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Anaheim Ducks
Trevor Zegras will return to the lineup for the Ducks against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; BSSW, NBCSCA).
The 23-year-old forward sustained a broken ankle in a 5-3 win at the Nashville Predators on Jan. 9 and has missed the past 31 games. He has been skating with the Ducks in recent weeks and practiced in full Saturday but did not play in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
"Just try and help the team in anyway I can," Zegras said Tuesday. "Obviously watching a lot (of games), mentally it's there, so hopefully [I] can go out and physically be there. That would be good, too."
Zegras skated on the third line with Isac Lundestrom and Brett Leason at the morning skate Tuesday. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 20 games this season.
"I just want him to play a real solid three-zone game," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "Obviously, he's going to play in the middle, so it starts on face-offs. And he'll play with 'Lundy' and Leason, so I want him to be a line driver."
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling returned to the lineup against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
Barkov, a center, missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury when the Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Sunday. Forsling, a defenseman, had missed the past two games with an illness.
"He plays in all situations," Florida coach Paul Maurice said of Barkov.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad is nearing a return from a lower-body injury but will miss his seventh straight game. He has been cleared for a full skate, however, and should return soon.
"He is definitely day to day. He wants in," Maurice said. "We're going to be careful and are going to hold him (out) longer than he wants. He has to get through two or three practices with some bumping and grinding."
Barkov played on the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Evan Rodrigues. Forsling played with Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the top defense pair. -- George Richards
Arizona Coyotes
Josh Doan will make his NHL debut when the Coyotes host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSOH).
The 22-year-old forward, who is the son of franchise scoring leader Shane Doan, was promoted from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Monday. He has 46 points (26 goals, 20 assists) in 62 AHL games this season and had six points (three goals, three assists) in 14 AHL games at the end of 2022-23 after beginning that season with Arizona State University.
Doan was a second-round pick (No. 37) by Arizona at the 2021 NHL Draft.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner skated on his own prior to the Maple Leafs' morning skate Tuesday and is progressing in his recovery from a high ankle sprain, but the center did not play against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
"Mitch is no longer day to day from day to day, he's just day to day," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's progressing very well. Not available today but as far as his plan for the rest of the week, that will be determined tomorrow. I haven't got the full report on how it went today so his status for practice is undetermined right now but he's doing well."
Following their game against the Devils, the Maple Leafs host the Washington Capitals on Thursday and visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Marner has missed the past eight games after sustaining the injury in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins on March 7. He has 76 points (25 goals, 51 assists) in 62 games this season.
Goalie Ilya Samsonov also skated prior to the morning skate. He left 6-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday with 3:29 remaining in the third period because of an undisclosed injury sustained while sliding across the net to attempt a save. He did not dress in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday and did not dress against the Devils.
"He hadn't skated in the last couple days, he wasn't going to play tonight regardless so today was a chance for him to work his way back into the mix and at this point based on how things went today, we are expecting him to be in practice tomorrow and take it from there," Keefe said.
Defensemen Morgan Rielly and Joel Edmundson each did not participate in the morning skate because of undisclosed injuries. Keefe said Rielly is day to day. Edmundson is "not available tonight and I wouldn't expect him this week," Keefe said. -- Dave McCarthy
Nashville Predators
Jeremy Lauzon returned for the Predators against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Lauzon, a defenseman, had missed the past three games because of a lower-body injury that was originally expected to keep him out week to week. Lauzon has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 68 games.
Nashville was still without defensemen Dante Fabbro and Spencer Stastney. Fabbro has missed the past six games and Stastney has missed the past five, each with an upper-body injury.
The Predators have recorded at least one point in 17 consecutive games (15-0-2), the longest streak in the NHL this season. -- Robby Stanley
New York Islanders
Scott Mayfield had season-ending surgery but is expected to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season.
The defenseman last played in a 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 22, when he has one shot on goal in 15:24 of ice time. He was placed on long-term injured reserve March 5 when Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said that Mayfield would be shut down for 4-6 weeks before a decision would be made regarding surgery.
Mayfield previously missed seven games with a lower-body injury from Oct. 17-30 and eight games with an upper-body injury from Dec. 13-29.
He has five assists in 41 games this season, averaging 18:46 of ice time per game. -- Stefen Rosner
Pittsburgh Penguins
Sam Poulin was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old forward, selected by Pittsburgh in the first round (No. 21) of the 2019 NHL Draft, has one assist in three NHL games, each coming early last season. Poulin has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 36 AHL games this season.
It has not been announced if Poulin will make his season debut against the Hurricanes on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSSO).
"Honestly, I'm just so excited to be here," Poulin said. "It feels so good. I've come a long way to get here. It's just nice to know that my efforts were actually not for nothing."
Poulin took a leave of absence for personal reasons on Dec. 7, 2022, before returning to play for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on April 7, 2023.
"In the last year, I kind of learned who I was as a person," Poulin said. "I'll bring what I usually bring. It's a hockey game. It's hockey. The goal is to win."
In a corresponding move, forward Noel Acciari was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury sustained in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Acciari will be out longer-term, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
Forward Jeff Carter and defenseman Ryan Graves could each return Tuesday. Carter will be a game-time decision after missing three games with an upper-body injury; Graves will be available to play after being out the past two games for personal reasons. -- Wes Crosby
Buffalo Sabres
Jack Quinn could return to the lineup for the Sabres when they host the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SN, RDS).
The forward returned to practice Tuesday, his first time skating with the team since he had surgery for a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 27. His left leg bent awkwardly as he fell into the boards following a hit in the third period from then-San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl.
"He looked really good in practice," coach Don Granato said of Quinn, who has missed the past 23 games. "Obviously he had lots of time while we were gone (on a five-game road trip) to skate, skated every day or every day he was available to push it hard every day. … So that was a big day for him, and I'm sure he's tired as a result. I'll talk to him after but he's very close. I would say he's officially day to day, meaning it could be tomorrow."
Quinn was a full participant at practice and skated alongside usual linemates Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka.
"Never fun to be injured, so definitely happy to be back," Quinn said.
It's the second long-term injury that has sidelined Quinn this season. He missed the first 32 games of the season after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in June. Quinn returned Dec. 19 and has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 17 games this season.
"Family, friends, all these guys in this room, they make it way easier than it would be without such good guys," he said. "Yeah, it's obviously tough, like I said, but these guys make it easier." -- Heather Engel
