Welcome to the NHL Buzz. The 2022-23 regular season is underway, and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
New York Rangers
Sammy Blais is expected to play his first regular-season game in nearly a year when the New York Rangers host the Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, BSSC, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The forward missed the first three games this season with an upper-body injury. He missed all but 14 games last season because of a torn ACL in his right knee sustained against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 14.
“He wanted to play but as coaches, we talk to him and say, ‘Sammy, we’re not going to put you in there when you’re not ready to play. The last thing we want is you getting a setback,'” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said Sunday. “This is a minor setback, but he hasn’t played in 10 months, so I understand he really wants to play. He’s ready to go now, feeling good and strong.”
Blais has 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in 133 NHL games for the St. Louis Blues and Rangers.
“I haven’t played in a regular-season game in a while. getting hurt right before the season was a bummer,” Blais said. “I felt really good today on the ice, so I’m just looking forward to tomorrow.”
Though Vitali Kravtsov (upper body) practiced in a non-contact jersey, Ryan Carpenter (upper body) did not. Gallant said each forward is day to day.
St. Louis Blues
Tyler Pitlick was back for his second professional tryout Sunday after he was released from his initial PTO on Oct. 7.
“I’m back and practicing for a bit here and figured they’d take a look at me and see how it goes,” Pitlick said. “… Good thing I had a pretty good showing there in camp, I think, and that’s what has given me this opportunity to come back.”
The 30-year-old forward had four assists in three preseason games. He sustained a lower-body injury in a 4-1 preseason win against the Chicago Blackhawks and went home to Minnesota.
“He’s got speed and sort of the same type of thing as [forward Alexey Toropchenko],” coach Craig Berube said. “From a penalty kill standpoint, to speed, to directness, to north hockey, forechecking, that sort of thing and being physical. That’s his game.
“He was having a good camp. You’ve got to have depth in this league, and it’s important.”
There is uncertainty about Logan Brown, a forward sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered in a 5-2 preseason loss to the Dallas Stars on Oct. 1. With the Blues starting a three-game, seven-day road trip at the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, there could be a need for a forward. — Lou Korac
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matt Murray was placed on long-term injured reserve by the Maple Leafs on Saturday because of an adductor injury.
The goalie was expected to start against the Ottawa Senators but left the ice at the morning skate following the first series of drills after consulting with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford.
“It happened in the skate today, he was 100 percent fine (after his start against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday),” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
Toronto defeated Ottawa 4-3 at Scotiabank Arena. Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves.
Murray made 19 saves in a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens in his Maple Leafs debut. He was acquired in a trade with the Senators on July 11.
Goalie Erik Kallgren was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. — Dave McCarthy
New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier had three shots on goal and was 11-for-16 on face-offs in 17:16 of ice time in his season debut for the Devils, a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The center missed a 5-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday because of a hamstring strain he sustained in a 2-1 preseason win at the Canadiens on Sept. 26.
The Devils are 0-2-0.
“We can’t get too low. It’s two games,” said Hischier, the Devils captain. “We battled hard. It’s really frustrating, but there is way more to go. We can’t get too low. We’re looking to win the next one. That’s the mindset right now. We can’t get too low; 80 more to go.” — Mike G. Morreale