NHL Buzz: Sillinger out for Blue Jackets in Stadium Series

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Columbus Blue Jackets

Cole Sillinger will not play in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday due to an upper-body injury sustained Thursday, but coach Dean Evason said the forward may not be out long term.

Sillinger was injured in the Blue Jackets’ 5-2 win at the Red Wings on Thursday, not returning after taking a hit by Moritz Seider. His last shift ended with 6:18 left in the first period.

The 21-year-old has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 54 games this season. The Blue Jackets enter the outdoor game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA) tied with the Red Wings for the two wild card spots into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

New York Rangers

J.T. Miller and K'Andre Miller were in the lineup for the Rangers in a 3-2 loss against the Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on Friday, while Chris Kreider was out.

Kreider, a forward, missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. He was a full participant in practice Thursday on a line with left wing Will Cuylle and center Mika Zibanejad and was on the ice for the optional morning skate.

J.T. Miller, a forward, did not practice Thursday because of an illness but took part in New York's optional morning skate Friday. He had an assist and won 13 of 16 face-offs in 19:42 of ice time.

K’Andre Miller, a defenseman, sustained a lower-body injury in the Rangers' 5-1 win at the New York Islanders on Tuesday and left midway through the second period after playing 10:13. He took part in practice Thursday in a noncontact jersey but was on the ice for the optional morning skate in a regular jersey on Friday. He played 23:30 against the Maple Leafs with three shots on goal.-- Dave McCarthy

Los Angeles Kings

Drew Doughty returned to the lineup for the Kings in a 6-2 loss against the Dallas Stars on Friday after missing a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday with a lower-body injury.

Though the defenseman did not disclose specifics of his injury, he indicated to the team website Friday it's something that will need to be managed the remainder of this season.

Doughty missed the first 47 games of the season after breaking his ankle in a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 25. He made his NHL season debut on Jan. 29 before playing for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this month.

He has four points (one goal, three assists) in nine games since his return. -- Taylor Baird

Toronto Maple Leafs

Max Pacioretty has been placed on injured reserve and did not play in a 3-2 win against the Rangers on Friday.

The forward missed his fourth straight game because of tightness that began during practice after returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, according to coach Craig Berube.

Chris Tanev is day to day with an upper-body injury and also was not in the lineup at New York.

The defenseman left a 5-4 overtime win at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday after only two shifts and 49 seconds of ice time, and did not practice Wednesday.

Philippe Myers, who has been a healthy scratch the past three games, replaced Tanev against the Rangers and skated on a pair with Jake McCabe. Myers was plus-2 in 18:28 of ice time.

Defenseman Marshall Rifai was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Friday.

William Nylander played 21:21 against the Bruins but the forward did not take a shift in overtime. He did not practice on Wednesday but was in the lineup against the Rangers.

Nylander skated in his usual spot at right wing on a line with left wing Pontus Holmberg and center John Tavares at Toronto’s morning skate on Friday and scored his 34th goal of the season. -- Dave McCarthy

New York Islanders

Defenseman Mike Reilly has been cleared for contact.

The 31-year-old has been out of the lineup since Nov. 1 after sustaining a concussion in a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres, leading to the discovery of a heart defect.

Reilly underwent a heart procedure Nov. 19; he began skating before practice and morning skates as of Jan. 2 and returned to team practice Feb. 23 wearing a regular practice jersey.

There is no timetable for when he can return.

"It's been such a tough, tough year for him in terms of hockey," Islanders forward Brock Nelson said. "But bigger picture, I think he's feeling healthy and good, and that's the most important thing. It was kind of a blessing in disguise that [the defect] was found and taken care of, and to get him back at practice is great.”

Reilly, who signed a one-year contract July 1, has no points in 11 games.

Goalie Marcus Hogberg, who has missed the past 10 games with an upper-body injury and is on injured reserve, has yet to take shots. He is skating before practice with goaltender coach Piero Greco. -- Stefen Rosner

Vancouver Canucks

Noah Juulsen will be out the rest of the regular season after having a lower-body procedure.

The defenseman, who hasn’t played since Feb. 2, has a recovery time of about 12 weeks; he had previously been listed as week to week.

The 27-year-old has no points in 35 games this season. Among Vancouver defensemen, he is first with 101 hits and third with 60 blocked shots.

Selected by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 26 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Juulsen has 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 157 regular-season games for the Canadiens, Florida Panthers and Canucks, and no points in two Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Vancouver (27-21-11) plays at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; KHN, KONG, CITY, SN, CBC).

Pittsburgh Penguins

Michael Bunting was placed on injured reserve and is out indefinitely after having surgery Wednesday to remove his appendix.

The forward did not practice a day after having one assist in 13:17 of ice time during a 6-1 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

"He'll be out here for the next little while," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. "I don't know the timeframe at this point, but that's that."

Bunting has 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 58 games this season with 15 points (nine goals, six assists) on the power play.

"He makes it hard on our opponents in a number of different ways," Sullivan said. "He also has an uncanny ability to irritate people out there. That helps the group. When you have players like that, I think it drags us into the fight and that's an important aspect of becoming a team and making sure that we're invested emotionally into the game. He's one of those guys."

Pittsburgh hosts the Boston Bruins on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS). -- Wes Crosby

Florida Panthers

Matthew Tkachuk is out at least the next two games with a lower-body injury, coach Paul Maurice said Friday.

The Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Thursday in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Tkachuk's former team, the Calgary Flames, visits Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SN).

Maurice did not have much of a timeline other than saying Tkachuk is out near term. The forward was injured while playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. After sitting out the final 12:36 of the third period against Canada on Feb. 15, Tkachuk did not play against Sweden on Feb. 17.

Tkachuk was in the lineup for the championship game against Canada on Feb. 20, but was limited to 6:47 of ice time and did not play in the third period or overtime of a 3-2 overtime loss.

"We just don't need to hurry right now because he is not playing on the weekend," Maurice said. "We're not jamming him back into the game. We're just going to make sure we see as many people as we need to see, and we get a really good handle on how it wants to be." -- George Richards

Nashville Predators

Roman Josi is being evaluated and did not play in a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

The defenseman is day to day with an upper-body injury. Nashville's captain was boarded by Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett and did not play the third period of a 4-1 loss Tuesday.

"I'm not a doctor," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "I don't really know. Obviously with those things, it's day to day. Could be week to week. It could be season-ending. We don't really know yet."

Josi has 38 points (nine goals, 29 assists) in 53 games.

The Predators are already without defensemen Jeremy Lauzon (lower body) and Adam Wilsby (upper body), who are each out for the remainder of the season. Nashville visits the New York Islanders on Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN, NHLN). -- Robby Stanley

Boston Bruins

Trent Frederic is week to week with a lower-body injury and did not play in a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.

The forward exited a 5-4 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday early in the second period and did not return after a hit by Jake McCabe.

Riley Tufte, who was a healthy scratch Tuesday, replaced Frederic against the Islanders.

Frederic has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 57 games this season.

The Bruins play at the Penguins on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS). -- Joe McDonald