NHL Buzz: Devils set to return to practice

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New Jersey Devils

The Devils are scheduled to practice at Prudential Center on Monday for the first time following a 13-day pause to comply with NHL COVID-19 protocols.
New Jersey (4-3-2) last played Jan. 31, a 5-3 win in the second of back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils had as many as 19 players on the protocol list since then; they entered their last game with six players on the list and four players were added the following day, when they had three games postponed.
Devils games against the Philadelphia Flyers (Feb. 11 and Feb. 13) and Boston Bruins (Feb. 15) also were postponed because of COVID-19 issues.
New Jersey had five players on the protocol list as of Sunday: forwards Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier and Travis Zajac, and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.
The Devils are next scheduled to visit the New York Rangers on Tuesday. New Jersey's nine games played are the fewest in the NHL this season. -- Mike G. Morreale

Buffalo Sabres

Coach Ralph Krueger and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin were back at practice Sunday.
Krueger was on the ice briefly and spoke with assistant Steve Smith, who ran practice, before leaving. The 61-year-old entered NHL COVID-19 protocol Feb. 4 after testing positive for the virus. Krueger said he'll see how he feels Monday before further decisions are made on his availability.
The Sabres are scheduled to host the New York Islanders on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, MSG-B, NHL.TV).
"I'm definitely feeling better," Krueger said. "I had moderately severe symptoms. I never did end up having a fever, but I did end up with a lot of aches, sleeping and fatigue for more than a week. Definitely a time to realize how lethal this COVID is.
"Really pleased to get back to feeling more normal. I'm taking it one day at a time."
Dahlin said he tested negative for COVID-19 from the beginning and all week and was in protocol because of a close contact. He skated on a defense pair with Colin Miller.
Taylor Hall practiced for the first time Saturday since he was placed in COVID-19 protocol and said he expects to play Monday, Buffalo's first game since a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 31. The forward said he tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic.

Winnipeg Jets

Pierre-Luc Dubois will not play at the Edmonton Oilers on Monday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, TSN3, NHL.TV).
The center will miss his second game with a lower-body injury. He left practice Friday after feeling some tightness.
Jets coach Paul Maurice said it's a physical ailment not related to COVID-19 and Dubois received minor treatment after a 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Though Dubois was on the ice the next day, Maurice said something wasn't right.
"We were just hoping it was going to loosen up," Maurice said. "When he got off the ice, we looked at it and got a little bit of a problem. We're not sure exactly how long it's going to be. It might be a couple of days. It might be a few more days than that."

Edmonton Oilers

Jesse Puljujarvi practiced after he was cleared to resume all team activities Saturday.
The forward is expected in the lineup when the Oilers host the Winnipeg Jets on Monday (9 p.m. ET; SWN, TSN3, NHL.TV). He had to sit out a 3-0 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday due to COVID-19 protocols.
"I just followed the rules and then the doctor and [head athletic therapist T.D. Forss] came to see me," Puljujarvi said. "I can skate this morning and I just followed the rules. I feel good now and I did all the time, so I'm glad to be back."
Puljujarvi did not fly home with the team from Montreal but returned to Edmonton via a private charter flight the next day.
"It's good to see," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "You don't expect something like that, but we've talked about it, so you deal with it. In Jesse's case, you hate to see a young guy like that feel bad about how things turned out, but everybody knows that's the world we live in right now. He's back, he's smiling today, he's working hard and it's good to have him back." -- Derek Van Diest