NHL Buzz: Thomas to return from fractured ankle for Blues against Wild
Point back for Lightning after lower-body injury; Kapanen claimed off waivers by Oilers
© Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
St. Louis Blues
Robert Thomas will return to the Blues lineup against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+) four weeks after fracturing his right ankle.
Thomas, who has six points (one goal, five assists) in seven games this season, was injured blocking a shot by defenseman Neal Pionk early in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 22. He missed 12 games.
Thomas was originally expected to be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks but began skating last week.
"It's obviously frustrating being out," Thomas said. "I invested a lot in myself and pretty happy with the result and getting back so soon. Excited to be back in the lineup and looking forward to getting in the trenches with the guys."
Thomas will center a top line with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou.
St. Louis went 4-7-1 without its No. 1 center.
"Since we went on the road, I think it was going to be a day-to-day thing at that point," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "We saw a lot of good progress with him on the ice and how he was feeling. Yesterday, he came in and had a great skate, talked to the doctors and he feels comfortable and the doctors are comfortable with it and he's ready to go." -- Lou Korac
Tampa Bay Lightning
Brayden Point will return for the Lightning against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SN-PIT, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS).
The forward has missed four games with a lower-body injury. He scored in a 7-4 loss to the Jets on Nov. 3 but left after 3:47 of ice time.
Point has eight goals in 12 games, tied with Brandon Hagel (eight goals in 16 games) for second on Tampa Bay behind Nikita Kucherov (11 in 16). He scored in six of eight games before the injury.
The 28-year-old could center the first line with Kucherov at right wing and left wing Jake Guentzel, who played eight seasons with Pittsburgh before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7.
Point was at left flank on the top power play at the morning skate Tuesday.
“When you don’t have a ton of practice time, this is when you have to do it,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “So, different looks, especially depending on the team’s penalty kill and where we’re going to put him. I always think the more unpredictable you can be on a power play with you knowing exactly what you’re doing, it’s a good thing.” -- Wes Crosby
Edmonton Oilers
Kasperi Kapanen was claimed off waivers by the Oilers from the Blues on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old forward had one goal in 10 games in his third season with St. Louis. He had 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 73 games last season.
A first-round pick (No. 22) by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2014 NHL Draft, Kapanen has 209 points (85 goals, 124 assists) in 470 regular-season games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Penguins and Blues, and 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 38 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday that defenseman Darnell Nurse is expected to be out 5-10 days because of an upper-body injury sustained on a hit from Ryan Reaves in the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss at Toronto on Saturday. Reaves was suspended five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Sunday for an illegal check to the head.
Nurse has nine points (two goals, seven assists) and is averaging 20:49 of ice time in 18 games this season. He is also second on the Oilers with 32 blocked shots.
Edmonton (9-8-2) visits the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, SNW, TSN5).
Vancouver Canucks
Brock Boeser (upper body) resumed skating Tuesday but will miss his sixth straight game when the Canucks host the New York Rangers (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNP, MSG).
The forward has not played since taking a hit to the head by Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot in the first period of a 4-2 win on Nov. 7.
Boeser remains out indefinitely, but coach Rick Tocchet was encouraged he was back on the ice along with defenseman Derek Forbort (lower body), who has missed seven games.
“[Boeser] and Forbort skated today, so that’s a positive,” Tocchet said.
Boeser remains tied for the Canucks lead with six goals in 12 games, and his 11 points are tied for fourth on the team despite the injury. The 27-year-old was playing right wing on the Canucks’ top line and power play unit after setting NHL career highs with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games last season.
Thatcher Demko, who is Vancouver’s No. 1 goalie, did not take part in the full morning skate Tuesday but continues to progress from a lower-body injury that has kept him out all season. Demko has taken part in practices and will join the team on a six-game road trip that begins at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
“He's coming on the trip for sure,” Tocchet said. “You guys watch him in practice, he's looking really good. He's thrown a lot of good practices together and I don't know when he's going to play, but I know he's thrown a lot of good stuff together.” -- Kevin Woodley
New York Islanders
Alexander Romanov will return from an upper-body injury against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, MSGSN).
The defenseman has missed the past seven games and 10 of 11 because of the injury sustained in a 4-3 overtime win against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 25.
"I'm excited," Romanov said. "I'm feeling good, yeah. That's why I'm here, because I'm ready to play today. Feeling great."
Romanov is expected to return on New York's top defense pair alongside Noah Dobson.
"He's got lots of energy all the time, so you can tell he's been chomping at the bit," Dobson said. "He's a big piece of our back end and our team. He plays in all situations, brings that physicality. I know he's been doing whatever he can to get back. It's nice to see him back out there."
Romanov, 24, has two assists and a plus-1 rating in eight games. He's averaging 21:37 of ice time per game -- third on the Islanders.
"It's nice to have guys back, and 'Romey' is an important player on our team," coach Patrick Roy said. "He's certainly going to help our defense. It's nice to have him back."
Defenseman Mike Reilly was to have a heart procedure Tuesday. The condition was identified during medical testing associated with recovery from a concussion sustained Nov. 1.
Defenseman Adam Pelech (upper body) and forwards Mathew Barzal (upper body) and Anthony Duclair (lower body) have not resumed skating. -- Aaron Vickers
Toronto Maple Leafs
David Kampf has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 16 by the Maple Leafs with a lower-body injury and is day to day.
The center will not play when the Maple Leafs face the Vegas Golden Knights at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, SCRIPPS).
Kampf last played Saturday in a 4-3 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers. He did not have a shot on goal in 14:22 of ice time.
“He’s done a great job for us with penalty killing and (other) situations, so we will miss him,” coach Craig Berube said.
Kampf has three assists and is minus-3 in 18 games this season.
Center Fraser Minten was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League. He has four points (two goals, two assists) in five AHL games this season.
Minten centered a line between left wing Nicholas Robertson and right wing Pontus Holmberg at practice Tuesday and is expected to make his season debut against the Golden Knights.
“Smart player,” Berube said. “He was playing well in the minors and he’s the right guy to be up here right now.”
Minten, who did not have a point in four regular-season games with the Maple Leafs last season, missed all of training camp after sustaining a high ankle sprain at the 2024 Prospect Showdown against the Montreal Canadiens in September. -- Dave McCarthy
Carolina Hurricanes
Seth Jarvis practiced with the Hurricanes in a noncontact jersey Tuesday.
The forward has missed the past four games because of an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve Saturday retroactive to Nov. 10.
Jarvis has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 13 games this season.
Carolina (13-4-0) visits the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, NBCSP).
New Jersey Devils
Nathan Bastian practiced with the Devils on Tuesday, one day after being placed on long-term injured reserve.
The forward has been out since sustaining a jaw injury in a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 1. He was placed on LTIR retroactive to the date of the injury, meaning he will not be eligible to return until Nov. 27 against the Blues.
Bastian, who has five points (two goals, three assists) in 12 games this season, has missed the past seven games.
Timo Meier (back spasms) did not practice Tuesday and is day to day; the forward has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 21 games.
New Jersey (12-7-2) hosts Carolina on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN).
Forward Curtis Lazar was placed on injured reserve Monday; he was injured in a 6-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 27 on a hit by defenseman Radko Gudas. Lazar had knee surgery four days later and is out indefinitely.
Montreal Canadiens
Rafael Harvey-Pinard was assigned to Laval of the American Hockey League on a long-term injury conditioning loan Tuesday.
The 25-year-old forward has yet to play this season because of a broken leg. He had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 45 games for the Canadiens in 2023-24.
Harvey-Pinard had surgery in July and did not participate in training camp.
A seventh-round pick (No. 201) by Montreal at the 2019 NHL Draft, Harvey-Pinard has 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 83 games.
Buffalo Sabres
Devon Levi was assigned to Rochester of the AHL after practice Monday.
The 22-year-old goalie is 2-5-0 with a 3.95 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in seven games (six starts) this season. He's allowed 19 goals on 123 shots (.846 save percentage) in his past five appearances.
"We've got to get him some games, get him playing," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "(It would) be the best thing for him."
Levi has been relegated to the backup role behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, making only one start between Oct. 18-Nov. 13. That day, the Sabres reclaimed James Reimer off waivers from the Ducks.
At practice Monday, Levi split reps with Reimer in one net while Luukkonen had his own. Luukkonen will return at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, MSG-B, SN) after missing two games.
"We just had a great conversation with him," Ruff said of Levi. "I mean, nobody likes going [down to the AHL], but he wants to play, too. He said it's the first time he's really dealt with that long a period of time. Good learning experience, but hard."
Tage Thompson is also close to returning from a lower-body injury, but his status for Wednesday is still to be determined. The center, who leads Buffalo with 11 goals and 18 points in 16 games, was a full participant at practice Monday, skating in his usual spot on the top line.
He was injured in a 7-5 loss to the Canadiens on Nov. 11 and has missed the past two games. Ruff said they'll see how he feels Tuesday.
"It's one of those ones where I'm better off missing 3-4 games instead of trying to play through it and making it worse and missing 10-15," Thompson said.
Alex Tuch did not practice Monday and is questionable for Wednesday. The forward, who is second on the Sabres with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 18 games, was given the day off while dealing with a "little bit of an ailment," Ruff said.
Jordan Greenway "in all likelihood is week to week" with a mid-body injury, Ruff said. The forward, who had been playing through the injury, left practice early Friday, did not play Saturday and was absent from practice Monday.
Because of the injures, forward Isak Rosen was recalled from Rochester on Monday. -- Heather Engel
