NHL Buzz: Ehlers placed on injured reserve by Jets

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Winnipeg Jets

Nikolaj Ehlers was placed on injured reserve by the Jets on Friday, retroactive to Oct. 18 because of an undisclosed injury.
The forward has not played the past two games since a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Oct. 17.
He joined the Jets for the morning skate at Ball Arena in Denver prior to a 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday, leaving early. Ehlers also missed a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Ehlers has three assists this season. He had 55 points (28 goals, 27 assists) in 62 games last season.
Winnipeg recalled forward
Dominic Toninato
from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Friday.
Coach Rick Bowness is expected back when the Jets play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CITY, SNO, SNW, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW). He has not been with the team since testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 14.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews did not practice Friday but is likely to play for the Maple Leafs at the Jets on Saturday.
The center took a cross-check from Jamie Benn in the first period of a 3-2 overtime win against the Stars on Thursday and blocked a shot from Wyatt Johnston with his foot later in the game. He stayed in the game, playing 26:46, and assisted on Nicholas Robertson's overtime goal.
"We give them those days [off] throughout the season, he played a lot of minutes yesterday and obviously got banged up a little bit too so it was a pretty easy one to give him," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He was in and got his work in, was in the gym doing his thing and getting ready for tomorrow."
Wayne Simmonds, who was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Sunday, will make his season debut against the Jets, playing right wing on a line with left wing Pierre Engvall and center David Kampf. Nicolas Aube-Kubel will be a healthy scratch.
"Don't want him to sit too long," Keefe said. "We have the flexibility to move guys in and out. I thought Wayne had a good camp with us. … Having Wayne up here and having flexibility with our roster, I think it's important to get him involved."
Simmonds had 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) and 96 penalty minutes in 72 games with the Maple Leafs last season. -- Dave McCarthy

Colorado Avalanche

Devon Toews did not play for the Avalanche in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Friday because of an undisclosed injury.
The defenseman was injured in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Jets on Wednesday.
Colorado plays again Saturday at Vegas (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, ALT2, ESPN+, SN NOW).
"He's going to miss tonight and possibly tomorrow, I'm thinking," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said before the game Friday. "He's a little bit sore but it's good news. Should be short term."
Toews, who has three assists in four games this season, had an NHL career-high 57 points last season (13 goals, 44 assists) in 66 games and led the NHL with a plus-52 rating.
Forward Dryden Hunt will make his Avalanche debut, one day after the forward was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers.
Hunt, who will play on the fourth line, had one goal in three games with the Rangers this season. He was a healthy scratch in New York's season-opening 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 11 but played in each of the past three games.
"It'd be nice to help out wherever you can," Hunt said. "Obviously this team is pretty high skill. You're not going to see much power-play time, I don't think. So anywhere you can kind of chip in, on the PK or in different areas, that's kind of a huge responsibility for guys like me."
Hunt has 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 168 NHL games with the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes and Rangers. -- Ryan Boulding

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jake Guentzel will travel with the Penguins for a five-game road trip while being evaluated for an upper-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said.
The forward, who did not practice Friday, left a 6-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday after being hit in the ear by a shot from Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang at 6:51 of the third period. That came after Guentzel took a high shoulder hit from Los Angeles forward Brendan Lemieux at 4:20.
Guentzel, left wing on the first line, has five points (three goals, two assists) in four games. He led the Penguins with 40 goals in 76 games last season.
"[Guentzel] is a great player, does a lot of stuff for us," captain Sidney Crosby said. "Not an easy guy to replace. So when you get injuries, you have to find ways to make up for the guys that you lose and what they bring. I think we'll try to do that collectively."
The trip begins against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Danton Heinen replaced Guentzel on a line with Crosby at center and right wing Rickard Rakell in practice Friday. Rakell took Guentzel's spot on the top power play unit.
"Regardless of what our line combinations look like, [Heinen] is a guy that I think is always in the conversation [to move up in the lineup]," Sullivan said.
Brock McGinn was elevated from the fourth line to left wing on the third, in place of Heinen. Teddy Blueger, in a no-contact jersey, returned to his usual spot at fourth-line center.
Blueger is day to day because of an upper-body injury. If Guentzel and Blueger are unable to play Saturday, Pittsburgh could use seven defensemen.-- Wes Crosby

Chicago Blackhawks

Jake McCabe made his season debut for the Blackhawks in their home opener Friday, a 4-3 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 29-year-old defenseman, who was activated off injured reserve, had four hits in 16:02 of ice time. He has been skating with the Blackhawks since the start of training camp after having cervical spine surgery during the offseason.
"You have to give it some time for those little areas, to get all the swelling out, especially a defenseman," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "When you're going back for a puck and you get squished from behind and your neck gets twisted the wrong way, you have to make sure you're 100 percent healthy. I think he got clearance for full contact last week or even right before we left on the [season opening] trip. But really, the date was scheduled for today for him to really kind of be totally cleared and be ready for a full game contact."
McCabe had 22 points (four goals, eight assists) in 75 games for Chicago last season. -- Tracey Myers