Welcome to the NHL Buzz. With the regular season underway, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Chicago Blackhawks
Taylor Hall said he expects to play for the Blackhawks against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, NBCSCH) after missing one game with an upper-body injury, a 3-2 loss at the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
The forward took line rushes with Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato at practice Sunday and skated on his own the previous two days.
"I wouldn't say I'm 110 percent but definitely good enough to play and much better than I was even two days ago," Hall said. "I'm able to practice and play, so there's no reason why I can't play in a game.
"I don't put out timelines for injuries, but I know they've seen guys come back from my injury pretty quickly, so I was always thinking, take a game off and see if I can play here in Toronto. And I think I’ll be able to do that."
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said Hall was week to week after he was injured in the second period of a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
"We thought we'd let him see how he feels today," Richardson said. "He did some battle stuff full practice and says it feels great, so unless something comes up tonight, he'll be ready to go.”
Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos did not play for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday because of a lower-body injury.
The 33-year-old forward, who is day to day, was replaced by Alex Barre-Boulet. He had two goals and an assist in 18:11 of ice time for Tampa Bay in a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The Lightning's next game is at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. They will then return home for games against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Vegas Golden Knights
Alex Pietrangelo did not play for the Golden Knights on Saturday, a 4-1 win at T-Mobile Arena.
The defenseman took a puck to the head in the third period of a 4-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
"He didn't feel great," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said after the morning skate Saturday. "List him as day to day for now and hopefully he comes around. Right now, he's out tonight."
Pietrangelo is the third regular defenseman currently out for the Golden Knights, along with Alec Martinez (upper body) and Zach Whitecloud (upper body).
William Carrier skated on his own and should be returning soon, Cassidy said. The forward did not play Thursday after he sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-1 win in the season opener against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
Paul Cotter played on the second line with Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone for the second straight game Saturday with Brett Howden serving a two-game suspension. -- Paul Delos Santos
Edmonton Oilers
Mattias Ekholm had one shot on goal in 15:47 of ice time in his season debut for the Oilers, a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
The defenseman missed the season-opening 8-1 loss at Vancouver on Wednesday with a hip/groin injury sustained during offseason training. Ekholm was out the entire preseason because of the injury.
"I feel pretty good," Ekholm said Saturday. "It's been making progress, and I had a really good week and after that it's been trending in the right direction."
Ekholm said he will have to monitor the injury and his playing time. He averaged 21:28 of ice time last season with Edmonton and the Nashville Predators.
"A groin is not like when you break a bone, it's healing and then it's fine," Ekholm said. "It's something you have to monitor. I've never had it before, so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask, but I would shocked if it in one day it was 100 percent and it was all over and never coming back." -- Derek Van Diest
Detroit Red Wings
Robby Fabbri is day to day and did not play against the Lightning on Saturday.
The forward did not practice Friday because of an undisclosed injury; he scored a goal and had two shots on goal in 14:44 of ice time in a season-opening 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Fabbri was limited to 28 games last season because of several injuries.
Forward Zach Aston-Reese was recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League prior to the game Saturday, but the Red Wings used 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Detroit assigned Aston-Reese back to Grand Rapids on Sunday and recalled center Austin Czarnik.
