NHL Buzz: Bergeron to return for Bruins against Islanders

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Boston Bruins

Patrice Bergeron will return to the lineup for the Bruins against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG+, NESN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The center, who joined the team in New York on Wednesday, skated on the top line with Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak at practice. He has missed three games with an upper-body injury and did not travel for a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
"Looked good. Ready to go," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Wednesday. "He should be in [Thursday]."
Bergeron was injured during a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 8 when he collided with Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and fell into the boards. He said he did not have a concussion.
"When I hit my heads on the boards there ... I had a laceration on the back of my head," Bergeron said Wednesday. "Needed some time to get some stitches. It was swollen so just needed some time to get back."
Bergeron has scored 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 43 games this season.

Florida Panthers

Patric Hornqvist returned to the lineup for the Panthers in their 3-2 overtime win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. The forward had an assist and played 14:47.
He missed eight games with an upper-body injury sustained during a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Jan. 18. Florida was 6-2-0 without Hornqvist.
"He brings a lot of energy," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said. "You have to be born with it. It's fun to have him back in the lineup, it's fun to have him in the practice and around the guys. He brings energy everyone is feeding off. It's fun to have him back, so I'm really happy for that."
Hornqvist has scored 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 38 games this season.

Ottawa Senators

Thomas Chabot is not expected to return this week for the Senators because of an upper-body injury.
The defenseman left a 4-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday at 6:30 of the third period after a hit by forward Tom Wilson.
Senators coach D.J. Smith said Chabot likely would miss at least the next three games, against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, the Bruins on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.
Chabot has scored 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in 45 games and leads the NHL with an average ice time of 26:51 per game.
"He's arguably the one guy you don't want to go without," Smith said. "The amount of minutes and the amount of things he does ... you have to make sure he's 100 percent."
Goalie Matt Murray left a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues in the third period Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury.
"We don't think [it's serious]," Smith said. "We're hopful he's back this weekend."

Minnesota Wild

Matt Dumba will be out longer than day to day for the Wild, coach Dean Evason said.
The defenseman sustained a lower-body injury during a 3-2 win against the Hurricanes on Saturday and did not play in a 7-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. He did not travel for their 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.
"We talked yesterday that it's lower body," Evason said Wednesday. "I don't even want to say day to day, it's just, we're evaluating as we go."
Dumba missed two games with an upper-body injury prior to Saturday. He had one shot on goal, three hits and two blocked shots in 22:30 of ice time in his first game back.