NHL Buzz: Barkov expected back for Panthers against Penguins

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Florida Panthers

Aleksander Barkov is expected to return for the Panthers against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; BSFL, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW) after missing three games with a hand injury.
The forward was injured when he blocked a shot in the second period of a 7-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 6. He didn't play their next game Feb. 9 before playing six straight. Barkov then missed three games in a row.
Barkov has 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists) in 49 games this season.
Forward Sam Bennett is likely to return; he hasn't played since Feb. 14, missing six games because of a lower-body injury. Bennett has 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 56 games.

Carolina Hurricanes

Shayne Gostisbehere scored a goal in his Hurricanes debut Friday, a 6-1 win against his former team, the Arizona Coyotes.
The defenseman was traded to the Hurricanes by the Coyotes for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Wednesday.
Gostisbehere joined the Hurricanes for the first time at their morning skate Friday and was paired with Jalen Chatfield.
"It's definitely a unique situation, it's obviously the first time I met all the guys so it's been it's been a lot of fun," Gostisbehere said before the game. "It's a little weird because the dressing room is like a mirror image [of the Coyotes' dressing room], so I'm going to the wrong side every time, but it's been cool."
Coach Rod Brind'Amour said he didn't need to watch the 29-year-old during the morning skate.
"It doesn't really matter how he looks this morning, it's how is he going to look tonight," Brind'Amour said. "It's going to be tough, obviously [playing for] a new team and then playing your old team. It's kind of a double whammy, but we've got to get him in there."
Gostisbehere is excited to join a Stanley Cup contender after playing for a Coyotes team that's out of playoff contention
"It's an awesome opportunity. A lot of guys don't get these opportunities, the old cliche, `[Going] from the basement to the penthouse,' but it's definitely cool, " Gostisbehere said. "I'm just here to get on the train and help this team."
Gostisbehere has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 53 games this season. -- Alan Robinson

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Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand will play against the New York Rangers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN) after missing the third period against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday for precautionary reasons.
"He's a player tomorrow," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "He's fine. He could have played last night, we were just precautionary in the third."
Marchand sustained a hit from Sabres defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin in the second period of the 7-1 win, but it was not clear if that's when he was injured. He played 9:19 in the game, including five shifts in the second.
"I feel good," Marchand said. "We weren't really kind of sure what happened there. Kind of banged my knee. Just wanted to be safe. We were in a good spot going into the third. We just took it easy and made sure that I'd be feeling good for tomorrow."
The fear on Thursday was that Marchand could be joining a growing list of injured forwards on the Bruins this week. On Thursday, Taylor Hall was placed on long-term injured reserve and Nick Foligno was placed on injured reserve, with the moves prompting Boston to trade for forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings.
Marchand has 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) in 53 games this season. -- Amalie Benjamin

Colorado Avalanche

Cale Makar will return when the Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN, SN1, TVAS).
Makar missed five games after symptoms from a head injury sustained in a 2-1 overtime loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 7 resurfaced following contact in a separate incident in a 4-1 win at the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 18. He missed four games when in concussion protocol initially.
"Very, very mild. It just kind of lingered and stuck around," Makar said Friday. "I would have been more inclined to feel like playing, if I didn't have that first collision, after this [last] one. I think it would have been fine, but obviously you don't want these things to compound.
"I think [I'm] ready to go."
Makar is third on the Avalanche with 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) in 46 games. He still leads the NHL with an average of 26:57 in ice time per game.
Josh Manson will be out and could "possibly" be week to week after reaggravating a lower-body injury in a 7-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
"He's out. He's going to miss some time," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It's related to the injury that he just had."
Manson previously missed 31 games after leaving a 6-4 win at Buffalo on Dec. 1. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 27 games this season.
Valeri Nichushkin missed practice Friday due to an illness and may not travel to Dallas. Nichushkin has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games. -- Ryan Boulding

Buffalo Sabres

Rasmus Dahlin returned to practice and could be in the lineup when the Sabres host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, BSSUNX, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The defenseman has missed three games with a lower-body injury.
"He had a really good skate yesterday … and that was really positive," coach Don Granato said. "It was as positive as it could be. Now we integrated him today. Not a heavy workload but I'll get the feedback after this. … Every day we're taking information, how is his response to the next push and challenge. We'll see that and we'll probably see it actually tomorrow morning, too, after the workload today. I don't know about tomorrow for the game but I can't rule it out either until we get some more information."
Dahlin is tied with forward Alex Tuch for second on the Sabres with 62 points (14 goals, 48 assists) in 56 games.
Buffalo is 1-2-0 in his absence.
"It's frustrating to not be able to help the team," Dahlin said. "It's been boring, to be honest. So, I'm very happy that I feel good now. … I want to play every single game. But you got to smart about it, too. We've got 22 games left, so [the medical staff] are the ones that make the decision." -- Heather Engel

Columbus Blue Jackets

Sean Kuraly will be out six weeks for the Blue Jackets because of a left oblique strain.
The forward sustained the injury in practice Thursday. The timeline likely means he will miss the remainder of the season.
"A big blow to us but there's not much we can do about it," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "You've got to move forward and it's an opportunity for some other centermen to fill those minutes. He's very consistent performer and what you get from him, the intangibles, the stuff people don't really talk about. He's very low maintenance.
"He gives max effort. He's physical, he's good in the face-off circle (49.1 percent), his penalty kill. You can match him up against other top lines. He can skate. So, all those things are going to be missed, no question."
Kuraly has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 59 games this season. He leads Columbus in hits (156) and leads its forwards in short-handed ice time per game (2:17).
"It's definitely gutting," linemate Mathieu Olivier said. "He's an important guy for us. He's out best penalty killer. He's a great face-off guy. You can put him in any situation."-- Craig Merz

Nashville Predators

Alexandre Carrier will be out 4-6 weeks after suffering an upper-body injury in a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
The defenseman blocked a Brandon Montour shot in the first period, needing immediate medical attention after the puck appeared to hit him near the collarbone. Carrier played one 13-second shift at the start of the second period before leaving the game.
"That was a big ouch last night," Predators general manager David Poile said.
Carrier was playing his third game after missing nine games with an unrelated upper-body injury. In 43 games this season, Carrier has nine points (two goals, seven assists). -- John Glennon

Washington Capitals

John Carlson will possibly begin the next step in his bid to return to the Capitals lineup near the end of the month, general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday.
The 33-year-old defenseman hasn't played since being stuck in the right side of his head with a slap shot from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon on Dec. 23.
"He's got a little bit left," MacLellan said. "He's got a set timeframe here, so near the end of March, in that timeframe, is when he can get serious about seeing if he can come back."
Carlson began skating lightly on his own in February but has yet to practice with Washington. The Capitals trail the New York Islanders by four points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 19 regular-season games remaining. After March, they will have only six games left and could possibly be out of playoff contention after trading away veterans Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
When asked if the Capitals position in the standings will impact if Carlson plays this season, MacLellan said, "I think it's going to be on him, how he's progressing, how he feels and we'll kind of make a decision with him and our staff, the medical staff and trainers."

Also on Friday, Nicolas Aube-Kubel signed a one-year, $1.225 million contract. The 26-year-old forward could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
He has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 30 games with Washington after being claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 5. Aube-Kubel had no points in six games with the Maple Leafs after signing a one-year, $1 million contract July 13.
Aube-Kubel set NHL career highs with 11 goals, 12 assists and 23 points in 74 games last season with the Philadelphia Flyers (one assist in seven games) and Avalanche. He won the Stanley Cup with Colorado last season.
A second-round pick (No. 48) by the Flyers in the 2014 NHL Draft, Aube-Kubel has 58 points (23 goals, 35 assists) in 205 regular-season games in five NHL seasons with Washington, Toronto, Colorado and Philadelphia. -- Tom Gulitti