NHL Buzz: Tarasenko returns for Blues against Flyers

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko returned to play for the Blues against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
The forward missed a 6-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury sustained during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 17.
"Yeah, he's good to go, so it's good to have him back tonight," Blues coach Craig Berube said.
Tarasenko was expected to return to a line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, which combined to score 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in three games before Tarasenko's injury.
Tarasenko was tied for the Blues lead with Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou with 18 goals and tied wtih Buchnevich for the lead with 45 points.
"Awesome to see him back out there," Kyrou said Monday. "Good thing he's only missing one game and not more than that. Vladi's a big part of our team. He's one of our top players, top scorers. It's awesome having him out there, for sure." -- Lou Korac

Philadelphia Flyers

Carter Hart was not be available for the Flyers against the Blues because of an eye injury.
Hart did not play in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, and coach Mike Yeo said the goalie was dealing with swelling related to the infection, which impaired his vision.
Goalie Martin Jones started against the Hurricanes and will start again Tuesday. Goalie
Kirill Ustimenko
, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Monday, will be the backup.
"I'm hopeful that he can be available for us tomorrow, but I'm not 100 percent sure," Yeo said Monday. "But I don't think it's a long-term problem here."
Hart is 9-16-6 with a 2.96 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and one shutout in 32 games (31 starts). -- Adam Kimelman

Ottawa Senators

Thomas Chabot played for the Senators against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
The defenseman missed four games with an undisclosed injury. He scored 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in 45 games and led the NHL in ice time per game (26:51).
"[Chabot] looked pretty good this morning. So that'll be up to the medical staff to make that call," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "He's played the hard minutes, probably played more than he should've a lot of nights because we needed to. … He plays through a lot of injuries that people don't know about."
Forward Josh Norris will resume skating Wednesday. He has not played since Jan. 27 because of a shoulder injury. Norris scored 26 points (18 goals, eight assists) in 36 games.
"We'll see how he feels out there and then we have a day off (Thursday) and then another practice before we play," Smith said. "So he's certainly getting close (to returning to the lineup)." -- Callum Fraser

Anaheim Ducks

Ryan Getzlaf is expected to return to the lineup for the Ducks against the San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, BSSC, BSSD, NBCSCA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The center missed two games with a lower-body injury
"Unless it flares up, I would expect him to be ready to go," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins told the Orange County Register on Monday.
Getzlaf practiced on the top line Monday. He scored 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 42 games this season.

San Jose Sharks

Ryan Dzingel will debut for the Sharks against the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, BSSC, BSSD, NBCSCA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE), two days after he was claimed off waivers.
The 29-year-old forward was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday before he was waived.
Dzingel scored seven points (four goals, three assists) in 26 games this season.
"At first, some things don't look like a good thing, and then they turn out to be a huge blessing," Dzingel said Tuesday. "Now I'm here with a huge opportunity, so it'll be on me to make the most of it."
Dzingel signed a one-year contract with the Coyotes on July 28 after playing for the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators last season.
The Coyotes received forward Nick Ritchie and a conditional pick in the NHL Draft for Dzingel and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
The Sharks placed goalie Adin Hill (lower body) on injured reserve Monday. He last played Jan. 22 in relief of James Reimer during a 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. -- Dan Arritt

Washington Capitals

Anthony Mantha
practiced with the Capitals on Monday for the first time since having shoulder surgery Nov. 5.
The forward, who resumed skating Feb. 9, skated wearing a light blue no-contact jersey.
Coach Peter Laviolette said Mantha isn't close to being cleared to play, but his presence with forward T.J. Oshie (upper body), defenseman Justin Schultz (upper body) and goalie Vitek Vanecek (upper body) was notable because it was the first time this season the Capitals had their full roster of players at practice.
Laviolette said he didn't know if any of the injured players will play at the New York Rangers on Thursday.
"We're still not there," Laviolette said. "There's still a lot of question marks out there, but it was nice to get everybody out there and practice."
Oshie practiced with the Capitals for the first time since he was injured against the New York Islanders on Jan. 15. Vanecek, who returned to practice last week, hasn't played since Feb. 1 after colliding with forward Kasperi Kapanen against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Schultz was injured Feb. 15 against the Nashville Predators.
"Mantha won't be available. I can tell you that," Laviolette said. "The rest of them I'm not sure yet." --Tom Gulitti