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Winnipeg Jets
Gabriel Vilardi will return when the Jets host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNW).
The forward missed 15 games after sustaining an upper-body injury in the third period of a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 29. He is expected to play the top line alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, as well as the top power-play unit.
Winnipeg (44-23-6) enters Saturday having lost five straight (0-4-1) and is third in the Central Division, four points ahead of the Nashville Predators.
“Your first thought is always you want to be on the ice with a team and battling, and that [stinks] to see the team struggling and losing, and you want to be out there and helping and be a part of that battle,” Vilardi said.
Vilardi, who has 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 38 games this season, was discovered to have an enlarged spleen earlier this month while undergoing treatment for the separate upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup. Once the newly discovered issue cleared up, he was able to resume skating alongside his teammates on Tuesday.
“He’s anxious to play,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “He skated an awful lot by himself, so he was enjoying being out with the guys yesterday and even the morning skate the other morning (Tuesday). But when you watch him, you see if there’s any little thing in his stride that he’s still a little sore, a little tentative, but there’s nothing at all. He’s striding really well. He’s gung-ho to play.”
Vilardi has missed 35 games in his first season with the Jets, including a stretch of 18 from Oct. 19 through Nov. 28 with a knee injury. -- Darrin Bauming
Philadelphia Flyers
Nick Seeler will play for the Flyers against the Chicago Blackhawks at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, NBCSCH) after the defenseman missed 11 games because of a lower-body injury.
Seeler was injured when he was hit in the left ankle blocking a shot against the St. Louis Blues on March 4.
"I'm excited to get back," Seeler said. "Feels like a long four weeks. Guys have been playing really well and I'm excited to get back in the mix."
Seeler was leading the NHL with 184 blocked shots when he was injured. He said he'll have extra padding where he was injured but won't change his style of play.
"I just think getting back to my game as quickly as I can is probably the best thing for me, and that includes blocking shots," Seeler said. "But just playing simple and playing my game and hopefully can get back to that tonight."
The Flyers went 4-5-2, allowed 4.00 goals per game and their penalty kill was 64.3 percent while Seeler was out.
Seeler was paired with Erik Johnson during the morning skate. It's likely he'll replace defenseman Ronnie Attard in the lineup.
"It's just how he is as a pro, how it just comes out of him, how you have to play, how we want to play," coach John Tortorella said. "He plays fast. Shot blocking, [we] missed him terribly. You can see our penalty killing has had some struggles, a lot to do as we've changed our back end a little bit. He's a huge addition for us." -- Adam Kimelman
Toronto Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner participated in his first full practice Friday since sustaining a high ankle sprain in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 7, but is expected to miss at least the next two games.
“Mitch looked good today,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “In terms of the step for him I would say it’s just further participation in practice, which we won’t have another practice again until Tuesday. Once we get into that territory you start to think about when to put him back in, but we are not there yet.”
The forward, who has 76 points (25 goals, 51 assists) in 62 games, has missed the past nine games because of the injury. The Maple Leafs will visit the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNP, SNO, CBC) before hosting the Florida Panthers on Monday.
Marner was placed on long-term injured reserve Saturday retroactive to March 7, allowing defenseman Marshall Rifai to be recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League.
“It’s close, just take it day by day, just keep progressing the right way and be ready when the time comes,” Marner said. “We’re all competitive in here, we don’t want to miss games especially this late in the season so you can look at it that way (getting some rest before playoffs) and that’s how I’ve been trying to look at it.”
Defenseman Morgan Rielly did not practice Friday and will not play against the Sabres. He remains day to day with an upper-body injury.
Defenseman Timothy Liljegren, who did not play in a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, is week to week with an upper-body injury.
Toronto also signed Simon Benoit to a three-year, $4.05 million contract ($1.35 million average annual value). The 25-year-old defenseman has five points (one goal, four assists) in 54 games with Toronto this season. He signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent Aug. 28, 2023. -- Dave McCarthy
Washington Capitals
Sonny Milano will return when the Capitals host the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NESN).
The forward missed the past two games with an upper-body injury but took part in an optional skate Saturday.
“He’s good to go,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said.
Milano, who has 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in 39 games, will return to a line with left wing Max Pacioretty and center Hendrix Lapierre.
“That’s a good option for us,” Carbery said. “That’s the way that we’ll start. We’ll look at some other things, but him coming in gives us a bit of a different look and we can go back to some things that were working for us 5-on-5.”
Milano scored his first career hat trick in a 7-6 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 22. He left the next game, a 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on March 24, in the first period. -- Harvey Valentine
Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan Graves is out indefinitely with a concussion.
The defenseman missed the final two periods of a 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday. He will not play when the Penguins again face the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSOH).
Graves has primarily split time on the top two defense pairs this season, next to either Kris Letang or Erik Karlsson. He worked with rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany on the third pair Thursday. Graves has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 70 games this season.
John Ludvig, a fellow rookie, could replace Graves next to St. Ivany.
“I think they’ve played pretty well for us,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think Jack has played really well in the time that he’s been here. I think his mobility is one of his strengths. He defends really well, he was a good stick.
"And I think ‘Luds’ has made big strides. ... Just his ability to process the game in a more-timely fashion, I think, is an important aspect of his overall growth and development.” -- Wes Crosby
New York Rangers
Defenseman Jacob Trouba returned when the Rangers visited the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
The New York captain had missed 11 games since March 4 with a lower-body injury and resumed practicing earlier this week.
“We’re still working through some things with him,” coach Peter Laviolette said after an optional skate Friday.
Trouba entered Saturday with a 23-game goal drought, last scoring Jan. 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks. He went 14 games without a goal prior to that.
Trouba had 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 60 games this season. He scored eight goals while playing all 82 games last season.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury and won’t play Saturday. -- Alan Robinson
Vancouver Canucks
Elias Lindholm remains day to day with an undisclosed injury, but Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said he isn’t worried that his third-line center could be out long term.
Lindholm missed practice Wednesday after not playing in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. He did not play in a 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday and does not have a timetable to return, according to Tocchet.
“I'm not really concerned,” Tocchet said. “I think it's just something a little nagging that's getting better every day. That's the way you've got to look at it.”
Tocchet was then asked about a report by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on Saturday that said Lindholm will be meeting with a specialist later this week and if that meant he could be out longer term.
“Not to the best of my knowledge," Tocchet said. "I'd say no."
Lindholm, who was acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Jan. 31, has 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 71 games this season, including nine points (five goals, four assists) in 22 games with the Canucks. -- Kevin Woodley
