NHL Buzz: Saros has lower-body injury, uncertain for Predators opener

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Nashville Predators

Juuse Saros is day to day because of a lower-body injury and his status is uncertain for the Predators' regular-season opener against the Dallas Stars at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+).

Saros was injured in the first period of a 5-3 preseason loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Goalie Scott Wedgewood played the final two periods of that game and could start against Dallas if Saros isn't able to play.

"I'm making progress," Saros said Wednesday. "I feel a lot better today than yesterday. Hopefully I'm feeling better again tomorrow."

Saros did not practice Tuesday but was able to participate Wednesday. He said that his injury "was nothing too bad" and that being back on the ice is a good sign.

The Predators recalled goalie Matt Murray from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and he could be the backup to Wedgewood if Saros isn't able to play. -- Robby Stanley

Pittsburgh Penguins

Erik Karlsson will play when the Penguins open their regular season against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT).

The 34-year-old defenseman missed most of training camp because of an upper-body injury. Karlsson first practiced Oct. 3 in a noncontact capacity before taking full contact Saturday and returning to his usual defense pair with Marcus Pettersson on Monday.

Karlsson led Penguins defensemen with 56 points (11 goals, 45 assists) in a full 82 games last season, his first in Pittsburgh.

"Obviously, it's going to be a little bit more comfortable in the sense that you know a little more of what's going on and how things work," Karlsson said. "Where to walk, where to park, where to drive. Stuff like that. A lot of familiar faces around, so obviously, it's a nice feeling."

The Penguins are likely to start the season with Karlsson and fellow defenseman Kris Letang on the top power play. Karlsson has practiced on the left flank with Letang at the point.

Bryan Rust, usually first-line right wing, worked on the top unit through the majority of camp before sustaining a lower-body injury in a preseason game Oct. 1 that has him day to day and out against the Rangers. Rust participated in the morning skate Wednesday.

With Rust and forward Blake Lizotte out indefinitely with a concussion, Rutger McGroarty will make his NHL debut Wednesday. The 20-year-old made the NHL roster out of training camp after being acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets for forward prospect Brayden Yager on Aug. 22. McGroarty was selected by Winnipeg in the first round (No. 14) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is week to week with a lower-body injury but skated on an individual basis Wednesday. Joel Blomqvist, a 22-year-old prospect, will begin the season in the NHL as the backup to regular starter Tristan Jarry. -- Wes Crosby

Winnipeg Jets

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck will start for the Jets in their season opener against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW) after he was away from the team for two days because of family matters.

"He's good to go," Jets coach Scott Arniel said. "He just obviously had some kind of personal stuff that he had to deal with and got some work in yesterday before we took off and is back out there today, so he will be good to go."

Hellebuyck is coming off winning his second Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL after going 37-19-4 with a 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and five shutouts in 60 games. He signed a seven-year, $59.5 million contract with the Jets on Oct. 9, 2023, the same day teammate Mark Scheifele signed an identical contract.

"'Helley's' our backbone," Scheifele said. "He's a big reason why we are the team that we are. He's a big part of this team and we love him." -- Gerry Moddejonge

San Jose Sharks

Macklin Celebrini returned to practice Monday and will make his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN360).

The forward left a preseason game against the Utah Hockey Club on Oct. 1 with a lower-body injury.

"I'm all good," Celebrini said. "It [stinks] whenever you get hurt. [You are] busy rehabbing, but it was a nice little reset before the year."

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said a plan was in place.

"We had an idea that he would be fine to go today," Warsofsky said. "He was good today. I would say he's good to go."

Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and Will Smith, a forward chosen by the Sharks with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, are each expected to make his NHL debut.

"It's exciting for the fans to see the first overall pick and the fourth overall pick," Warsfofsky said. -- Max Miller

New York Islanders

Semyon Varlamov will start the season opener for the Islanders against the Utah Hockey Club at UBS Arena on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; Utah16, MSGSN), coach Patrick Roy said.

Ilya Sorokin, who had back surgery after he was injured during offseason workouts, is healthy and will be the backup. He was 25-19-12 with an NHL career-high 3.01 goals-against average and career-low .909 save percentage.

Varlamov had a 2.60 GAA and .918 save percentage in 28 games last season before starting four of the Islanders' five games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Roy said on Sunday that there is no plan for when Sorokin will make his first start of the season. After Thursday, the Islanders begin a three-game road trip that starts against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

"We'll take it day by day and see how it goes," Roy said.

Third-string goalie Marcus Hogberg, who signed a two-year contract May 7, will not be recalled after clearing waivers on Monday. -- Stefen Rosner

Washington Capitals

Jakub Vrana signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Capitals on Tuesday, returning to the team with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

The 28-year-old forward attended training camp with Washington on a professional tryout agreement and had two points (one goal, one assist) in four preseason games.

"I thought he had a good camp," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "The two things that, to me, he brings to our group that we are maybe a little bit deficient in are speed, number one, and two, his goal scoring ability. And what I mean by that is he has a unique ability. As everybody here knows, it is not easy in the National Hockey League to score on NHL-caliber goalies, and he can beat a goalie clean."

Vrana had six points (two goals, four assists) in 21 games with the St. Louis Blues and 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 42 games with Springfield of the American Hockey League last season. He did not play in the NHL after being sent down to Springfield on Jan. 12.

"Just being able to get a chance to be back in the League and, on top of everything, with this organization, it's just great," Vrana said Monday. "I've been here before and had a great time. It's great to be back here."

Selected with the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, Vrana had 157 points (76 goals, 81 assists) in 284 regular-season games during five seasons with Washington from 2016-21 and had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 38 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Washington. All eight of his playoff points came in 23 postseason games during the Capitals run to the Stanley Cup in 2018. -- Tom Gulitti

Buffalo Sabres

JJ Peterka and Zach Benson returned to practice Wednesday and each forward could be in the lineup when the Sabres host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSW, MSG-B).

"Both had a good day," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'll just see how they react to the practice, how they come in tomorrow."

Peterka sustained a concussion in the first period of the second game of the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal on Saturday on a hit from New Jersey Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon.

At practice, he skated in his usual spot at left wing with center Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch and was a regular on power-play drills.

"[Feeling] good," he said. "I think almost back to normal. From the other day, just better and better."

Peterka had an NHL career-high 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) in 82 games last season.

Benson played through a lower-body injury Friday but did not play in the second game of the Global Series on Saturday. He said he first felt the injury "a couple of days before Friday."

Wednesday was the first time back on the ice for the Benson, who had 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 71 games as a rookie last season. He skated at left wing with center Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn and took reps on the power play. He occasionally rotated with Jiri Kulich in both instances.

"I feel better today, for sure," Benson said. "Felt good skating so, yeah, feel pretty good. … Based on today's skate, yeah, I feel good (to play)." -- Heather Engel

Calgary Flames

Yegor Sharangovich is week to week because of a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Monday.

The Flames forward sustained the injury with just over four minutes remaining in a 3-2 preseason loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.

Sharangovich was expected to start the season on a line with Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko.

The 26-year-old set NHL career highs in games played (82), goals (31), assists (28), points (59) and ice time (17:19) in 2023-24, his first season with Calgary after being acquired from New Jersey on June 27, 2023.

He has 165 points (84 goals, 81 assists) in 287 NHL games with the Flames and Devils.

Calgary opens its season Wednesday at the Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNP). -- Aaron Vickers

Colorado Avalanche

Rookie forwards Calum Ritchie, Nikolai Kovalenko and Ivan Ivan will start the season in the NHL.

Kovalenko and Ritchie are expected to play forward on either side of center Casey Mittelstadt on the second line when Colorado opens the regular season at the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, MAX). Ivan is expected to start on the fourth line with Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta.

“I like the fact that we've infused some new blood into the lineup, both young, developed guys or guys that were continuing to develop in like Ritchie, Ivan, Kovalenko, and then some new guys coming in that were pretty good in their roles on other teams,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

Ritchie, who was selected in the first round (No. 27) at the 2023 NHL Draft, signed a three-year, entry-level contract July 8. He had 80 points (28 goals, 52 assists) in 50 games with Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League last season.

Kovalenko, a sixth-round pick (No. 171) by Colorado at the 2018 NHL Draft, signed a two-year, entry-level contract July 25, 2023. He made his NHL debut in the playoffs last season and was held without a point in two games.

Ivan signed a two-year contract as an undrafted free agent March 5. He had 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 67 games with Colorado of the AHL last season.

Forward Artturi Lehkonen, who had shoulder surgery over the summer, still isn’t cleared for full contact. He’ll be reevaluated in late October.

Lehkonen had 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 45 games with the Avalanche last season.

“He has a five-month check-in at the end of the month, and then we'll get word on how he can advance from there,” Bednar said. -- Ryan Boulding

New Jersey Devils

Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes each participated in practice Tuesday but neither is expected to be in the lineup when the Devils play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Prudential Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN4).

It marks the first time Hughes was able to join his teammates in a practice since the defenseman was ruled out until at least mid-October because of a left shoulder injury sustained in early September.

Pesce, a defenseman who signed a six-year contract with the Devils on July 1 after nine seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, continues to be day to day as he continued to recover from surgery to repair a fractured fibula. He sustained the injury in the second period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders last season, won by the Hurricanes in five games.

"The status of both players remains the same," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "They're just going to be continuing to work. Obviously they're dealing with different injuries, so they'll be able to do different things out there, but neither player is near a return at this point."

Neither player accompanied the Devils to Prague to open the NHL regular season. The Devils won back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and Saturday at O2 Arena in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal.

Hughes led Devils defensemen with 47 points last season (nine goals, 38 assists) playing in all 82 games and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. -- Mike G. Morreale

Philadelphia Flyers

Nick Seeler could miss the Flyers regular-season opener at the Vancouver Canucks on Friday (10 p. m. ET; SNP, NBCSP) because of numbness in his right leg.

The defenseman was injured when sliding to block a pass during a preseason game against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 1.

"It was like a harmless play, but it hit that peroneal nerve," Seeler told NBC Sports Philadelphia on Oct. 2. "It just went numb, so I couldn't feel the foot or the leg. ... I got up and I'm like, 'What the heck just happened? I can't feel my leg,'"

Seeler did not practice Tuesday, his fourth straight day off the ice, and is considered day to day.

"It's taking a lot longer [to heal] than we thought," Flyers assistant coach Brad Shaw said Tuesday. "Most of those, you get the sensation back and you get your feeling back in minutes or hours at the most and it's been a few days now. We're just playing it as a day-to-day thing and we'll see."

The Flyers' only extra defenseman is Erik Johnson. Shaw said he was unsure if a defenseman would be recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League before the team left for Vancouver later Tuesday. -- Adam Kimelman