Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin's fractured thumb is healing as expected, and general manager Steve Yzerman said Saturday he could be ready for the season opener or shortly thereafter.

Drouin sustained a slight fracture in his right thumb in a training camp practice Sept. 18 and was projected to miss 3-4 weeks. The Lightning open the regular season Oct. 9 against the Florida Panthers, which would be exactly three weeks after the injury occurred.

Forward Sam Bennett, the No. 4 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, will not play for the Calgary Flames in a preseason game against the Winnipeg Jets because of an undisclosed injury.

"He's in Calgary right now and he's going to get checked by our doctors and we will have news probably on Tuesday," coach Bob Hartley told the Flames website.

Injured forward Phil Kessel and defenseman Cody Franson skated Saturday but their status for the Toronto Maple Leafs season opener Wednesday is unknown.

Kessel, who has a lower-body injury, skated for about 20 minutes Saturday, the Toronto Sun reported.

"With Phil, sometimes the plan is different then ours," coach Randy Carlyle told the newspaper. "He came out, tried it, didn't feel it was 100 percent. ... The idea is that if you don’t practice, you don't play."

Franson skated for the first time since sustaining a knee injury in a preseason game Sept. 26. The regular season begins Oct. 8 against the Montreal Canadiens.

The New York Islanders on Saturday returned both of their 2014 first-round draft picks to their junior teams. Michael Dal Colle (No. 5) was sent back to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League and Joshua Ho-Sang (No. 28) was returned to the OHL's Windsor Spitfires.

Los Angeles Kings forward Marian Gaborik took part in a full practice Friday for the first time since sustaining a muscle injury in an undisclosed area of his body earlier in training camp.

Gaborik likely won't play in the Kings' preseason finale against the Colorado Avalanche in Las Vegas on Saturday, but he told Kingsinsider.com he's confident he'll be ready for the season opener against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 8.

"It feels good to be out there for the full practice," Gaborik said. "I don’t think I’m going to play tomorrow. Just want to make sure everything is ready for the home opener."

The Anaheim Ducks expect injured defenseman Cam Fowler and forward Dany Heatley to play at some point during their season-opening road trip next week, coach Bruce Boudreau said Friday.

Fowler was injured at practice Thursday. He had to be helped off the ice and did not put weight on his left leg.

"He’s hopeful to be playing on the trip, so we’ll see how it goes day by day," Boudreau told the Ducks website. "He said he wanted to play on the trip. I don’t really know what that means, whether it’s Thursday or Saturday. He felt good today, but every time I ask a player, they say they feel good, or they feel better. We're anticipating both him and Heatley will play on this trip."

Goaltender Roberto Luongo is in his second stint with the Florida Panthers after being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in March. He told NHL Live on Friday that there have been a lot of changes to the Panthers' franchise since he was traded to Vancouver in the summer of 2006.

"The only reason I came back was that I felt things were different with the new ownership and their commitment to bringing in some new players and trying to build a winner," he said. "I think we have a good nucleus of players, and we brought in some good veterans -- guys who've won the Stanley Cup. Hopefully we can put things together and make a run for a playoff spot."

Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk practiced with teammates for the second straight day but said his injured shoulder is not healed enough for game action.

"I feel good to be with the team, skate and I try to keep the pace but it's still not ready," Datsyuk told the Red Wings website. "It still bothers me."

Defenseman Samuel Morin, the Philadelphia Flyers' first pick (No. 11) at the 2013 NHL Draft, has been returned to his junior team, the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Flyers announced Friday.

In five preseason games Morin had a plus-2 rating, four penalty minutes and 10 shots on goal.

Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak will not play Friday against the Detroit Red Wings because of lower-body injuries, coach Randy Carlyle said.

"He's got a sore body part," Carlyle said of Kessel. "Lower body. Bozak, Kessel, [David] Clarkson will not play."

Clarkson sustained a broken orbital bone during a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 26.