NHL Buzz: Laine practices in regular jersey for Canadiens

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Montreal Canadiens

Patrik Laine practiced in a regular jersey Monday for the first time since sustaining a sprained left knee in a preseason game Sept. 28.

The forward was expected to be out 2-3 months after he collided with Cedric Pare of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell Centre in Montreal. He opted not to have surgery and began skating again Nov. 6.

Laine did not take line rushes Monday. Forward Joshua Roy was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League and skated on the second line with Emil Heineman and Jake Evans.

"I expect it's going to take him a little while to get back into it," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said Nov. 20. "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 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.

The Canadiens (7-11-2) host the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, Utah16).

Carolina Hurricanes

Seth Jarvis returned from an upper-body injury for the Hurricanes against the Dallas Stars on Monday.

The 22-year-old forward had missed seven games after he was injured during a 6-4 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 9. He has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 13 games this season.

Jarvis was activated off injured reserve Sunday.

"I don't know if I've ever been more excited to play a hockey game, at least in a while,” Jarvis said after the morning skate Monday. “That was too long for me. A lot of energy, a lot of excitement."

Carolina (14-5-1) also recalled goalie Yaniv Perets from Chicago of the AHL on Sunday. The move came one day after Pyotr Kochetkov was injured at 3:52 of overtime in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kochetkov was hit in the head by the knee of teammate Sean Walker.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Kochetkov is in concussion protocol and there is no timetable for his return.

Carolina is already without goalie Frederik Andersen, who is expected to be out 8-12 weeks because of a knee injury that will require surgery.

Perets has made one NHL appearance, stopping the only shot he faced against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 15, 2024. Spencer Martin, who made one save in relief against the Blue Jackets, is 1-2-1 with a 3.21 goals-against average and .870 save percentage in five games (three starts). Martin is expected to start Monday.

“We'll just see,” Brind’Amour said. “You see some guys bounce back really quick, and some guys it takes longer. Hopefully it's the bounce-back variety.

"We're fortunate that we have Spencer here. I feel good about that, and after that we're not sure because we've never had any one of these young guys play yet really. Hopefully, 'Kooch' isn't too long."

The Hurricanes reassigned forward Tyson Jost to Chicago of the AHL.

Detroit Red Wings

Patrick Kane did not play for the Red Wings against the New York Islanders on Monday because of an upper-body injury.

The 36-year-old forward did not practice Sunday. Kane has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 20 games after signing a one-year contract with the Red Wings on June 30.

Kane played 16:23 in a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

“'Patty' will need another day,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said after the morning skate. “It’s probably a day-to-day situation. He’ll be out, so Joe Veleno will be back in. We wanted to get Joe back in any way, so this makes it reasonable.”

Veleno, who has one goal and one assist in 17 games, has been a healthy scratch the past two. -- Stefen Rosner

New York Rangers

Chris Kreider is day to day with an upper-body injury and did not play for the Rangers against the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

The forward played 16:04 in New York’s 6-2 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. He has nine goals in 19 games this season.

Matt Rempe was recalled from Hartford of the AHL. The forward does not have a point in three NHL games this season.

Forward Brett Berard made his NHL debut Monday. The 22-year-old, who had 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 16 games for Hartford, was a fifth-round pick (No. 134) by the Rangers at the 2020 NHL Draft.

Ottawa Senators

Artem Zub will be out “for a while” with a fracture in his foot, coach Travis Green said Monday.

The defenseman was injured blocking a shot during a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, though he finished the game. It’s the second significant injury Zub has dealt with this season. He missed nine games because of a concussion.

Zub was replaced by Travis Hamonic on the first pair when the Senators played the Calgary Flames on Monday.

"It [stinks]. He's had some bad luck in the past few months,” Zub’s defense partner Jake Sanderson said. “I feel for him for sure, but he's a tough guy and I know he'll be back soon."

Zub has two assists and is averaging 18:19 of ice time in 11 games this season. -- Callum Fraser

Winnipeg Jets

Ville Heinola (ankle infection) played his first NHL game since Jan. 19, 2023, when the Jets visited the Minnesota Wild on Monday.

The 23-year-old defenseman was recalled by Winnipeg (17-4-0) from his conditioning assignment with Manitoba of the AHL on Sunday. He had one assist in two games.

A first-round pick by the Jets (No. 20) at the 2019 NHL Draft, Heinola had 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 41 AHL games last season.

"It's been a long journey for me, for sure,” Heinola said. “Ever since the injury happened last training camp, it's been a struggle to get the ankle feeling good but now it feels great, and super excited to be back.

"I think that's the toughest part of the injury, just not being able to play. Every time the team plays, I want to get out there and it kills you inside when you can't play there. But yeah, I'm just happy it's over now and I don't have to worry about that."

Dylan Samberg is week to week with a broken foot and was placed on injured reserve by the Jets on Sunday. The defenseman left a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators in the second period Saturday after blocking a shot from Steven Stamkos.

Samberg has six points (three goals, three assists) in 21 games this season while averaging 20:17 of ice time.

“He just got home there yesterday, so we'll follow through,” coach Scott Arniel said Monday. “But we're looking at extended [time] there. It'll be week-to-week type of thing.”

Anaheim Ducks

Mason McTavish will return from an upper-body injury when the Ducks host the Seattle Kraken on Monday (10 p.m. ET; KHN, Victory+, KONG, KCOP-13).

The 21-year-old forward missed six games after he was injured during a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 8.

McTavish practiced Thursday and Sunday before he was activated off injured reserve Monday and is expected to center the fourth line.

The No. 3 pick by Anaheim at the 2021 NHL Draft, he has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 13 games.

"I thought he was playing well when he got hurt," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "He was scoring goals, he was getting to the front of the net. When (McTavish) plays well, you'll see him bulldog his way to the netfront. You'll see him win puck battles in the offensive zone and make plays out of those wins." -- Dan Arritt

San Jose Sharks

Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) will accompany the Sharks on their upcoming six-game road trip that begins Saturday at the Seattle Kraken.

"He's inching closer," coach Ryan Warsofsky said Monday. "Probably sometime on that road trip, he'll be ready to go."

Vlasic, a defenseman, hasn't played this season and rejoined the team Nov. 18. The 37-year-old had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 57 games for the Sharks last season.

"He's just got to practice," Warsofsky said. "Obviously, [he missed] training camp. I think he's had two practices with us. He needs more practice time."

San Jose (6-12-5) hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, NBCSCA). -- Max Miller

Toronto Maple Leafs

Max Domi missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury when the Maple Leafs won 3-2 against Utah on Sunday.

“He's still rehabbing," coach Craig Berube said. "He's not ready to get on the ice yet."

The forward, who has six assists in 19 games this season, though no points in his past 13 games, had been attempting to play through the injury prior to going on injured reserve Wednesday, retroactive to Nov. 16.

Toronto was also without forward Matthew Knies, who sustained an upper-body injury in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Forward Alex Nylander made his season debut after signing a one-year contract Friday. He had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 14 games with Toronto of the AHL. Nylander had 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in 23 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season after he was traded there by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 22.

Nylander had two shots on goal and was plus-1 in 10:37 of ice time Sunday. -- Dave McCarthy