NHL Buzz: Wood makes season debut for Devils against Canadiens

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New Jersey Devils

Miles Wood made his season debut for the Devils against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
The forward had been out since sustaining a right hip injury during a preseason game that required surgery Nov. 8.
"He brings a lot of speed to our lineup," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "He's a core piece to our team and a guy who can play physical, so he's been a piece who has been missed."
Wood finished tied with Pavel Zacha for the Devils lead in goals (17) and was tied with Janne Kuokkanen for fifth in points (25) last season. The 26-year-old has scored 121 points (65 goals, 56 assists) in 323 NHL games, all with the Devils.
Wood will replace forward Andreas Johnsson, who is out with a non-COVID related illness. -- Mike G. Morreale

Montreal Canadians

Michael Pezzetta and Tyler Pitlick did not play for the Canadiens against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
Each forward sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and did not make the trip to New Jersey.
Pezzetta has scored eight points (five goals, three assists) in 44 games this season. Pitlick has two assists in 27 games for the Calgary Flames and Canadiens.
Montreal also played without forwards Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher, and defenseman Jeff Petry.
Drouin was placed on injured reserve Friday and may need wrist surgery, coach Martin St. Louis said Saturday. He had played two games, most recently a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday, since returning from a wrist injury that caused him to miss 22 games.
Gallagher is out one week with a lower-body injury. He has not played since March 17, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.
Petry is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The defenseman was injured in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Jesse Ylonen was recalled from Laval of the America Hockey League on an emergency basis Saturday. The forward has scored two points (one goal, one assist) in seven games with Montreal this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Ryan McDonagh is out indefinitely for the Lightning with an upper-body injury.
The defenseman was injured blocking a shot in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
McDonagh scored 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 60 games this season. He was second on the Lightning in ice time per game (22:36) behind Victor Hedman (25:20) and led them in blocked shots (116).
Defenseman Cal Foote took McDonagh's place and played 10:58 in a 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Dallas Stars

Miro Heiskanen took part in the morning skate but did not play when the Stars lost to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Saturday.
The defenseman has missed 11 games since being diagnosed with mononucleosis and hadn't skated with the team since March 8.
Heiskanen scored 29 points (four goals, 25 assists) in 52 games this season and led Dallas with an average ice time of 24:46 per game.
He could return during a four-game road trip that begins at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
"He's going to come on the trip with us," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "We are going to give him another test tomorrow morning on the ice, see how he is doing. At least we are now day to day and are getting a lot closer to him playing."