NHL Buzz: MacKinnon back for Avalanche against Maple Leafs

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

Colorado Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon returned to play for the Avalanche against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
The center missed eight games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 6. MacKinnon practiced Monday wearing a regular jersey for the first time since he was injured.
"He's been feeling great," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told Altitude Sports Radio on Tuesday. "He had the day off and had the big day of practice yesterday, went through all different kinds of scenarios. He's done a really nice job of remaining on target and getting himself healthy, getting himself back ready to play."
Colorado was 7-1-0 without MacKinnon, who has scored 10 points (one goal, nine assists), in eight games this season.

Philadelphia Flyers

Kevin Hayes returned to play for the Flyers against the New York Rangers after missing six games with an abdominal injury.
The forward had core muscle surgery in May and abdominal surgery Sept. 21 that caused him to miss the first 12 games of the season. He reinjured his abdominal muscles during a 2-1 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 16. He scored two points (one goal, one assist) in two games.
"I feel better now than I felt all of last season that led to the surgery," Hayes said. "Just a lot of stuff going on with my core and my adductors. Got the surgery [in May], took some time off, felt fine. Came back, got another surgery right when camp started, didn't really feel too good. We rehabbed it and when you don't skate for so long, you feel fine.
"Then you think you're good and you go out and play a couple games and all of a sudden you're back to square one, and that's definitely not a process you want to keep doing, where you play two games and sit out for two weeks. … I just did some different stuff, saw some different people and feel good with the guy I saw. He's really good at his job and he did some stuff and I feel a lot better."
Coach Alain Vigneault said Hayes would take a regular shift at 5-on-5 and play on the power play but would not be used to kill penalties. He averaged 1:19 of shorthanded ice time per game last season, fifth among Flyers forwards. -- Adam Kimelman

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Buffalo Sabres

Casey Mittelstadt will return to the lineup for the Sabres at the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, MSG-B, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The center has missed 21 games with an upper-body injury sustained in the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 14. He rejoined the Sabres for practice on Nov. 24.
"I'm excited," Mittelstadt said Wednesday. "I've been chomping at the bit for a while now. I'm definitely excited."
Mittelstadt scored 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 41 games last season.
"Not only is [Mittelstadt] a talented guy and an emerging guy, where he's at in the stage of his career, like we see with (forward Tage) Thompson, he's going to get better game by game, week by week," Granato said. "And he's already good. And he's a leader. He's an ultra-competitor, which makes him a leader."
Forward Alex Tuch (shoulder) skated with the Sabres for a third straight day Wednesday, and goalie Craig Anderson (upper body) skated on his own. Tuch has not played this season; Anderson has not played since Nov. 2.
"We wanted to get [Tuch] involved as much as we could with our guys," Granato said. "We felt that was an opportunity to get him in. It's tough when you're injured. We brought Craig Anderson on the (two-game) trip as well for that reason. … We're going to have a lot of team time where we're not playing so we wanted to include those guys."

Anaheim Ducks

Ryan Getzlaf is questionable to play for the Ducks against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; BSW, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The center sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of a 5-4 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday delivering a check to Alex Iafallo at 9:36.
Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said Getzlaf would be evaluated Wednesday.
Getzlaf is second on Anaheim with 20 points (one goal, 19 assists) in 23 games this season, behind forward Troy Terry (24 points).

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ilya Mikheyev could join the Maple Leafs for their upcoming western road trip, which begins at the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 14.
The forward has not played this season after breaking his thumb in a preseason game on Oct. 9 and was expected to be out at least eight weeks after having surgery.
"The plan is ... he's going to see the doctors again tonight, get another X-ray and an update on how things are progressing and then looking to try to take the next step if everything is OK there, which is resuming practices and working up his conditioning," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said after practice Wednesday.
"We've talked about having him come on the trip out west with us. Whether or not he is going to play, that will be determined on how he is progressing."
Mikheyev scored 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 54 games last season.
The Maple Leafs had six games before that road trip, including at home against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.