Buffalo Sabres leading scorer Thomas Vanek will miss Saturday's game against the New Jersey Devils with an upper-body injury.

Sabres coach Ron Rolston is hopeful Vanek can return to the lineup for Sunday's game at the New York Rangers.

Brian Flynn was called up from Rochester of the American Hockey League and will make his NHL debut.

Vanek has 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points, good for third in the League scoring race.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said injured center Evgeni Malkin has done off-ice workouts each of the past two days.

"Evgeni Malkin has been working out the last two days, not skating, back in Pittsburgh," Bylsma said Saturday before his team played the Montreal Canadiens.

Bylsma said there was no medical reason Malkin did not skate Saturday, that it was an ice-availability issue. He suffered a concussion in a Feb. 22 game against the Florida Panthers and was placed on injured reserve Sunday.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Paul Martin, who left Thursday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury, will apparently remain out of the lineup Saturday. He did not appear with the Penguins at the team's morning skate ahead of their matchup Saturday night at the Bell Centre against the Montreal Canadiens.

PHILADELPHIA -- With the early start to Saturday's game, neither the Ottawa Senators nor the Philadelphia Flyers skated before their game.

With the Flyers coming off a win against the Washington Capitals in their prior game, it's doubtful they change their lineup. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who left that Feb. 27 game against the Capitals with a lower-body injury, said after practice Friday he would be ready to play Saturday.

The Senators, who lost in overtime to the Boston Bruins on Thursday, will make one lineup change, with Ben Bishop to start in goal after Robin Lehner made 44 saves in the overtime loss to the Bruins.

The St. Louis Blues announced Saturday they have placed forward Alexander Steen on injured reserve.

Steen suffered an upper-body injury during practice Tuesday.

CHICAGO -- Despite looking wobbly leaving the ice after one period and not returning to a 3-0 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was back on the ice Friday at United Center for an optional morning skate.

Ray Emery, who was named the National Hockey League’s third star for February on Friday, relieved Crawford for the final two periods and preserved the win and shutout, Chicago’s second in the past three games.

Prior to playing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night (8:30 p.m. ET, NHLN-US), Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Crawford was feeling better and would be on the bench as Emery’s backup.

“Corey’s fine,” Quenneville said. “He skated this morning. I think they both could go today if they [had] to, but Ray did a nice job. The decision-making going into games, into these three games in 3-1/2 days here, this was kind of the plan. We’re going to have Corey and Ray [available] tonight and we’ll go from there.”

CISCO NHL Live talks with Florida Panthers and NHL Rookie of the Month for February Jonathan Huberdeau.

CISCO NHL Live talks with Winnipeg Jets Forward Evander Kane.

After winning the President’s Trophy in 2012, the Vancouver Canucks were upset in the playoffs by the 8th seed LA Kings, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup. After dropping their first game to LA this year, the Canucks are still looking for revenge. Both teams are beginning to hit their stride and are adapting to the condensed schedule, so this should be one to watch. Find the Official NHL®13 Game Prediction below. Watch the LA Kings take on the Vancouver Canucks on March 2nd at 10 ET on the NHL Network.

Keys to the Game

LA Kings

• Contain the Twins

Easy to say but hard to accomplish, the Kings need to keep the Sedins to the outside and eliminate the down low passing as much as possible.

• Traffic In The Crease

You can’t stop what you can’t see, and that’s the name of the game with two solid goalie options in Vancouver. Pucks on net with traffic in front will create deflection chances as well as chances off the rebound.

Vancouver Canucks

• Bury On The PP

It’s no secret that LA isn’t an easy team to score on in recent years, so the Canucks need to take advantage with the extra man. The Kings like to take penalties, and Vancouver has a potent PP that needs to be at its best for this game.

Box Score

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The Colorado Avalanche announced Friday that center Ryan O'Reilly has been medically cleared to play and will practice with the team Saturday.

O'Reilly, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year, $10 million offer sheet with the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Hours later, the Avalanche matched the deal, allowing them to retain O'Reilly.