Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar will not play for the Avalanche against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (9:30 pm ET; SN1, SNW, TVAS, ALT2, ESPN+, SN NOW) because of an undisclosed injury.
The defenseman is day to day and was not on the ice for the morning skate. He had two goals and an assist in 12:38 of a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, when Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said the injury occurred. Bednar also said it’s to be determined if there’s concern for the long term.
“Injury-related,” Bednar said. “He’ll miss tonight.”
The Avalanche will play 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Flames without Makar, their leader in average time on ice (27:09). Jacob MacDonald is expected to be the seventh defenseman.
“He may spend some time at forward and D, but we’ll probably leave seven [defensemen] in order to spread some of those minutes around and see who can get the job done,” Bednar said.
Makar on a six-game point streak (four goals, five assists), his 13 goals are tied with Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabers for second in the NHL at the position (Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks, 14) and he’s fifth with 43 points. — Aaron Vickers
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider could be back for the Rangers against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 pm ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, MSG, NESN, ESPN+, SN NOW) after the forward missed three games with an upper- body injury.
“Hopefully I’ll find out today he’s ready to go,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said following practice Wednesday. “He looked good today, skated hard, but we’ll find out.”
Kreider was in his usual spots on the top line and top power-play unit in practice, an indication that he should be good to go against the Bruins. He was skating with Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko on the top line, and with Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox on the power play.
Alexis Lafreniere, who filled Kreider’s spots, was back on the third line and second power-play unit.
“I feel good,” Kreider said.
Kreider is second on the Rangers with 19 goals and fifth with 30 points in 42 games. New York won two of the three games it played without him, but scored six goals.
“When guys like that aren’t in your lineup you really miss them,” Gallant said. “You miss his speed, the way he gets on pucks. He’s a great player on our team.” — Dan Rosen
New York Islanders
William Dufour is projected to make his NHL debut for the Islanders against the Boston Bruins at UBS Arena on Wednesday (7:30 pm ET; TNT, NESN, SN NOW).
The 20-year-old forward was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. He was chosen by the Islanders in the fifth round (No. 152) of the 2020 NHL Draft and has 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 37 games during his first professional season.
“I expect a call every day,” Dufour said. “You want that in your life. To be called up, it’s something amazing. I want to be the same player I was in junior, bring some physicality and some offense like I did with Bridgeport.”
Dufour was on the top line with Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal at the morning skate and will likely replace Simon Holmstrom. He had 116 points (56 goals, 60 assists) in and 116 points in 66 games with Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season.
“What I’ve seen and what I’ve heard is that he just continues to develop and grow,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s a big body who shoots the puck well. He’s had a great year, for sure, if you look at the calendar year. He’s had a lot of success and that breeds confidence. He’s playing well in Bridgeport.”
Defenseman Dennis Cholowski was also recalled and skated with Ryan Pulock on the first pair. The 24-year-old signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Islanders on Aug. 23 and has 17 assists in 35 games with Bridgeport.
“He’s got experience, he’s a good skater, he’s a puck-moving guy and we’re looking to break pucks out of our own end better,” Lambert said.
Holmstrom and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon Remained on the ice after the skate with forwards Kyle Palmieri (upper body) and Ross Johnston (healthy scratch), and defenseman Adam Pelech (upper body). — Denis P. Gorman
Pittsburgh Penguins
Kris Letang returned to the Penguins on Tuesday after being away for 15 days.
The defenseman had been in Montreal since Jan. 2 Following the death of his father, Claude Fouquet. Letang left 12 minutes into an optional practice Tuesday wearing a no-contact jersey after skating on his own for about 35 minutes, as planned.
Letang is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will miss his ninth straight game when Pittsburgh plays at the Ottawa Senators (7 pm ET; SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+).
“Obviously, he means a lot to our team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday. “He’s part of this family. For him to be back around the group, it was a great feeling for everybody. We’re looking forward to him joining us for a game.”
Letang was moved from a non-roster status to injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 28. He did not skate during his time away, which began before Pittsburgh’s 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on Jan. 2.
“He skated for close to 50 minutes today,” Sullivan said. “That’s his first day on the ice in a couple weeks, so we want to make sure we put him in a position to be successful.”
Letang missed five games earlier this season after having a stroke, the second of his NHL career, on Nov. 28. He had four points (one goal, three assists) in eight games after returning Dec. 10.
Goalie Tristan Jarry practiced for the first time since a lower-body injury sustained in the Winter Classic but is unsure when he’ll return.
Defenseman Jeff Petry (upper body) and forward Ryan Poehling (upper body) each took full contact. Petry has been out since Dec. 10; Poehling hasn’t played since Dec. 30.
Defenseman Jan Rutta did not practice after missing a 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday with an upper-body injury. He is day to day. — Wes Crosby
St. Louis Blues
Vladimir Tarasenko could return from a hand injury sooner than expected.
The forward injured his right hand blocking a shot by the Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba in the first period of a 5-2 loss Dec. 31. At the time, the Blues said Tarasenko would be reevaluated in four weeks, but he practiced in full Sunday after skating the past few days on his own. He rotated in on a line with Brayden Schenn and Brandon Saad.
“It was really good, he looked really good,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “He was skating well and shooting a little bit, which is a good sign.”
Tarasenko, who has 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 34 games this season, did not play against the Ottawa Senators on Monday but could return as early as Thursday against the Nashville Predators at Enterprise Center (8 pm ET; BSMW, BSSO , ESPN+, SN NOW).
“He’s closer than we’re thinking,” Berube said. “He looks good. … He looked really good skating out there. He’s not going to have an issue with that.
“We’ll see. I don’t know. He’s got to keep practicing with us and then he’ll let us know when he’s ready. … It’ll be good for sure to get him back.”
Tarasenko and center Ryan O’Reilly, who broke his foot in the same game, have each missed the past eight games. St. Louis is 5-3-0 without them. — Lou Korac
Chicago Blackhawks
Alex Stalock is in concussion protocol and will not join the Blackhawks for their two-game road trip beginning at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 pm ET; NBCSP, NBCSCH, ESPN+, SN NOW).
“Just in the protocol with no real timeline yet,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “It’s the same as last time. It takes a few days to figure out where he’s at. Probably won’t know much more until we get back.”
Stalock was in protocol from Nov. 1-Dec. 23 after he was injured in a collision with the New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas during a 3-1 loss Nov. 1. He was out most of last week because of a non-COVID related illness and didn’t skate until Sunday. He played the final 47:50 of an 8-5 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday Petr Mrazek allowed four goals on five shots in the first 12:08.
Stalock is 6-6-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 14 games (12 starts) this season.
Mrazek started and made 30 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabers on Tuesday. Goalie Jackson Stauberrecalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League, was the backup. — Tracey Myers
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