Craig Morgan: Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said that defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson had a setback a few days ago. He is not traveling with the team. His timeline to return is not known at this time.
Joe Haggerty: Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask still isn’t practicing with what is to be believed a back injury.
CBJ Public Relations: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand missed practice with a non-COVID illness.
Matthew DeFranks: Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill said that Tyler Seguin is getting closer to joining the team at practice. Seguin has been skating on his own for the past three weeks. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum back on November 2nd.
Both Alexander Radulov and Roope Hintz have been dealing with lower-body injuries that has had them in and out of the lineup. At some point, both could need surgery. Radulov is not traveling with the team on their road trip.
“He’s better off to be back there rehabbing,” Nill said. “If he is, towards the end of the trip, feeling better, we can always get him in by chartering a flight in.”
Renaud Lavoie: Montreal Canadiens forward Tyler Toffoli will return to the lineup tonight.
Nashville Preds PR: Considered week-to-week with injuries include Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Brad Richardson, Ryan Ellis, Mark Borowiecki and Luca Sbisa.
Bruce Garrioch: Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray hasn’t been clear to play yet.
Mike DeFabo: Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said goaltender Tristan Jarry is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Pens Inside Scoop: Penguins coach Sullivan on their injuries: “Tans participated in a full capacity today. Teddy participated in a non-contact fashion. He also skated with the taxi squad. Geno and Kappy did not skate. They’re going through their rehab protocol off the ice.”
Sheng Peng: San Jose Sharks coach Bob Boughner on the health of Tomas Hertl: “There’s a lot of guys in that room not 100 percent.”
Joe Smith: Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said that defensemen Erik Cernak and Jan Rutta have taken a few steps back and are not as far along as they had hoped. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Mitchell Stephens are close.
Terry Koshan: Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen will have a follow-up appointment according to head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Terry Koshan: Andersen remained in Toronto and they don’t know yet if/when he’ll join the team on their road trip.
David Schoen: Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo returned to the lineup after missing the past 12 games.
David Schoen: Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves missed last night’s game with a lower-body injury.
Ken Wiebe: Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice on Blake Wheeler who left after the first period.
“Not much. We’ll get it looked at tomorrow and have something for you in the next couple of days … It’ wasn’t off the high stick. Just wasn’t feeling right so we wanted to be careful with it.”
…
“Truly, I don’t konw. He may be back on the on the ice full-on the next game. It’s not COVID-related. We just wanted to be real careful with him, and he may be back and never miss a shift again. So it’s wide open right now.”