Philadelphia Flyers
Sean Couturier will not need surgery for an upper-body injury but remains week to week, the Flyers said Wednesday.
The center has not taken part in the training camp, which began Sept. 22, because of the injury, which the team announced three days earlier.
Couturier didn’t play after Dec. 18 last season and had back surgery Feb. 11. He said Sept. 12 that it had been about two weeks since doctors had cleared him to be a full participant in training camp.
“I feel good,” Couturier said that day. “I had a long recovery. [It] It took longer than I thought, a lot of ups and downs, but now I’m feeling good and ready to go. Excited to get going again.”
The Flyers open the regular season Oct. 13 against the New Jersey Devils. — Adam Kimelman
Pittsburgh Penguins
Teddy Blueger suffered an upper-body injury early in practice Wednesday. The Penguins forward is still being evaluated, coach Mike Sullivan said.
Blueger was third-line center Tuesday, replacing the injured forward Jeff Carter in a 6-2 preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Blueger is usually on the fourth line when the top three centers, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Carter, are healthy.
Ryan Poehling moved from center on the fourth line into Blueger’s spot on the third between left wing Brock McGinn and right wing Josh Archibald on Wednesday.
“[Poehling] has just got a steady game,” Sullivan said. “He’s got a steady two-way game. He’s positionally pretty sound. He’s been decent on the face-offs. I think he’s got a good defensive conscience.”
Blueger had an NHL career-high 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 65 games last season.
Carter did not practice Wednesday after sustaining an upper-body injury during a scrimmage Saturday. He is day to day.
Kasperi Kapanen, who played right wing on the third line early in camp, was also absent with an undisclosed illness. He was originally listed as part of the game group Tuesday before missing the morning skate. The illness is not expected to be long term. — Wes Crosby
Vancouver Canucks
Ilya Mikheyev is week to week for the Canucks because of a lower-body injury.
The forward did not practice Tuesday after he was injured during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames in a preseason game Sunday. Mikheyev had no shots on goal in 7:31 of ice time and left after getting hit into the boards 4:17 into the second period.
Mikheyev was playing on a line with center Elias Pettersson and wing Andrei Kuzmenko. He was replaced by forward Nils Hoglander.
Forward Conor Garland moved onto the top line with center JT Miller instead of Brock Boeserwho will miss 3-4 weeks after having hand surgery Monday. Kuzmenko was moved up to the top power-play unit.
“When you don’t have two of your top six guys, you’re shuffling the lines a bit,” Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “When one guy goes down another guy has got to step up. If they’re good enough they’ll make it tough on anybody that returns. That’s the way I would look at it if I was the player. What a great opportunity. “
Defenseman Travis Dermott was helped off the bench after leaving practice early Tuesday.
“He looked like he got hit there and just feeling a little woozy and we just … if you’re feeling a little woozy, just take the rest of the day off,” Boudreau said. “We don’t need anybody else getting hurt.”
Vancouver opens the regular season Oct. 12 against the Edmonton Oilers. — Kevin Woodley
Toronto Maple Leafs
Jake Muzzin practiced with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday for the first time since training camp began.
The defenseman was held out of practice Thursday and Friday last week because of back discomfort and skated on his own away from the main group Monday and Tuesday.
Muzzin, who skated on a defense pair with Justin Holldeparted halfway through practice, although coach Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday that Muzzin likely would not participate in the full session.
Muzzin was limited to 47 regular-season games because of two separate concussions and an undisclosed injury in April last season. He had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in the regular season and three points (two goals, one assist) in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games. — Dave McCarthy
New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier was limited to 6:24 of ice time in a 2-1 preseason win at the Montreal Canadiens on Monday because of cramping.
The center, who is Devils captain, played nine shifts, all in the first period. The ailment was not considered serious, according to coach Lindy Ruff.
“Last night was more precautionary,” Ruff said Tuesday. “He’ll undergo some tests today just to make sure everything is good. I had a really good conversation with him, leading me to believe he’ll be playing again in the preseason, but you never know where some of these things lead. “
Hischier centered the top line with the left wing Tomas Tatar and Jesper Bratt on Monday. Jesper Boqvist, Tyce Thompson and Aarne Talvitie were the other three centers against the Canadiens.
Hischier, who set NHL career highs in goals (21), assists (39) and points (60) in 70 games last season, did not play in a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday. — Mike G. Morreale
Minnesota Wild
Kirill Kaprizov did not play for the Wild in their 5-2 preseason win against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
The forward was hit in the ankle by a shot from a teammate Frederick Gaudreau in the third period of a 3-2 overtime win against the Avalanche in a preseason game Sunday. He hobbled to the bench and took his next shift before leaving late and not playing in overtime.
“No issues,” Wild coach Dean Evason said Monday. “He’s not going to skate today. He doesn’t need to skate today. But he’s fine. It’s just simply he got a shot there in the foot. Why put his boot in it today? Let’s let it calm right down and get better “
Kaprizov will be evaluated daily to see if it makes sense to have him participate or keep him out.
“We’ll make sure we’re doing the right things,” Evason said. “In all honesty, I don’t think he’s scheduled to play again until the next home game.”
The Wild play their next three preseason games on the road before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 6. They open the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 13. — Jessie Pierce
Edmonton Oilers
Reid Schaeferthe Oilers’ first-round pick (No. 32) in the 2022 NHL Draft, was returned to Seattle of the Western Hockey League.
The forward had no points and one shot on goal in two preseason games but received praise during his first NHL training camp.
“I think Reid Schaefer is going to be a real good Edmonton Oiler one day,” coach Jay Woodcroft said after a 3-0 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Monday. “He’s someone who obviously has some natural gifts. He’s a big man (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), shoots the puck very well, skates well for a big man, he’s in great shape. And he’s left a real positive impression. on the management and coaching staff, and most importantly on his future teammates.
“He’s had a really good camp. There’s been some learning moments for him and that’s all part of it when you go to your first NHL camp. I think he’s left a really good impression here.”
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