NHL Buzz: Hughes leaves practice early, questionable for Canucks on Wednesday
Chinakhov returns from injury for Blue Jackets; J. Hughes out for Devils
© Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images
Vancouver Canucks
Quinn Hughes returned to practice on Tuesday but left after 15 minutes.
Hughes, who remains day to day, sustained his latest injury in a 6-3 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, when he sat out the final 9:05 before also missing practice on Sunday. The loss to Seattle was just the third game back for the reigning Norris Trophy winner after being out for more than three weeks (six games missed).
"I told him, unless you really feel half decent in the sense, I don't want you to push it. So, he went out for 15 (minutes)," Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "It was a little bit of a plan. It's more important that after 15 minutes he gets off, another 24 hours, see how he feels. It's just a tough break. It's been like that for a while with Quinn, and we're going to have to manage it."
Tocchet wasn't sure if Hughes, who also missed four games with a hand injury from Dec. 28-Jan. 3, will play against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; SNP, KCOP-13, Victory+).
Vancouver (27-22-11) is tied with the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conferece.
"I don't think it's to a point where it's threatening anything. There's a little bit of pain, but we wouldn't let him play if it was physically going to hurt him, like a long-term thing," Tocchet said. "Nobody's ever really 100 percent at this time of the year anyways, but he's a competitor, but also sometimes I've got to intervene and be the bad guy. Listen, the guy wants to play, we're in a dog fight (for the playoffs), and he's just that type of guy."
Hughes has 60 points (14 goals, 46 assists) in 50 games, which leads Vancouver and is third among NHL defensemen. He also leads the team in average ice time per game (25:07).
Tocchet said he'll discuss the possibility of a longer absence with the medical team.
"Is it better to shut him down for like seven days and do we get him for the last 15 (games)?" Tocchet said. "I don't know at this point. We've got to try to figure that out." -- Kevin Woodley
Columbus Blue Jackets
Yegor Chinakhov was activated from injured reserve and returned for the Blue Jackets at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
The forward had missed the previous 39 games with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 27. He has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 21 games this season.
"I'm good right now and that's all I need," Chinakhov said after the morning skate. "I'm so happy to help my team get a playoff spot, and then just do what I can do. I want to extend the season because I missed a lot, and I just want to play in the playoffs."
A first-round pick (No. 21) by the Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL Draft, Chinakhov has 70 points (34 goals, 36 assists) in 166 games.
Cole Sillinger (upper body) was placed on injured reserve. The forward missed Columbus’ 5-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Saturday after being injured in the game prior at Detroit on Feb. 27.
Sillinger has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 54 games this season. -- Corey Long
Edmonton Oilers
Darnell Nurse will return from an undisclosed injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, Victory+).
The Oilers defenseman missed the last two of a five-game road trip that concluded with a 3-1 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. He went crashing into the corner boards attempting to hit forward Mitchell Chaffee in the first period of a 4-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 25.
Nurse was slow to get up and was seen laboring on the bench, although he played the rest of the game. Chaffee lost an edge right before impact and Nurse went into the boards hard with his left shoulder absorbing most of the impact.
“Hopefully, we’ll see,” Nurse said after practice Monday. “It’s not fun to watch anytime, especially a trip like that. I thought we played well in Florida (4-3 loss on Feb. 27) and then had a great team game in Carolina. They’re tough to watch, but it’s a lot of fun when you see guys going out there and making huge plays like we did in Carolina.”
Nurse has 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in 55 games while averaging 21:49 of ice time.
The 30-year-old missed three games from Nov. 18-21 following a hit by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves in a 4-3 overtime loss Nov. 16. Reaves was suspended five games for an illegal check to the head. -- Derek Van Diest
New Jersey Devils
Jack Hughes did not play for the Devils against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday as the team awaits test results for his undisclosed injury.
The 23-year-old center was tripped into the end boards during a breakout while short-handed at 18:12 of the third period in a 2-0 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. He skated off the ice gingerly while favoring his right shoulder.
Hughes leads the Devils in goals (27), points (70), game-winning goals (seven), shots on goal (229), and average ice time per game (20:54) and is second in assists (43) behind Jesper Bratt (51).
"We don't know the full extent of it yet," coach Sheldon Keefe told the Devils website Tuesday. "We're expecting an update as a result of some tests that he's had done, but we don't have those results quite yet. Obviously, it didn’t look good. We’re going to have to take our time to know the full extent of it."
Dawson Mercer replaced Hughes on line rushes during the morning skate Tuesday, skating alongside Ondrej Palat and Tomas Tatar. -- Mike G. Morreale
Florida Panthers
Jesper Boqvist signed a two-year contract with the Panthers on Tuesday. Financial terms were not released.
The 26-year-old forward has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 59 games this season, his first with the panthers after signing a one-year contract July 1, 2024.
"Jesper has proven to be a highly competitive and dynamic forward who can be used in all situations," general manager Bill Zito said. "He fits seamlessly with our group, and we are excited to have him continue his career with the Florida Panthers."
Selected by the Devils in the second round (No. 36) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Boqvist has 91 points (46 goals, 45 assists) in 295 regular-season games for the Panthers, Boston Bruins and Devils and one assist in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Vegas Golden Knights
Forwards William Karlsson and Cole Schwindt participated in practice Tuesday in noncontact jerseys, but neither is expected to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, MAX).
Karlsson, who hasn't played since Jan. 20 because of a lower-body injury, participated in a few drills before leaving practice. He has seven goals and 11 assists in 38 games this season.
Schwindt took part in most drills; he sustained an upper-body injury Jan. 18 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Schwindt has seven assists in 45 games this season.
"They're excited to be around people. It's been a while. They're a little bit on different schedules," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "'Karly' was, by design, to take about two drills and then get some rest. Schwindt had a little more runway today, so we'll see how that plays out.
"That's always a good start when they're back in the group. The next step is getting them out of [noncontact jerseys] and get them fully integrated. We'll see how that goes." -- Paul Delos Santos
Seattle Kraken
Yanni Gourde is a game-time decision against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNOX, KHN, KONG) after missing 22 games to recover from sports hernia surgery.
Gourde, a center, hasn’t played since a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 2. He has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 35 games this season.
“I’m just going back to the playoffs two years ago, when he was a guy that, in a large aspect, drew the team into the playoff series and drew them into the fight,” Kraken coach Dan Byslma said. “He’s a spearhead of compete and competitiveness and energy and work. That’s all part of what Yanni brings as a player, and that’s what he’s done for our group and our team for a long time now.”
If Gourde plays, he will likely be on the fourth line between Brandon Tanev and Jordan Eberle.
The 33-year-old has 332 points (132 goals, 200 assists) in 580 regular-season games with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Kraken, and 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists) in 83 playoff games. He won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. -- Darren Brown
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tristan Jarry was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Monday.
The goalie returns to Pittsburgh after being placed on waivers Jan. 15 and assigned to the AHL once he cleared. Joel Blomqvist, a 23-year-old rookie goalie, was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a corresponding move after allowing six goals on 33 shots in the Penguins’ 6-5 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Expected to be the primary starter for Pittsburgh entering training camp, Jarry is 8-8-4 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .884 save percentage in 22 NHL games (21 starts) this season.
The 29-year-old is 6-5-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage in 12 games across two stints with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He went there on a conditioning loan Oct. 26 and was 4-1-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .926 save percentage before being recalled Nov. 9.
"The previous stint (in the AHL) was as it was deemed -- conditioning,” Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said on Jan. 15. “He really didn't go down there to try to get his big game back on track. We knew it was going to be two weeks. There's no timeline on this one. The job is now, if he were to clear, to go and earn his way back up. It's solely circumstantial with this.”
A two-time NHL All-Star (2020, 2022), Jarry is 144-93-29 in nine seasons since being selected by the Penguins in the second round (No. 44) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
He will resume a goalie tandem with Alex Nedeljkovic, who has allowed a goal on the first shot faced in each of his past three starts. In his eighth NHL season, and second in Pittsburgh, Nedeljkovic is 12-12-5 with a 3.18 GAA and .892 save percentage.
The Penguins (24-29-10), who have lost six of seven (1-5-1), visit the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, ALT, SNE, TVAS). -- Wes Crosby
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider (upper body) missed his fifth straight game Monday, a 4-0 win against the New York Islanders.
The forward participated in the morning skate Sunday but did not play in a 4-0 win against the Nashville Predators. Kreider was placed on injured reserve Saturday but can be activated at any time.
The injury is not related to the back injury that Kreider dealt with earlier in the season. He has 21 points (17 goals, four assists) in 48 games this season.
Brett Berard was recalled from Hartford of the AHL and scored in the win against the Predators. The rookie forward has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 21 games with the Rangers this season. He was first recalled from Hartford on Nov. 24 and reassigned on Jan. 11.
New York (31-26-4) hosts the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, MSG). -- Dan Rosen
