple Leafs

Mitchell Marner missed his second straight game for the Maple Leafs at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
The forward also did not play in a 4-3 shootout loss at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. He left practice early Friday after taking a hit from defenseman Jake Muzzin.
"They want to see how he responded this morning, and they were looking at it, gave it some time during the day and ... it was decided to give him the weekend and get back home and get a better idea of what's happening there," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We don't expect him to be out long term, though." -- Jessi Pierce

Vegas Golden Knights

William Karlsson will be a game-time decision against the Calgary Flames (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The forward has not played since Oct. 29, when he broke his foot in a 5-4 shootout victory against the Anaheim Ducks. Karlsson, who was then placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Nov. 29, was a full-contact participant at morning skate and took part in power-play drills.
"He's only skated for a couple days," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "The injury he had, it was non-weight bearing, so he literally hasn't been on his feet for the last seven days and on the ice for the last three or four. We'll see."
DeBoer said conditioning will be a factor on whether or not, and how much, Karlsson plays. In addition to being a top-six forward, Karlsson is one of the Golden Knights' top penalty killers and was averaging 18:56 of time on ice per game before the injury.
"If he does play, we're going to have to be careful to limit him and that's not easy to do with him because he's such an easy guy to play in every situation," DeBoer said. "That's going to be on me to try and communicate with him and see how he's feeling if he does play."
Forward Nolan Patrick was a non-contact participant at morning skate. He has not played since Oct. 22. -- Danny Webster

Los Angeles Kings

Quinton Byfield was activated off injured reserve and loaned to Ontario of the American Hockey League.
The 19-year-old forward broke his left ankle in a preseason game against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 5.
Kings coach Todd McLellan said Sunday that he wasn't sure when Byfield will be ready to return to Los Angeles.
"It's his timetable, not ours," McLellan said. "He's got to get his game in order, get playing, and we're confident that he can do that quickly. But we're not going to put him in a situation that's unfair to him or his teammates."
Byfield, who was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, scored 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) in 32 AHL games and had one assist in six games for the Kings last season.
"He didn't play a full season last year, because of COVID, and this year, he's starting as if the COVID issue existed again," McLellan said. "He needs to get his game going and he's very capable of it. We expect him to play well down there and have a lot of details in his game, get his conditioning and timing back, and then we'll see what happens."
The Kings visit the Edmonton Oilers (8 p.m. ET, SNW, BSW, NHL LIVE) on Sunday. -- Derek Van Diest

Philadelphia Flyers

Joel Farabee is week to week with a shoulder injury sustained during a 4-1 loss at the New York Rangers on Dec. 1.
"He fell awkwardly into the boards, caught an edge, a shoulder ran into the boards," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said Saturday. "I said upper body, but if you watch the replay it's shoulder obviously. I'm not risking another timeline. Anytime I've said something I've been wrong. This is not an exact science, our doctors and our medical staff are doing the best they can to give us the feedback on generally what it is, but for whatever reason it's been more challenging."
Farabee is tied with Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson for the Flyers lead with seven goals.
Forward Patrick Brown was activated from injured reserve and played against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday after missing seven games with a thumb injury.
Forward Derick Brassard, who missed four games with a hip injury, skated on his own for about 15 minutes Friday. He is day to day and did not play Sunday. -- Adam Kimelman