NHL Buzz: McAvoy could make season debut for Bruins against Flames

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Boston Bruins

Charlie McAvoy could return for the Bruins as soon as Thursday against the Calgary Flames (7 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NESN, ESPN+, SN NOW), coach Jim Montgomery said.
The defenseman led the post-practice stretch Wednesday and received hugs after, just as forward Brad Marchand had the day before he returned from his injury to play his first game of the season on Oct. 27.
However, neither McAvoy nor Montgomery would confirm whether he would play against the Flames.
"McAvoy is checking a lot of boxes," Montgomery said. "He's getting close. He'll be playing within a week, I think. I'm not going to confirm or deny [if he will play Thursday] because there's boxes left to be checked."
McAvoy has not played this season after having a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization surgery June 3. He was expected to be out for six months, which would put his return weeks ahead of schedule.
"I'm doing well," McAvoy said. "We're just continuing to just stack these boxes up. Feel good about where we are and we're just going one day at a time. … As far as check marks and things like that, just say that we feel really good about where we're at. Getting excited."
Boston placed defenseman Mike Reilly on waivers Wednesday with the intent to assign him to Providence of the American Hockey League, an indication that McAvoy's return is close. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Philadelphia Flyers

Carter Hart practiced Wednesday and could play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The goalie missed a 5-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday because of an illness. Felix Sandstrom replaced him and made 27 saves for his first NHL win.
"I'm feeling a little better," Hart said. "Feel a lot better than I did yesterday that's for sure."
Hart is 6-0-2 in eight games. His .946 save percentage is second in the NHL and his 1.97 GAA is third among goalies to play at least five games.
Coach John Tortorella said he wasn't sure if Hart would travel with the Flyers, but Philadelphia sent goalie
Samuel Ersson
, who had been recalled from Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, back to the AHL. Defenseman Egor Zamula was recalled from the AHL after being sent down Tuesday.-- Adam Kimelman

Carolina Hurricanes

Frederik Andersen was unavailable for the Hurricanes in a 3-0 loss at the Florida Panthers on Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury.
Antti Raanta got the start in goal and Pyotr Kochetkov, recalled from Chicago of the AHL on Tuesday, was the backup.
Andersen left practice early Tuesday and did not return. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour did not give an update after Carolina's morning skate Wednesday.
Andersen is 5-3-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage in eight games. He made 18 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Andersen suffered a torn MCL on April 16 and missed the remainder of last season, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Hurricanes lost to the New York Rangers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
Raanta is 3-1-1 in five starts this season with a 2.36 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Kochetkov was 3-0-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .902 save percentage in three games last season. -- Kurt Dusterberg

Florida Panthers

Aaron Ekblad is expected to return for the Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
The defenseman, who was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury Oct. 19, missed his 11th straight game Wednesday, a 3-0 win against the Hurricanes.
Ekblad left in the second period of a 5-3 loss at Boston on Oct. 17. He has one goal in three games this season and 292 points (98 goals, 194 assists) in 557 regular-season games since Florida chose him with the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Matt Murray was a full participant in practice Wednesday for the first time since sustaining an adductor muscle injury on Oct. 15.
"Felt really good," Murray said. "It was exciting to be back on the ice in a real practice scenario so it was a lot of fun."
Murray would not say when he expected to return to the lineup.
"I think right now it's a day-to-day type of thing, see how I feel, keep testing it and just take things one day at a time," the goalie said. "It's improved each day for sure."
Murray allowed four goals on 23 shots in his only start this season, a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 12. Toronto will practice Thursday before playing back-to-back games Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, each at home.
"In a lot of cases at least in my mind with how this thing started off, he's probably a little bit ahead of schedule but I know that because he progressed so quickly in the early going, this weekend was sort of something a couple weeks ago they were targeting as a goal to work towards as long as he continued to progress well," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We're on track here but we are just going to have to make sure we are smart about it and that Matt is feeling comfortable not so much from the physical point of view but also in terms of stopping the puck and feeling comfortable to play in a game that he's prepared after being off so long."
Goalie Ilya Samsonov is week to week after sustaining a knee injury in a 2-1 win against the Bruins on Saturday at the end of the second period after attempting to make a save on Brad Marchand's penalty shot goal at 4:59 of the second period.
Samsonov is 6-2-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage in eight games.
Erik Kallgren started in goal against Vegas, allowing three goals on 17 shots, and Keith Petruzzelli was the backup.-- Dave McCarthy