NHL Buzz: Oshie, Orlov could play for Capitals in season opener

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. The 2022-23 regular season is underway, and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Washington Capitals

Forward T.J. Oshie (upper body) and defenseman Dmitry Orlov (lower body) are optimistic about being ready to play in the Capitals regular-season opener against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday after practicing Sunday. Each did not play in Washington's preseason finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday after being injured against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
"That night, it was a little scary," said Oshie, who was injured when he was checked into the boards by Red Wings forward Joe Veleno. "We didn't know how it was going to feel in the morning and woke up in the morning and it felt a lot better than we expected. I still got to go through all the steps with (athletic trainer Jason Serbus), so I'm not going insert myself anywhere, but I felt really good today."
Orlov said he tweaked something against the Red Wings and felt stiff the next day, so the Capitals held him out of practice for two days.
"Right now, I feel good," Orlov said. "It feels normal almost and I've got a couple more days to feel more ready and get prepared for the first big game of the season." -- Tom Gulitti

Boston Bruins

Forwards Nick Foligno and Chris Wagner and defenseman Mike Reilly were placed on waivers Sunday.
Foligno had 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 64 regular-season games and one assist in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Bruins last season. A 15-year NHL veteran, he has 499 points (205 goals, 295 points) in 1,021 regular-season games and 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 62 postseason games with the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Bruins. A former captain of the Blue Jackets, he signed a two-year, $7.6 million contract (average annual value $3.8 million) with Boston on July 28, 2021.
Reilly had 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 70 regular-season games and played in five playoff games with the Bruins last season. Acquired from the Ottawa Senators on April 11, 2021, he signed a three-year contract with Boston on July 27, 2021.
Wagner played in one regular-season game and three playoff games with Boston last season and had five points (two goals, three assists) in 41 games with Providence of the American Hockey League. The 31-year-old has played 359 NHL games with Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders and Bruins and can be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Philadelphia Flyers

Sean Couturier will not play in the season opener against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
The center has been considered week to week because of an upper-body injury sustained before training camp started.
"I haven't talked to the trainers, I'm not exactly sure where they're at with that," coach John Tortorella said Sunday. "It's certainly not going to be opening night. What it comes down to in days or weeks, I'm not sure."
Couturier skated on his own for about 40 minutes. He's been skating since the end of last week, but said Sunday was the first time he was allowed to shoot pucks and stick-handle.
"Just getting better and better every day," he said. "Back on the ice so that's a step in the right direction. ... We're going gradually, every day doing a little more and see how it responds every day and how it goes.
"Really day to day. They're kind of evaluating me every day, see how I go, see how I progress. The goal is really to be 100 percent when I come back and not have to deal with anything all year."
Couturier didn't play last season after Dec. 18, and had season-ending back surgery Feb. 11. He said he had been fully cleared for training camp the first week of September. -- Adam Kimelman

Toronto Maple Leafs

John Tavares, who sustained an oblique injury in a 4-1 preseason win against the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 24, took part in practice on Saturday with the Maple Leafs non-game group.
The injury was expected to keep the center out a minimum of three weeks, meaning he could miss the regular-season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
"I would love to be ready to go for Wednesday, but you have to look at the big picture, four games in six nights and we have an 82-game grind," Tavares said. "Continue to hit my checkpoints day by day, get the feedback and we'll assess each day where I'm at."
Jake Muzzin and Pierre Engvall each made his preseason debut against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Muzzin played 17:31 and Engvall 14:49 in the 5-1 win. Neither had a point.
Muzzin, a defenseman, has been managing back discomfort during training camp. He returned to full practice on Sept. 29 after missing the first week of training camp. He is expected to skate on a pairing with Justin Holl.
Engvall, a forward, has been recovering from a foot injury sustained in the offseason. He expected to play left wing on a line with center Alexander Kerfoot and right wing Calle Jarnkrok. -- Dave McCarthy

St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko was in the lineup for the Blues' preseason finale against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. He had an assist and played 14:23.
The forward did not play in a 7-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday after missing time with an illness earlier in the week.
Forward Ivan Barbashev, who had been dealing with a lower-body injury, was also in the lineup and scored two goals. Forward Logan Brown, who has an upper-body injury, did not play. -- Lou Korac

Vancouver Canucks

Brock Boeser practiced Sunday for the first time since surgery on his hand Sept. 26 and the forward could return for the season opener Wednesday at the Edmonton Oilers.
Boeser was originally expected to miss 3-4 weeks and 3-7 games but resumed skating and stickhandling within a week of surgery and was shooting during practice Sunday while wearing a non-contact jersey.
"He was happy to be out there. His legs are fine," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We just got to get the rest of his body ready and hopefully he will get permission to play on Wednesday."
Boeser, who opened training camp on right wing of a top line with center J.T. Miller and Tanner Pearson, had 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists) in 71 games last season. The 25-year-old skated primarily on a fourth line with left wing Dakota Joshua and center Nils Aman on Sunday.
Forward Conor Garland, who left in the second period of a 4-0 preseason win against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday with an undisclosed injury, did not practice Sunday. Neither did top defenseman Quinn Hughes, who did not play against the Coyotes, but Boudreau said both were having maintenance days.
"They'll both be on the ice [Monday]," Boudreau said. -- Kevin Woodley