- Rob Rossi via twitter: Penguins Evgeni Malkin took his first hit during practice yesterday. He said he’s “not 100 percent” and added,
“Of course, yes, because (I’m) close,” Malkin said. “I (will) try to play Friday, but it’s hard to say now because it’s just (a) couple days more. We’ll see.”
- Damian Cristodero via twitter: Lightning goalie Anders Lindback is out indefinitely with a right ankle sprain.
- NY Islanders via twitter: Islanders Matt Carkner and Michael Grabner have been activated from the IR.
- Ken Wiebe via twitter: Jets defenseman Tobias Enstrom is not ready yet but “it’s coming soon” according to coach Claude Noel.
- George Johnson of the Calgary Herald: Flames Mikael Backlund played on Monday despite have a cracked bone in his right foot.
“It went better than I thought,” he reported Wednesday. “Not too bad. Obviously the medication kicked in a little later and made it feel better. It’s still sore but once the game started, I felt pretty good. I didn’t think about it too much.”
- Ken Warren via twitter: Senators defenseman Marc Methot could return to the lineup tonight. If he can’t go, Mike Lundin will return to the lineup after missing the last eight games.
- Fluto Shinzawa via twitter: Bruins David Krejci will be a game time decision.
- John Vogl via twitter: Sabres Thomas Vanek didn’t skate this morning and is likely to miss tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs.
- Aaron Ward via twitter: Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu will make his season debut tonight.
- Katie Carrera via twitter: Capitals defenseman Mike Green said he’s good to go tonight.