Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Each day during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Edmonton Oilers
Darnell Nurse skated with the Oilers on Thursday for the first time since sustaining a head injury at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Nurse was hit by Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves 2:41 into the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss. Reaves received a five-minute major for checking to the head and was suspended five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Sunday.
Nurse, who will miss his third straight game when the Oilers play the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, FDSNNOX, FDSNWI), is listed as day to day, coach Kris Knoblauch said.
"I feel good," Nurse said Thursday. "With these things, timeline is up to multiple people so what I feel sometimes isn't indicative of what's going to happen, so we'll see."
Nurse was hit by Reaves after collecting the puck along the end boards and skating out from behind the net and left the game with a head injury.
"He came after and apologized," Nurse said of Reaves. "In situations like that, there's definitely an onus on the player with the puck to be aware where everyone else is on the ice for sure. With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there is lots of body in a 6-foot-4 hockey player to hit and not one piece was touched other than my head."
Nurse has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 18 games this season, averaging 20:49 of ice time per game. Following their game against the Wild, the Oilers next play the New York Rangers on Saturday and then have a five-day break before their next game.
"Absolutely there's caution, but he still has to go through the protocol, how long it's going to take and the amount of times he has to have a light workout, a light skate, practice and then be able to be ready for the game," Knoblauch said. "Right now, things are moving along nicely if he is ready for Saturday, and if not we will postpone that."
Forward Zach Hyman will miss his first game of the season Thursday after taking a hit late in the second period of a 5-2 win at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
He is day to day with an undisclosed injury and will be out "probably four to seven days," Knoblauch said
Hyman has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 20 games this season. -- Derek Van Diest
San Jose Sharks
Yaroslav Askarov will make his Sharks debut against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (8 pm. ET; FDSNMW, NBCSCA).
Askarov was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23 for a 2025 first-round pick, forward David Edstrom and goalie Magnus Chrona.
"Obviously [he's] a talented kid," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Askarov. "[I'm] excited to see what he can do."
Askarov is 6-3-0 with a 1.92 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in nine games with San Jose in the American Hockey League
Mackenzie Blackwood started for San Jose in its 5-2 loss at the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Vitek Vanecek sustained an upper-body injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and isn't ready to play. Warsofsky said the goalie is day to day.
"I think every game [we] play, our defense needs to be ready to go. It's the NHL, I don't care who's in the net," Warsofsky said. "We need to be harder in front of our net. We've got to be better in our defensive zone. We have three really good goalies on our roster right now that need to be supported a lot better. It doesn't really matter who's in net."
Askarov last played an NHL game Dec. 30, 2023 with the Predators. He is 1-1-0 with a 2.58 GAA and .914 save percentage in three NHL games (two starts). -- Max Miller
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies' status against the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, NHLN, Utah 16) is uncertain after the forward left a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday with an upper-body injury.
"Still being evaluated and looked at but actually feeling OK today which is good news," coach Craig Berube said.
Knies, who has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 20 games, took an open ice hit from Zach Whitecloud at 7:59 of the second period and did not return. Berube was asked after the game if Knies was being evaluated for a concussion but only confirmed it was an upper-body injury.
Auston Matthews has returned from visiting a doctor in Germany relating to an upper-body injury, though Berube did not have an update on a possible return for the Maple Leafs captain.
"Everything went well," Berube said. "He's actually improving and in a really good spot right now going forward, so we are very happy with that."
Berube was unsure when Matthews would resume skating though he said it could be this weekend.
Matthews has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 games this season. The Maple Leafs are 6-1-0 in his absence. --Dave McCarthy
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nick Paul will be out with an undisclosed injury when the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, FDSNSUN).
"He will be out tonight, so we will reevaluate him in Tampa when we get back," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Not having Nick Paul in is a definite loss, but it's just opportunities for others.
"That's why you need depth in the organization, to get you through times like this, so hopefully this isn't too long, but it'll be a test for us tonight."
Paul's last shift ended at 12:42 of the second period at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. He played 10:38 with three shots on goal.
He has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 17 games. -- Craig Merz
Montreal Canadiens
Patrik Laine practiced for the second straight day Thursday.
The forward stayed for the entire practice. On Wednesday he took part in the opening session of drills wearing a noncontact jersey before leaving the ice about 15 minutes into practice.
Laine was expected to be out 2-3 months after he sprained his left knee in a collision with Cedric Pare of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a preseason game at Bell Centre on Sept. 28. He opted not to have surgery and began skating again Nov. 6.
"I expect it's going to take him a little while to get back into it," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said Wednesday. "You don't know exactly what it will be, is it a game? Is it two weeks? You don't know, so we'll see how it progresses."
Laine, who was acquired by the Canadiens in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19 along with a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for defenseman Jordan Harris, was limited to 18 games last season, the last coming Dec. 14, 2023, because of a broken clavicle. He had nine points (six goals, three assists).
Laine began receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and was cleared from the program July 26.
He scored 44 goals for the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18, but had nine points (six goals, three assists) in 18 games last season and has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $34.8 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) he signed July 22, 2022. -- Sean Farrell
Colorado Avalanche
Alexandar Georgiev could start for the Avalanche when they visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; KUSA, MNMT, ALT, SNP, SNO, SNE) after missing two games with an upper-body injury.
Georgiev practiced Wednesday after going on with the ice with goalie coach Jussi Parkkila and skills coach Toby Peterson on Tuesday.
"We'll see how he comes out of this practice," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "But he was able to skate yesterday, get some movement done, took some shots yesterday. Everything went good. Obviously, that's a little light. He just went out with Toby and Jussi, and then full practice today. So, if he comes out of that good, he could be an option for tomorrow."
Georgiev went 3-1-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in his last four starts before he was injured, and Bednar hopes he can pick up where he left up when he returns.
Georgiev is 4-5-0 with a 3.56 GAA and .863 save percentage in 10 games this season. --Tom Gulitti
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kris Letang appears in line to play against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NHLN, TSN3, TVAS).
The 37-year-old defenseman is day to day with an undisclosed illness that has kept him out the past three games. He was a full participant in practice Thursday, skating on the top defense pair with Matt Grzelcyk.
He first joined the Penguins for an optional morning skate Tuesday, ahead of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Letang has six points (two goals, four assists) in 18 games this season.
Forward Kevin Hayes, who has missed seven games with an upper-body injury, was a full participant Thursday. Coach Mike Sullivan said he will see how each respond before determining their status for Friday. -- Wes Crosby
New York Rangers
Filip Chytil has rejoined the Rangers after missing the first two games of a four-game road trip but will not play against the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, MSG).
"He's day to day," New York coach Peter Laviolette said of the forward. "On the ice today. When you see players out on the ice that's a good thing."
Chytil has not played since being sidelined with an upper-body injury, believed to be sustained in a second-period collision with teammate K'Andre Miller a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 14, and will miss his third straight game Thursday.
New York concludes its road trip at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Chytil has nine points (four goals, five assists) and a plus-11 rating in 15 games this season. -- Aaron Vickers
