New York Rangers
Filip Chytil (upper body) will miss his fifth straight game and Vitaly Kravtsov (upper body) his second in a row when the Rangers play the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (7 pm ET; SN360, MSG, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Chytil, a forward, is day to day and skating on his own. Kravtsov, also a forward, will be out at least a week.
Neither participated in the morning skate.
Chytil hasn’t played since he was injured in a first-period collision with the Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger on Oct. 23, a 5-1 Rangers loss.
Kravtsov will miss the seventh game of the season. He was injured in a 6-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, when he slammed hard into the boards while in pursuit of a puck with a Dallas defenseman. Jani Hakanpaa. He sat for four straight games with an upper-body injury sustained in a 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 11. — Dan Rosen, senior writer
Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman will be a game-time decision against the Ottawa Senators (7 pm ET; BSSUNX, TSN5, RDSI, ESPN+, SN NOW) with an undisclosed injury.
Hedman was not on the ice for practice Monday but took part in the morning skate. He did not participate in the power-play drills and remained on the ice with trainers after the skate ended.
“He’ll be a game-time decision, but he’s definitely a little bit more than we anticipated,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “There’s a chance he’s going to have to sit this one out.”
Hedman, the 2018 Norris Trophy winner voted as the best defenseman in the NHL, has not missed a game since the final weekend of the 2019-20 season. He scored his first goal this season against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and has eight points (goal, seven assists) coming into Tuesday.
If Hedman is unavailable, it’s expected that Haydn Fleury will play. Fleury has one assist in four games this season.
The Lightning have been rotating different players on the third defense pair Ian Cole. Fleury, Philippe Myers and Cal Foote are all part of that rotation.
“We’re just trying to find ourselves as a group back there, I think we’ve made some really good strides the last couple weeks,” Cooper said. “When your name is called, you’ve got to jump in. Especially tonight, it might be an opportunity for someone to come in and we’re looking for guys to seize it.” — Corey Long
Chicago Blackhawks
Petr Mrazek skated with the Blackhawks for the first time since sustaining a groin injury against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 21, but there’s no set time for the goalie’s return.
“I wasn’t sure he’d be on the ice that quickly, but it was nice to have him back out there,” coach Luke Richardson said. “He’s a good personality around the dressing room but it’s definitely going to take slower steps with a goalie than most other players with that type of injury.”
Mrazek saved 15 of 18 shots through the first two periods. He did not play the third of a 4-3 overtime win.
The Blackhawks have four days without a game after they play the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
“That’s good timing right now,” Richardson said. “It’s going to be great for everybody with all these games coming up, a little bit of a break but especially for him to get a few practices in, try to ramp him up a little bit. It’ll be slowly, like I said , but it’ll be nice to get that break.”
Goalie Alex Stalock will start for the Blackhawks against the New York Islanders at United Center (8:30 pm ET; NBCSCH+, MSGSN, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Defenseman Seth Jones was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 29, with a right thumb injury. — Tracey Myers
Dallas Stars
Jake Oettinger is expected to miss at least one week with a lower-body injury, Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
The goalie sustained the injury during the second period of a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
“It looked like he caught his skate, foot, on the post,” coach Peter DeBoer said after the game. “Fluky thing.”
Oettinger is 5-1-0 with a 1.40 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in seven games.
Scott Wedgewood will start against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (8:30 PM ET; BSSW, BSW, ESPN+, SN NOW). The 30-year-old is 0-2-1 with a 4.29 GAA and .880 save percentage in three games.
“We’re very comfortable with [Wedgewood],” Nill said Monday. “That’s why we signed him. We knew these situations were going to arise, there were going to be injuries. It’s next man up and Scott’s ready for that. He’ll do a good job for us.”
The Stars signed Matt Murray to a one-year, entry-level contract, and he will likely be Wedgewood’s backup. Murray is 2-2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .926 save percentage in five games for Texas of the American Hockey League. The 24-year-old signed a two-year AHL contract with Texas on July 18.
Other options for Dallas include recalling Adam Scheel or Remi Poirier from Idaho in the ECHL. It does not have room under the NHL salary cap ($82.5 million) to recall Anton Khudobin from the AHL.
Oettinger is not expected to travel with the Stars on their three-game road trip, which begins Thursday at the Arizona Coyotes. — Taylor Baird
Boston Bruins
Charlie McAvoy practiced in a regular jersey and is ahead of schedule in his return from offseason surgery on his left shoulder.
The defenseman had surgery on June 3 and was expected to need six months to recover.
“He’s ahead of Dec. 1 [return], but he’s just starting in his progression,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We have our internal timeline. I’m hopeful it will be before Nov. 24, to be honest, but he’s got to check boxes as we continue to progress here.”
McAvoy will travel with the Bruins for their three-game road trip beginning against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (8 pm ET; ESPN, ESPN+, TVAS), but will not play.
“Just to be out there to keep getting practices and pregame skates to be with guys, I think we’re at the contact point where it’s more important for me to be on the ice with the guys than it is to just be here by myself. ,” McAvoy said.
McAvoy had an NHL career-high 56 points (10 goals, 46 assists) in 78 games last season.
“We’re just excited that he’s allowed to [have] contact, but he’s still far from being able to play for us,” Montgomery said.
David Krejci, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 27, will also be on the trip, but the forward will not play against the Penguins and will likely be out against the New York Rangers on Thursday, Montgomery said. — Joe Pohoryles
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