Welcome to the NHL Buzz. With the regular season underway, NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.
Boston Bruins
Linus Ullmark, Brandon Carlo, Derek Forbort and Matthew Poitras will each return to the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, NESN, CITY, TVAS, CBC).
Ullmark (lower body) will start for the first time since Jan. 9, when he exited late in overtime of a 4-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
"Incredibly thankful that [Ullmark's] back this quick," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Saturday. "He looked really good in practice the last two practices, so he's 100 percent."
Carlo (upper body) and Forbort (lower body), each a defenseman, will be activated off injured reserve. Carlo missed the past five games, while Forbort has not played since a 3-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 3 after reaggravating an injury that has bothered him since training camp.
"Ran into a couple setbacks along the way, so I kind of had to restart," Forbort said on Wednesday. "I just kind of had to build it brick by brick, and yeah, it took a lot longer than I thought."
Poitras, a forward, returns after missing four games with an upper-body injury. -- Joe Pohoryles
Ottawa Senators
Josh Norris returned for the Senators in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday
The center, who has missed four games, had an assist in 20:04 of ice time. He has 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 34 games this season.
Norris was injured in a collision with Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm, cartwheeling and landing awkwardly during the third period of a 6-3 loss on Jan. 9.
"That was like Cirque du Soleil stuff," Norris said Friday. "That was weird. I don't want to do that again."
Shane Pinto, whose 41-game suspension for activities relating to sports wagering ends Saturday, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract Friday. He will make his season debut on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
It could be the first game this season that Ottawa dresses each of its top four centers -- Norris, Pinto, Tim Stutzle and Ridly Greig.
"There haven't been a ton of games of us all together in the same lineup," Norris said. "Obviously, I'm looking forward to getting back and I know Shane is excited, too. The whole team is excited for him. It would be great. ... It'll help us out." -- Callum Fraser
Buffalo Sabres
Dylan Cozens and Mattias Samuelsson each returned in a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Cozens, a forward, had a goal in 17:58 of ice time Saturday after not playing in a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. He was injured in a 3-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
Samuelsson, a defenseman, returned and played 20:18. He missed two games with an upper-body injury sustained early in the second period against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 13.
Forward Jeff Skinner missed his fifth straight game Saturday with an upper-body injury sustained Jan. 9 against the Seattle Kraken. At practice Friday, he skated at left wing with Casey Mittelstadt and JJ Peterka and worked in on power-play drills.
Skinner leads Buffalo with 17 goals and is third on the team with 33 points in 38 games.
Defenseman Erik Johnson did not play Saturday after he was injured in the third period of a 3-0 win against the Blackhawks on Thursday following a hit into the end boards. -- Heather Engel
