NHL Live speaks with Buffalo News writer Mike Harrington live from the First Niagara Center.

The Edmonton Oilers have assigned center Mark Arcobello to their American Hockey League affiliate and recalled defenseman Oscar Klefbom, a first-round pick (No. 19) in the 2011 NHL Draft.

General manager Craig MacTavish announced the moves Friday.

New York Rangers All-Star wing Rick Nash skated Friday without a no-contact jersey, his first full-contact practice since suffering a concussion on Oct. 8 that has forced him to miss 15 games.

No word has been given regarding when Nash might return to the New York lineup, but he skated with the second power-play unit as well as on the Rangers' fourth defensive pairing alongside Michael Del Zotto, who will be a healthy scratch for New York's game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Center Dominic Moore, who has missed seven games with a strained oblique muscle, will return to the lineup Saturday against the Canadiens and Nash will travel with the Rangers to Montreal, marking his first team trip since sustaining his head injury. With Moore back in the lineup, Brandon Mashinter will be a healthy scratch. Justin Falk will make his fourth appearance of the season, his first since Oct. 19, replacing Del Zotto.

The Detroit Red Wings announced Friday on Twitter that forward Patrick Eaves has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. Eaves was waived Thursday in an effort to provide cap relief.

Eaves was in his fifth season in Detroit after stints with the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes. The Red Wings also sent forward Jordin Tootoo to the AHL this week.

After starting the season with an injury, Eaves has only played in three games in 2013-14, collecting no points and averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game.

Forward Trevor Smith was recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the American Hockey League on Friday.

Smith, 28, has one goal in nine games with the Maple Leafs; in seven games with the Toronto Marlies, the club's AHL affiliate, he has four goals, eight assists and a plus-4 rating.

Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos returned home Thursday, three days after suffering a broken right tibia in a game against the Boston Bruins.

Stamkos had surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on Tuesday to stabilize the leg.

"Nice to be back home in Tampa," Stamkos said via his Twitter account. "Can't thank all the staff at Mass General enough for all their hard work and dedication the past 4 days!"

The Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday placed forward Michal Handzus on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 25, and recalled forward Alex Broadhurst from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

Handzus, 36, has three points (one goal) in nine games with the Blackhawks. He has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has a grade-2 groin strain, according to Kings coach Darryl Sutter.

The Kings had sent Quick back to Los Angeles on Wednesday for further examination and an MRI test showed the injury.

Sutter said Quick can begin rehabilitating the injury immediately, but said there was no timetable for him to return.

In his absence, the Kings called up Martin Jones from their American Hockey League affiliate to back up Ben Scrivens, who will start Thursday against the New York Islanders.

Kevin Poulin will make his third straight start in net for the New York Islanders when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Poulin is 1-1-0 in his past two games, but stopped 32 of 33 shots in a 3-1 defeat of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

The Islanders also will have center John Tavares in the lineup. Tavares had sat out practice Wednesday to receive treatment for what Newsday reported to be a hip injury sustained during the game against Nashville on Tuesday.

Ben Scrivens will start in goal for the Kings; it will be his first start since Oct. 29. With Jonathan Quick out indefinitely with a groin injury, Scrivens likely will see most of the action for the final three games of Los Angeles' trip, which after Long Island takes the Kings to New Jersey and Madison Square Garden for a game against the New York Rangers.

Here is how both teams' lineups could look Thursday:

New York Rangers forward Rick Nash (head) will return to practice Wednesday, coach Alain Vigneaulttold reporters Tuesday prior to a game against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.

“With concussions, you never know," Vigneault said. "He’s made some big strides and, hopefully, he’ll continue on a daily basis to make strides.

"Since I've seen him on the ice before practice, every day I've asked how he's doing and today I got the call after the morning's skate that he was going to join the team tomorrow. I didn't ask [about contact], I was just told he was going to skate with the boys."