Welcome to the NHL Buzz. With the regular season underway, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Pittsburgh Penguins
John Ludvig is out indefinitely with a concussion,
The defenseman left at 10:41 of the second period of his NHL debut, a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Ludvig fell to the ice after hitting Stars forward Radek Faksa in the neutral zone, staying down for several minutes before being helped to the locker room by teammates Noel Acciari and Marcus Pettersson.
"I'm disappointed for him," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He was so excited to play his first NHL game. I thought he was playing really well in that first part of the game. It's unfortunate. I feel badly for him."
Ludvig was on the third defense pair with Ryan Shea, who made his NHL debut in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 21. Shea rotated with Chad Ruhwedel and Pierre-Olivier Joseph during practice Wednesday.
Ludvig was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh from the Florida Panthers on Oct. 9. The 23-year-old was selected by Florida in the third round (No. 69 overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who sustained a lower-body injury on Tuesday, was placed on injured reserve. Magnus Hellberg was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
"Tried to practice today," Sullivan said. "It was bothering him to the point that we have to take further action just with the evaluation process." -- Wes Crosby
Montreal Canadiens
David Savard will be out 6-8 weeks with a fractured left hand.
The defenseman, who turned 33 on Sunday, has two assists in five games this season. He had a game-high five of Montreal's 17 blocked shots in 16:54 of ice time in a 3-1 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
"It's unbelievable," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "It takes a lot of courage. He's been doing it for a long time. I can't really explain how it makes the guys on the bench feel to have a guy like that on your team."
Gustav Lindstrom was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis and had one shot on goal in 11:47 of ice time in Montreal's 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre on Tuesday. The 25-year-old defenseman was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings for Jeff Petry on Aug. 15.
Forward Christian Dvorak is out at least one month recovering from March 15 knee surgery. Forward Kirby Dach is out the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.
St. Louis Blues
Pavel Buchnevich returned for the Blues against the Winnipeg Jets, a 4-2 loss at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.
The forward had a goal and an assist, three shots, a hit and a blocked shot in 17:25 of ice time after missing two games with an upper-body injury sustained in the first period of a 2-1 shootout win against the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 14. He practiced Monday in a non-contact red jersey. -- Lou Korac
Boston Bruins
Milan Lucic missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury when the Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 at United Center on Tuesday.
The forward was on the ice that morning but left before the skate began. He was hit by a shot in the Bruins' 4-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and did not play in the 3-1 victory at the Anaheim Ducks the next day.
"Not ready to go yet, still tender," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of the injury to Lucic.
Lucic signed with the Bruins as a free agent July 1 after previously playing for them from 2007-15.
"I think he's been better than what I expected, to be honest," Montgomery said. "He's making plays. His leadership has been phenomenal on the bench. He brings energy to the locker room. He's been great for us." -- Bruce Miles
Philadelphia Flyers
Rasmus Ristolainen had a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury and there is no timetable for the defenseman to return.
Ristolainen had been practicing sporadically since the start of the season but has yet to make his season debut.
"We're in the process of trying to figure it out," Flyers coach John Tortorella said Tuesday. "It didn't go in the right direction. We thought it was getting better and now we're not sure where it's at."
Ristolainen had 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) and averaged 19:01 of ice time in 74 games last season.
The Flyers also are without defenseman Marc Staal, who is expected to be out multiple weeks because of an upper-body injury sustained against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 19. -- Adam Kimelman
