NHL Buzz: Marchand likely to play for Bruins on Saturday
Eriksson Ek could return when Wild play Blues; Bertuzzi questionable for Maple Leafs
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Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand is likely to play against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSP, NESN, SN1, TVAS) despite the forward taking a maintenance day and not practicing Friday.
"Most likely [going to play]," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "I'm not going to say 100 percent. But most likely."
Forward James van Riemsdyk practiced and could play Saturday. He has missed the past two games because of an illness.
"We haven't made final decisions," Montgomery said. "He's feeling better but we'll see how he feels tomorrow."
Washington Capitals
Forwards T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) remained out for the Capitals when they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 7-6 in the shootout on Friday.
Oshie and Protas participated in Washington's morning skate but each missed a second straight game after neither played in a 7-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
The Capitals were also without forward Tom Wilson, who was suspended for six games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for high-sticking Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor on Wednesday.
Forward Matthew Phillips played Friday after being called up from Hershey of the American Hockey League earlier in the day. He had one shot on goal and was minus-1 in 4:15 of ice time.
The 25-year-old had five points (one goal, four assists) in 27 games with the Capitals earlier this season before being claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb 16. Phillips had no points in three games with Pittsburgh before being put back on waivers, claimed by Washington on March 5 and assigned to Hershey. Phillips had three points (one goal, two assists) in four AHL games. -- Tom Gulitti
Minnesota Wild
Joel Eriksson Ek could return from a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (2 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, BSMW).
"If Ek for some reason did not go tomorrow, I would anticipate after those four [off] days [against the San Jose Sharks on March 28], it's a possibility," Wild coach John Hynes said Friday.
The forward left a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on March 12 during the third period and has missed the past four games. He practiced Friday but his participation was limited after he had skated on his own prior to joining the team.
"He didn't do the power play just because some of it was more reading and reacting and stuff like that," Hynes said. "And then some of the guys that are in those roles, we did tweak one of the power-play units too. So if he is in, he knows exactly what's going on."
Hynes said defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body) is progressing but will not play Saturday. He is a possibility to play against the Sharks next week.
Brodin left early in the third period of a 4-0 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday following a hit from Alex Killorn. He missed a 6-0 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
"Brodin will not be in tomorrow but good signs, it looks like it should be fairly short order here with him," Hynes said. "It's not something where you're looking at a long-term thing here. I think he’s got to let some time pass a little bit and get himself going. So that's good news." -- Jessi Pierce
Toronto Maple Leafs
Tyler Bertuzzi is questionable to play against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SN) after missing practice Friday because of an illness.
The forward missed the first 9:19 of the first period of a 7-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday because of illness. He scored a goal but played 14:19, below his season average of 15:53 per game.
"Not here today, not in the building, so not good in that sense," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "A little bit worse from what he was the other day, little bit different symptoms as well. Questionable for tomorrow. Not ruled out but not well enough to be here today."
Matthew Knies practiced in Bertuzzi's place at left wing on a line with center Auston Matthews and right wing Max Domi.
Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin practiced Friday after missing the past two games because of illness but will not play against the Oilers.
Mitch Marner skated prior to practice but won't play Saturday or against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. He already has missed five games because of a high ankle sprain.
"He's progressing," Keefe said. "He's skated the last few days so that's progress for sure. The plan is for him to take tomorrow off again and then get back to it." -- Dave McCarthy
Dallas Stars
Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa will be out for "the near future" because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on March 16.
"He's shut down for the near future here," coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's having some tests done and things like that, so we'll see where that goes. But I don’t see him having any availability in the immediate future."
Hakanpaa has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 64 games and averages 3:16 of short-handed ice time per game, second on the Stars.
Nils Lundkvist played for a second straight game when the Stars defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Friday. The defenseman was minus-1 in 14:26 of ice time. He had missed the final 8:26 of a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday after being hit in the face by a puck.
He had two assists Wednesday in his first game since March 8. Lundkvist had been scratched the previous four games. -- Taylor Baird
Pittsburgh Penguins
Defenseman Jack St. Ivany made his NHL debut when the Penguins lost 4-2 at the Dallas Stars on Friday.
He replaced defenseman Ryan Graves, who is with his family for the birth of his first child.
St. Ivany had one shot on goal in 12:22 of ice time after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
"Pretty surreal," St. Ivany said before the game. "They told me this morning. I'm just really excited. I can't wait for tonight. My mom and dad, a couple of friends are going to make the trip. It'll be nice to have them here."
The 24-year-old had 15 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 53 AHL games this season.
"He's really done a great job with the role he's played in [the AHL]," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "That is that conscientious, reliable, trustworthy type of role. It's important to have those types of defenseman as part of your group.
"He brings an element of stability to the ice when he's on the ice. He's been a very good penalty-killer in his time with Wilkes. In particular this year, he's grown a lot in that area. We believe he can help us in a lot of those areas. The other aspect of it is he's a right-handed shot, so we're not asking some of our guys to have to play that off-side where they're not overly comfortable playing that off-side." -- Taylor Baird
