NHL Buzz: Tavares out for Maple Leafs against Ducks with ‘pretty minor’ injury

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Toronto Maple Leafs

John Tavares is day to day with an undisclosed injury and did not play for the Maple Leafs against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

“It’s pretty minor,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Just not available today.”

Tavares had three shots on goal and was plus-1 in 20:54 in Toronto’s 4-3 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Max Domi replaced Tavares at the morning skate Saturday, centering a line with left wing Tyler Bertuzzi and right wing William Nylander.

Defenseman Mark Giordano did not play after the death of his father on Friday. Max Lajoie, who was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Saturday, replaced him on a pair with William Lagesson.

Goalie Martin Jones started after missing the past two games with an undisclosed injury. -- Dave McCarthy

Philadelphia Flyers

Cam York was in the lineup for the Flyers against the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday.

The defenseman left the Flyers' 4-3 overtime loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday with 15:36 remaining in the third period after taking a hard hit into the boards by Toronto defenseman Simon Benoit.

"I feel pretty good," York said Friday. "It was never my head. I know people were saying my head, but my head is fine. It's an upper-body thing."

Flyers forward Sean Couturier also played after he left the game Thursday with 6:09 remaining in the third period after being slashed on the left leg by Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi.

"I'm fine," he said. "It was just a stinger, just a bruise. Got me right in the wrong area, where I didn't have any padding. It's all good." -- Adam Kimelman

Washington Capitals

Sonny Milano returned for the Capitals against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Milano missed 27 games because of an upper-body injury sustained on a hit by New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba on Dec. 9. The 27-year-old forward, who scored earlier in that game, played 10:15 the following night at the Chicago Blackhawks but had been out since.

Milano was set to return sooner, but that was delayed by illness. He did not take part in the optional morning skate Saturday, but Capitals coach Spencer Carbery confirmed he would play against the Canadiens.

Milano, who has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 23 games, played on a line with Max Pacioretty and Mike Sgarbossa.

“Sonny is good to go,” Carbery said. “He’ll go in the lineup tonight.” -- Sean Farrell

Anaheim Ducks

Alex Killorn returned for the Ducks against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

The forward was activated off injured reserve Saturday and skated at left wing on a line with center Isac Lundestrom and right wing Jakob Silfverberg at the morning skate.

Killorn had missed the past nine games after Anaheim announced Jan. 20 that he would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and miss 4-6 weeks.

Killorn, who signed a four-year contract as an unrestricted free agent ($6.25 million average annual value) with the Ducks on July 1, 2023, has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 34 games this season. -- Dave McCarthy

Vancouver Canucks

Dakota Joshua is week to week for the Canucks because of an upper-body injury.

The forward was injured in the third period of a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in a fight with Blackhawks forward MacKenzie Entwistle.

Joshua had a goal and two assists in the game.

"I don't know whether it's a week or two," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Friday. "That's unfortunate but he can use this positively, we'll get him skating and stuff like that but week to week."

Joshua has set NHL career highs in goals (13), assists (13) and points (26) in 53 games this season and is a plus-16 while averaging 14:03 of ice time playing mostly on the third line. He has averaged 1:44 of ice time per game on the penalty kill.

"Dakota is probably one of our best penalty killers," Tocchet said. "A heavy body (6-foot-3, 206 pounds), last minute of a game, usually he's out there, he's probably our best wall guy. So, when you're losing that, we have to do it by committee. … He's a big part of our team."

Ilya Mikheyev took Joshua's spot on a line with Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger during a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and finished minus-1 without a shot or point in 15:18 of ice time and hasn't scored a goal in 23 games.

"Give him a chance on that line, maybe you get two hard-working guys, maybe he can stay close and get something going for himself," Tocchet said.

Vancouver hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC. SN, CITY). -- Kevin Woodley

Colorado Avalanche

Chris Wagner is expected to make his season debut for the Avalanche against the Arizona Coyotes at Ball Arena on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ALT).

The 32-year-old forward missed the first 55 games of the season after rupturing his Achilles during offseason training.

“I was doing extra sprint work back home at our gym, and I was actually doing it before I was going out to skate,” Wagner said. “I don't know if you saw [Dre Greenlaw] on the [San Francisco] 49ers do it on the sideline (at the Super Bowl), [but] it was the exact same movement, same leg.”

Wagner, who has 63 points (37 goals, 26 assists) in 360 NHL games, only played one game with the Boston Bruins in each of the previous two seasons.

“I don't take being here for granted at all, especially [after] the last couple of years,” Wagner said. “But at the same time, you don't want to look ahead. You want to be happy that you're here but continue to work every day to earn the next day.”

Wagner is expected to replace forward Logan O'Connor, who will likely miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury. O’Connor has 13 goals, a career high, and 12 assists in 51 games this season. -- Ryan Boulding

Nashville Predators

Michael McCarron signed a two-year, $1.8 million contract on Friday. It has an AAV of $900,000.

The 28-year-old forward has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 42 games this season. He could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round (No. 25) of the 2013 NHL Draft, McCarron has 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 200 games with the Predators and Canadiens and no points in three Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Detroit Red Wings

Ville Husso is out week to week with a lower-body injury the Red Wings goalie sustained early in an 8-4 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Husso made six saves but was injured shortly before Leon Draisaitl scored to make it 1-0 at 8:48 of the first period. It was his first start since he was helped off the ice with 2:37 left in the opening period of a 4-3 loss to the Ducks on Dec. 18 and missed 20 games with a lower-body injury.

"Different lower body, but lower body and week to week, unfortunately," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said Thursday.

Alex Lyon replaced Husso in Edmonton, giving up seven goals on 29 shots in what was his 16th appearance in 17 games.

Lyon made 17 saves in a 4-1 loss at Vancouver on Thursday with James Reimer as the backup.

"With 31 games left, we have to be smart in how we manage it," Lalonde said.

Lyon is 14-8-2 with a 2.82 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and two shutouts. Husso is 9-5-2 with a 3.55 GAA and .892 save percentage. Reimer is 4-6-2 with a 3.22 GAA, .894 save percentage and one shutout.

"Confident in all three," Lalonde said. "We've been fortunate to have all three. It's saved our season, carrying three goalies and here we are again. You lean on that depth and Reimer's last time out was a quality win, so full confidence." -- Kevin Woodley

Carolina Hurricanes

Frederik Andersen worked with a full group during Hurricanes practice Thursday for the first time since the goalie was diagnosed with a blood clotting issue in early November.

The 34-year-old has been out since Nov. 2. He's 4-1-0 with a 2.87 GAA and .894 save percentage in six games this season.

Carolina is 25-13-5 without Andersen, with rookie Pyotr Kochetkov going 14-6-3 with a 2.26 GAA, .913 save percentage and one shutout in 25 games (24 starts). Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets each has played one game.

Antti Raanta is out at least a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury sustained playing in relief of Kochetkov on Feb. 8, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said two days later. Raanta is 10-6-2 with a 2.97 GAA and .873 save percentage in 20 games (17 starts) since Andersen's injury and played with Chicago of the American Hockey League from Dec. 17-26 after clearing waivers.

The Hurricanes, who won 5-1 at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSO).