NHL Buzz: Subban out rest of season for Devils

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2020-21 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

New Jersey Devils

P.K. Subban will not play again this season because the defenseman is still recovering from COVID-19.
"He has yet to skate," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said Saturday.
The Devils have two games remaining, at the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG+2, NHL.TV) and at the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
Subban has missed the past 10 games since being placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol on April 20. He hasn't played since April 18.
He scored 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 44 games this season. Subban was a minus-16 and averaged 22:21 per game. He leads Devils defensemen with 99 shots on goal.
New Jersey (19-28-7) is seventh in the eight-team MassMutual East Division and has been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. The top four teams in the division -- the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and Islanders -- have qualified for the playoffs. -- Dan Rosen

Chicago Blackhawks

Defenseman Duncan Keith and forward Brett Connolly are in concussion protocol and will not play in the final two regular-season games for the Blackhawks.
Both were injured in Chicago's 2-1 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. Keith fell along the boards and collided with a linesman at 9:49 of the first period and did not return for the start of the second. Connolly collided with Hurricanes forward Steven Lorentz in the second period.
Keith scored 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 54 games this season. Connolly, acquired in a trade from the Florida Panthers with defenseman Riley Stillman on April 8, scored six points (three goals, three assists) in 31 games this season, two (one goal, one assist) in 10 games with the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NBCSCH, BSSW, NHL.TV) and Monday. Chicago has been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoffs contention.
Forward Ryan Carpenter (concussion protocol) and defenseman Calvin de Haan (hip) practiced on Saturday but are unlikely to play the final two games. De Haan last played on April 21 against the Nashville Predators and Carpenter last played April 23 against Nashville.
"It's mostly just trying to get them [to where] hopefully they can leave feeling healthy and 100 percent," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Saturday. "Neither one of them is cleared to play yet." -- Tracey Myers

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Boston Bruins

Ondrej Kase could return to the lineup from an upper-body injury Monday or Tuesday.
The forward has not played since sustaining the injury against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 16. He has no points in two games this season.
"There's a chance once he's in contact," coach Bruce Cassidy said Friday. "It wasn't a full-blown, middle-of-the-year practice, but there was some jostling out there, some battling. So let's see how he feels tomorrow."
Cassidy said Kase wouldn't play when the Bruins host the New York Rangers (3 p.m. ET; NBC, NESN, MSG), but could return for one of the final two games of the regular season, against the New York Islanders on Monday or at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
"If there's no ill effects for him tomorrow that really ups his chances for Monday or Tuesday," Cassidy said. "That will depend on where we are, what's the best fit for us. And then, is he ready? What's best for him as well?"
The Bruins (32-14-7) have clinched a berth in the playoffs. They are third in the East, two points behind the second-place Capitals and four points behind the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins. -- Amalie Benjamin