Welcome to the NHL Buzz. The 2022-23 regular season is underway, and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Bertuzzi is expected to return for the Red Wings against the Winnipeg Jets at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday (7 pm ET; BSDET, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW) after missing 16 games with an upper-body injury.
The forward had surgery for the injury sustained in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabers on Nov. 30. He left late in the third period after being hit on the left hand with a shot.
Bertuzzi missed 13 games earlier this season after breaking his right hand in a game during a 5-2 win at the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 15. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in nine games this season and projects to skate on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on Tuesday.
“It has to be frustrating for him, just in the way he went down,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “Literally in four periods he goes down, he comes back, gets a few games under his belt, is trying to get some rhythm going, he goes down again. But that’s behind him. He’s looked great in the last three, four, five practices, and now hopefully it translates into tomorrow’s game.”
Filip Zedina skated in a no-contact jersey. Lalonde said the forward is week to week with a lower-body injury but is targeting a three-game road trip beginning Jan. 16 for a potential return. Zedina was placed on injured reserve after a 3-0 win against the New York Islanders on Nov. 5, when he was hit on the right leg by a shot with 5:19 left in the third period.
The Red Wings assigned forward Elmer Soderblom to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
New York Islanders
Mathew Barzal could play for the Islanders against the Dallas Stars at UBS Arena on Tuesday (7:30 pm ET; MSGSN, BSSWX, ESPN+, SN NOW).
He practiced Monday as the center on the first line between Anders Lee and Simon Holmstrom. He missed a 4-1 loss at the Calgary Flames on Friday after he was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury and has scored six goals in a five-game goal streak.
“I thought he looked pretty good,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “I haven’t talked to anybody since practice was over but the way he looked, the expectation or the hope is that he will be [in the lineup]”
Holmstrom skated for the first time since a lower-body injury sustained when he collided knee-on-knee with Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett on Dec. 23.
“He’s been skating and today was a day when we could integrate him into the group and see where he went from there, and I thought he looked good,” Lambert said.
Adam Pelech has resumed skating. The defenseman will miss his 15th game with an undisclosed injury.
Minnesota Wild
Marc-Andre Fleury returned to his home in Montreal following a 6-5 overtime loss at the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday to deal with a personal matter.
Fleury, who made 31 saves in the loss to Buffalo, missed a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday but will be with the Wild when they play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7 pm ET; TVAS, MSG, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, SN NOW).
“He’s flying (back to St. Paul) tonight,” coach Dean Evason said before the game Sunday. “It’s a personal situation, so I’m not going to elaborate on it. He had to take care of some business.”
The Wild reassigned goalie Zane McIntyre to Iowa of the American Hockey League. McIntyre backed up Filip Gustavssonwho returned from an illness, Saturday.
Mats Zuccarello has missed two games with an upper-body injury. He is second on the Wild with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists). — Jessi Pierce and Heather Engel
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