NHL Buzz: Beniers out 2 games for Kraken

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Seattle Kraken

Matty Beniers will be out the next two games for the Kraken with an upper-body injury.
The forward was injured in the second period of a 6-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. He was knocked down by Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, who received an interference penalty. Beniers did not play in the third period.
"He won't be available for our games today or tomorrow," coach Dave Hakstol said Friday. "I can put whatever label you want in terms of day to day, but he won't be available."
Seattle hosts the Calgary Flames on Friday (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNW, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW) and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, then does not play until Feb. 7 at the New York Islanders.
Beniers, who leads NHL rookies in goals (17) and points (36), was slated to play in the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Feb.4. Hakstol would not comment on Beniers' availability for that game. -- Andy Eide

Vegas Golden Knights

Shea Theodore played his first game since Dec. 9 for the Golden Knights when they visited the New York Rangers on Friday.
The defenseman missed 20 games because of a lower-body injury. He was paired with Brayden McNabb.
Theodore has 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in 29 games this season.
The Golden Knights were 9-9-2 and averaged 3.00 goals per game in the 20 games without him. They were 20-8-1 and averaged 3.28 goals per game with Theodore before the injury.
"We missed his transition on offense, power-play acumen, [Offensive]-zone blue line play, all to help us create some offense," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "He's a well-liked guy in the room too. He's a great fit for 'Nabber.' Nabber has had to play with a lot of young guys over the last two months, so that could impact your game as well when you're always trying to look after one of the young guys. So, he can settle back in too and knows that he's got a guy on his right side that he's very comfortable with and has been there for years. It helps in different ways, not just [Theodore] coming back, but it should help Nabber as well."
Forward William Carrier also returned after missing five games with an upper-body injury. He was on a line with Chandler Stephenson and Phil Kessel.
Carrier has 11 goals in 43 games this season.
"Another one of our glue guys back in," Cassidy said. "With him and [Mark] Stone out we missed those physical, reliable, get-to-the-interior-ice kind of guys. It'll be nice to have him. He's had a good offensive year as well. That part of it has been I guess a bonus. But just missing his physicality." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

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Columbus Blue Jackets

Gustav Nyquist is out indefinitely for the Blue Jackets with an upper-body injury.
The forward was injured at 17:12 of the first period of a 3-2 overtime win at the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
"He's got more of a voice than people think in the [locker] room, but his best asset is he does it by example," coach Brad Larsen said Friday. "He doesn't have to say much because he's always prepared, he gets in great shape, his competitiveness is always there. All those attributes that you want in a player, he has them."
Nyquist has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 48 games this season. He is one of two players on Columbus averaging more than a minute per game on the power play (1:42) and penalty kill (1:44) this season (center Jack Roslovic; 2:18 and 1:47).
"He's a guy I've really leaned on, so we're going to miss him," Larsen said. "He's in every situation. He's kind of a stabilizer for me. He's so consistent in what he gives, effort and the pace he can play at."
The Blue Jackets visit the Canucks on Friday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, BSOH, ESPN+, SN NOW). -- Kevin Woodley

St. Louis Blues

Robert Thomas is day to day and is questionable when the Blues visit the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN, TVAS).
Thomas suffered a lower-body injury for St. Louis early in the second period of its third straight loss, 5-0 at the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, after he was hit with a deflected puck on a shot by Blues defenseman Torey Krug. Thomas was down on the ice before skating straight to the locker room.
Thomas, who leads the Blues with 31 assists and is second in points with 43 in 47 games, did not practice Friday.
St. Louis coach Craig Berube said Thomas is sore and that, "he'll stay on the trip with us and see when he can be available." The Blues conclude their three-game trip Monday at the Winnipeg Jets.
Forward Nikita Alexandrov was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League. St. Louis assigned defenseman
Tyler Tucker
to the AHL.
Alexandrov, 22, has four points (two goals, two assists) in 16 NHL games this season.
"We need a center [after] losing a guy in 'Robby,'" Berube said. "[Alexandrov] played pretty good with us when he was up here, has played pretty detailed, gets pretty involved physically and decent puck skills."-- Lou Korac

Ottawa Senators

Cam Talbot will be out until after the All-Star break for the Senators because of a lower-body injury.
The goalie was injured in the second period of a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
Talbot, who missed the first nine games of the season with a rib injury, is 12-13-1 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 28 games (25 starts). He was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on July 12.
Anton Forsberg started for the Senators against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday. He is 8-10-2 with a 3.30 GAA and .901 save percentage in 24 games (21 starts). Forsberg made 21 saves in relief of Talbot on Wednesday.
Goalie Kevin Mandolese was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Thursday and was the backup Friday.
The Senators host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and visit them Tuesday, then are off until hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 11. -- Dave McCarthy

Washington Capitals

John Carlson skated briefly in a warmup suit before the Capitals' optional practice Friday. It was the defenseman's first time on the ice since being struck in the right side of the face with a slap shot from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon on Dec. 23.
Carlson, who was placed on long-term injured reserve Jan. 7, remains out indefinitely. The 33-year-old will to continue to do low-level exercise on and off the ice and is scheduled to be evaluated again in late February to determine the next steps in his recovery, the Capitals said.
Carlson has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 30 games this season, including seven points (two goals, five assists) on the power play, and leads Washington in average ice time per game (23:24). -- Tom Gulitti

Montreal Canadiens

Joel Edmundson is day to day for the Canadiens with an upper-body injury.
The defenseman was injured in the first period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Edmundson has six points (one goal, five assists) in 39 games this season and leads Montreal with 110 blocked shots.
Montreal visits Ottawa on Saturday.