NHL Buzz: Okposo returns when Sabres host Devils

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Buffalo Sabres

Kyle Okposo will return when the Sabres host the New Jersey Devils on Friday (8 p.m. ET; MSG-B, MSGSN, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The forward has missed six games with a lower-body injury.
"Just some wear and tear I've been dealing with and had to give it some time to calm down," Okposo said. "But feeling better, ramped it up over the past few days and, yeah, excited."
Okposo, who is Sabres captain, will be on a line with Tyson Jost and Zemgus Girgensons. He has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 14 games this season.
"We miss Kyle every time he's out because he's just such a presence, so it'll be nice to have that back," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "I think the guys identify through him a lot as a captain, as the captain, as a leader. It'll be very nice to have him back in."
Jacob Bryson is week to week with a lower-body injury sustained Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues. The defenseman, who has six points (one goal, five assists) in 20 games, left the game at 18:09 of the second period after a 17-second shift.
"It was not an impacted incident that occurred within the game," Granato said. "I asked the same thing at the end of the period before the third. It was one of those that you can do on your own." -- Heather Engel

St. Louis Blues

Robert Bortuzzo will return when the Blues visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS).
The defenseman missed eight games with an upper-body injury sustained Nov. 8.
He was paired with Niko Mikkola at the morning skate.
Bortuzzo was activated from injured reserve before a 6-2 loss to the Sabres on Wednesday, but coach Craig Berube decided to make him a healthy scratch.
"He's fine," Berube told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday. "I think he feels good, the way he's moving around out there."
Bortuzzo does not have a point in 10 games this season. He played his 500th NHL game Nov. 8. -- Corey Long

Florida Panthers

Aleksander Barkov should be able to play when the Panthers host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET; BSFL, BSMW, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The center did not practice Friday because of a non-COVID illness but coach Paul Maurice told the Panthers website he should be good to go against the Blues.
Barkov, who is Florida's captain, had three points (one goal, two assists) in a 5-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.