Florida Panthers
Alexander Barkov returned for the Panthers against the Montreal Canadiens at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
The center, who sustained a knee injury during a 4-2 win at the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 17, missed three games for the Panthers, each a loss, at the Boston Bruins on Dec. 19, against the Devils on Dec. 21 and at the New York Islanders on Friday. Barkov also missed six games due to illness since Nov. 26-Dec. 6.
The Panthers (15-16-4) also had a defensive back Radko Gudaswho missed 10 games because of a concussion, and defenseman Aaron Ekbladwho left during the first period against the Islanders with an upper-body injury.
“We went through a run of illness in December, where we had a guy miss a game to come back, but the next two or three he was really struggling,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said of Barkov after the morning skate Thursday. “So, we had a whole bunch of guys dealing with that. My trainer came in and said, ‘Nothing to report this morning.’ I haven’t heard that in 2 1/2 months. So, we’re pretty happy, pretty excited here.”
Forward Anton Levtchi made his NHL debut for the Panthers after being recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Monday. Levtchi was signed June 14 after playing for Tappara in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland. Barkov is one of Tappara’s owners. — Alain Poupart
Montreal Canadiens
Brendan Gallagher returned for the Canadiens against the Panthers.
The forward missed 13 games because of a lower-body injury he sustained in a 4-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 29.
Gallagher has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 22 games this season for the Canadiens (15-17-3). — Poupart
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kris Letang is being evaluated for a lower-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said.
The defenseman did not practice Thursday and could miss the Penguins’ game against the Devils at PPG Paints Arena on Friday. No timeline regarding Letang was provided.
“We always feel for guys when they get banged up,” Sullivan said. “Nobody wants to go through those experiences. … It’s not a nice game. People get hurt. It’s just the reality of the sport that we play. We’ll take each day as it comes, but we’re hopeful that ‘Tanger’ will respond the right way, in a favorable way, for us.”
Letang missed five games after having a stroke, the second of his NHL career, on Nov. 28. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in eight games since returning Dec. 10.
The defensemen rotated during practice without Letang, who usually plays on the top pair Marcus Pettersson. Ty Smithrecalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Wednesday, replaced Letang on the top power play.
Letang, who has 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 29 games this season, led all skaters with 27:01 of ice time Wednesday, when the Penguins (19-10-6) allowed the Detroit Red Wings to come back from down four goals to win 5-4 in overtime. He also led all skaters with 25:48 of ice time in a 5-1 loss to the Islanders on Tuesday. — Wes Crosby
New York Rangers
Alexis Lafreniere was a healthy scratch for the first time this season when the Rangers visited the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 21-year-old forward, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, was being rotated on the fourth line during practice Wednesday; Forward Sammy Blais took Lafreniere’s spot.
“I’m making the lineup, consistency is the word I’ve mentioned before, yesterday a little bit,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said. “We want [Lafreniere] to be better. He wants to be better, we want him to be better and just be more consistent [his] game.”
Lafreniere has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 36 games for the Rangers (19-12-5) this season.
“‘Laffy’ has got some chances to play with good people and he’s played well at times, but it’s inconsistent,” Gallant said Wednesday. “Laffy is getting, maybe, knocked down today in practice… sometimes it’s a wakeup call for the kids.” — Corey Long
Buffalo Sabres
Owen Power returned against the Red Wings on Thursday.
The Sabers defenseman missed three games with a lower-body injury sustained during his off-ice pregame routine prior to the on-ice warmup against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 15.
“I think just a little bad luck,” Power said. “Just trying to get ready for the game, something that I do a lot and just unlucky.
“I’m feeling pretty good. It’s good to be back on the ice with the guys.”
The no. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft has 10 assists, in 29 games for Buffalo (16-14-2).
Jacob Bryson also returned after missing three games with a lower-body injury. The defenseman previously missed four games, also with a lower-body injury, from Nov. 25-Dec. 1.
“It’ll be nice to have a more stabilized lineup on the back end and hopefully take a few more minutes away from [Rasmus] Dahlin and [Mattias] Samuelsson, who I’ve been concerned with overusing,” coach Don Granato said. “But the position we’re in to win games, we obviously had to shift into win mode the last few games and they played more minutes than I would have. liked as a coach.” –Heather Engel
Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly will return for the Maple Leafs at the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (9 pm ET; BSAZ, SNO, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The defenseman, who missed 15 games with a knee injury, skated with Timothy Liljegren at practice Wednesday and said he’s looking forward to getting back on the ice for Toronto, which was 12-2-1 during his absence.
“We’re playing great,” Rielly said Thursday. “So for me, I want to come in and help and I want to come in and play the team system and keep this thing going well. … Since I’ve been out, we’ve been playing well, and I want to contribute to that and be a positive addition and help the team keep going. … I’m just happy to be back with the boys.”
Rielly sustained the injury during a collision with the Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri 1:06 into the third period of a 3-2 overtime loss on Nov. 21. He played one more shift before leaving the game and finished with two shots on goal in 16:38 of ice time.
Rielly has 16 assists in 20 games this season for the Maple Leafs (22-7-6).
“It’s great to have him,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He brings a lot to the room and he’s been around the group a little bit, but it’s different when you’re out there and you’re in the mix and you’re close to playing.
“With the break and Morgan coming back … the last few days have been really exciting. The spirit of the team has been outstanding coming out of the break, which is a healthy sign, and the guys are champing at the bit to get back at it.”
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