NHL Buzz: Roslovic to make Blue Jackets debut Thursday

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Columbus Blue Jackets

Jack Roslovic will make his debut with the Blue Jackets against the Florida Panthers at Nationwide Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-F, NHL.TV).
The forward, who practiced on a line with Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson on Wednesday, has not played a game since the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was with the Winnipeg Jets.
"I'm not exactly sure what the lines would be tomorrow, but he's going to play tomorrow and we'll start figuring it out on our own, the coaches and I, where he fits, what he is and what we think he can do for us," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after practice Wednesday.
Roslovic, a Columbus native, was acquired with forward Patrik Laine in a trade with the Jets on Saturday for forward
Pierre-Luc Dubois
and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
"It's a great opportunity but I've got to really earn my spot," Roslovic said. "I've got to play my game and I do have a lot to show. I know it's set a fire under me and I'm super excited to play with the guys. I think we have an exceptional team and to be able to come in and be a big piece of it is super important."
It is unclear when Laine will play because of coronavirus issues related to the United States-Canada border. -- Craig Merz

Boston Bruins

Tuukka Rask and Jake DeBrusk will not play against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NESN, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, NHL.TV).
Rask, a goalie, made 28 saves in a 3-2 overtime win against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
"Tuukka, given a day off," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Obviously after the first goal (Tuesday), was in a little discomfort, was able to finish the game. So not feeling 100 percent today. We kept him off the ice. And then, as I said, we'll go with [Jaroslav Halak] tomorrow and then hopefully Tuukka's ready for Saturday in Washington."
DeBrusk, a forward, did not play after the first period because of a lower-body injury.
"He will not play tomorrow," Cassidy said. "We'll go from there. We'll list him as day to day. If we have anything better tomorrow, we'll let you know."
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has missed the past two games, could return Thursday.
"He looks like he's trending well, so hopefully he's back tomorrow," Cassidy said. "We'll see about that." -- Amalie Benjamin

St. Louis Blues

Tyler Bozak will not play against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-MW, ESPN+, NHL.TV) because of an upper-body injury.
The forward sustained the injury on a hit from Golden Knights captain Mark Stone in the second period of a 5-4 shootout win Tuesday and is day to day, coach Craig Berube said.
Bozak, who has two assists in seven games this season, will be replaced by Sammy Blais in the lineup.
Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, who has missed the past five games, skated Wednesday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 15. Berube said there is no timetable for his return. -- Louie Korac

Colorado Avalanche

Matt Calvert is out indefinitely for the Colorado Avalanche with an upper-body injury, and it is unknown when goalie Pavel Francouz will return from a lower-body injury, coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday.
"I don't really have a timeline on him," Bednar said of Calvert, a forward who didn't play Tuesday in a 7-3 win against the San Jose Sharks. "It's very similar to [Francouz] with his injury. I don't know when he's going to be back."
Calvert last played Sunday in a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He has one assist in six games and leads Colorado forwards in shorthanded time on ice (3:02 per game).
The 31-year-old sustained a head injury in November of last season and had a concussion playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014-15.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer is expected to start Thursday against San Jose, his seventh in eight games this season. Backup Hunter Miska made his first NHL start Jan. 21, a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Adam Werner is on the taxi squad.
"[Grubauer] is obviously carrying the bulk of the load, and that's fine," Bednar said. "We have the ability with three goalies that we can use for days off from practices to make sure that he's rested and feeling good. We'll give Miska some games and see how it goes, play it by ear and take it probably not day to day but week to week and see how this all plays out. We don't have the final answer on that just yet." -- Rick Sadowski

Pittsburgh Penguins

Yannick Weber
signed a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $700,000 at the NHL level.
The 32-year-old defenseman, who was an unrestricted free agent, scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 41 games with the Nashville Predators last season. He signed a professional tryout contract with Nashville on Jan. 2 but was released on Jan. 13.
The move was the first for the Penguins after general manager
Jim Rutherford resigned
on Wednesday.
The signing comes one day after defenseman Brian Dumoulin sustained a lower-body injury in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
The Penguins are also without defensemen Mike Matheson (upper body), Juuso Riikola (upper body), Marcus Pettersson (upper body) and
Zach Trotman
(knee).
Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (No. 73) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Weber has scored 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 497 regular-season games with the Predators, Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks and six points (four goals, two assists) in 42 Stanley Cup Playoff games.