Klingberg_Oilers-practice

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Edmonton Oilers

John Klingberg made his debut with the Oilers when they played the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

The 32-year-old had five assists in 14 games last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs before his season ended because of hip surgery.

"I had two hip surgeries before I got to the League," said Klingberg, who had operations at ages 18 and 21. "Now it's just a matter of proving it's ready to go.

"I'm excited to play. What's it been, 440 days?"

Klingberg, who last played Nov. 11, 2023, had been testing things out while skating with Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League prior to signing with the Oilers on Jan. 17.

He has 412 points (81 goals, 331 assists) in 633 regular-season games during his 10 NHL seasons.

"Obviously, the workload with him coming in is not going to be a 25-minute night for him," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He'll probably see numerous partners throughout the night." -- Gerry Moddejonge

Boston Bruins

Charlie McAvoy returned for the Bruins against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

The defenseman had missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury.

"Having Charlie out for the length that he was out, it's great to have him back," Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco said. "He seems to be in a really good spirit right now. He's had some good practices under his belt. He looked good in the morning skate today, so we're excited to get him back in our lineup and obviously help stabilize the back end for us."

McAvoy has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 45 games this season while averaging 23:41 of ice time.

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who has been out with a lower-body injury since taking a puck off the knee in a game against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 12, is nearing a return but did not play Thursday.

"It's been a long time since I played, so you just want to make sure when I get out there I can really make a difference for the team," Lindholm said. " ... I want to be smart. Obviously we have the (4 Nations Face-Off) break coming up here, so it's like a few games? I'll take it day by day how it feels. I focus more on being really smart. I want to play a long time. Coming back two games too early or two games too late, feeling better, it's probably smarter sometimes being a little cautious." -- Amalie Benjamin

New Jersey Devils

Nico Hischier is week to week for the Devils because of an upper-body injury.

"It's something I think they'll evaluate again next week and then take it from there," coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday. "But he won't be available this week for sure."

Hischier, a center and New Jersey's captain, took a cross-check up high late in the second period of a 4-3 overtime win at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and did not play the remaining 2:10 of the period. He returned to the bench to begin the third period and was on the ice for a 36-second shift before returning to the locker room.

He missed his second straight game when the Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-0 on Wednesday.

"Nico is a guy we lean on for so much, whether it's power play, penalty-kill, 4-on-4, end of the game, start of the game, who to go to for a voice ... it's Nico," forward Nathan Bastian said. "When he's gone you need a collection of guys to step up, probably everyone, so hopefully we can come together and show that we can miss our top guys and still be the team we are."

Hischier leads New Jersey with 24 goals in 51 games and is second among forwards with an average ice time of 20:21.

The Devils are already without goalie Jacob Markstrom, who was injured in a 5-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 22. He will be out 4-6 weeks because of a sprained MCL in his knee. -- Mike G. Morreale

Montreal Canadiens

Kaiden Guhle sustained a lacerated quadriceps muscle and will be out indefinitely after surgery.

The defenseman, who was released from the hospital, left a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday in the third period and had to be helped to the locker room after an awkward fall into the boards.

"Where are we going to feel 'Guhls?' I think all over," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said after practice Wednesday. "He plays a lot of minutes 5-on-5, he kills penalties. I don't think it's one specific [area] but his presence is going to be felt, that he's not here, but it's not one guy that's going to replace him."

Guhle has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 44 games this season. His 100 blocked shots are second on Montreal behind David Savard (109). -- Sean Farrell

Calgary Flames

Kevin Bahl is week to week because of an upper-body injury.

The Flames defenseman sustained the injury on a hit by Jakub Lauko in the second period of a 5-4 win at Minnesota on Saturday. Lauko was assessed a boarding minor on the play.

"He's been a big, big piece for the back end this year," Calgary defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said of Bahl. "He's one of those guys that's shown he's almost irreplaceable for us. He's a big body (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) with a big reach who's playing shutdown minutes against top lines in the league."

Bahl, who missed his third straight game Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 47 games this season and is third on the Flames in ice time per game (21:18).

"He's very good at kind of being in the way," coach Ryan Huska said. "His stick is very good. He disrupts a lot. Sometimes you think he's beat but here comes that big, long stick. He's been a very good defender for us and there's no doubt we'll miss him when he's out, but opportunity again ... other guys have to raise their level collectively to try to make up for his absence." -- Aaron Vickers

Ottawa Senators

Linus Ullmark could make his return from a tweaked back this week, coach Travis Green said Wednesday.

Ullmark, a goaltender who was a full participant in practice Wednesday, has not played since leaving after the first period of a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22. He did not dress against the Washington Capitals on Thursday but could against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Defenseman Nick Jensen missed his third straight game on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, who hasn't played since Dec. 28 because of a high ankle sprain, is "probably another week and a half, two weeks from skating," Green said.

Forward Nick Cousins, who left a 2-1 win against the Maple Leafs on Saturday after a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto forward Jacob Quillan, will be out 6-8 weeks. -- Callum Fraser