NHL Buzz: Niederreiter out for Hurricanes with lower-body injury

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

Carolina Hurricanes

Nino Niederreiter is expected to be out a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
"Yesterday they kind of told us it's not going to be anytime soon, so that's not good," coach Rod Brind'Amour said Sunday.
The forward was injured in the third period of a 6-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. He's scored three goals in seven games.
"It's not an injury he can't come back from," Brind'Amour said. "It's probably going to be a few weeks."
Seth Jarvis, a 19-year-old forward, replaced Niederreiter in a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes that extended the Hurricanes' season-opening winning streak to eight games. The No. 13 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft had one assist in 10:01 in his NHL debut.
"He really doesn't look like a rookie to me," Brind'Amour said. "He was great. No nerves at all."-- Jon Lane

Seattle Kraken

Forward Jared McCann and assistant coach Paul McFarland were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Sunday and were unavailable for a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers at home.
McCann leads the Kraken with seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games.

Colorado Avalanche

Mikko Rantanen is day to day with a lower-body injury that kept him out of a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
The forward was injured in a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, left practice early Thursday, and did not play in a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues that night.
Rantanen has scored five points (three goals, two assists) in six games.
Samuel Girard played 19:27 against the Wild after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The defenseman has two assists in six games this season. -- Rick Sadowski

Los Angeles Kings

Forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Gabriel Vilardi were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Arvidsson went through warmups before a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at home Sunday before he was scratched. Vilardi missed a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Coach Todd McLellan said he was a healthy scratch.
Arvidsson, who was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on July 1, has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in eight games. He scored the Kings' first goal against the Canadiens to help them end a six-game losing streak (0-5-1).
Vilardi has one goal and is minus-5 in seven games.
Rookie Arthur Kaliyev replaced Arvidsson on the top line with center Anze Kopitar and forward Dustin Brown, with forward Carl Grundstrom taking Kaliyev's spot on the third line. -- Dan Greenspan

Pittsburgh Penguins

Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel entered NHL COVID-19 protocol Sunday.
The defensemen joined top-pair defenseman
Kris Letang
, who has missed four games since entering protocol Oct. 23.
Pettersson has scored four points (one goal, three assists) in eight games. Ruhwedel does not have a point in eight games.
Defenseman
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and could make his season debut against the Philadelphia Flyers at home Thursday.
Pettersson and Ruhwedel are the fifth and sixth Penguins to enter protocol this season. First-line left wing Jake Guentzel missed one game, a 6-2 win to open the regular season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct 12, and forward
Zach Aston-Reese
did not play the first two games.
Center Jeff Carter entered protocol Oct. 21, two days before Letang, and missed three games before returning in a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The Penguins are also without forwards
Evgeni Malkin
and Bryan Rust. Malkin, Pittsburgh's second-line center, is expected to be out until at least December after having knee surgery June 4. Rust, normally the first-line right wing, is week to week with a lower-body injury. -- Wes Crosby

San Jose Sharks

Coach Bob Boughner and seven players are in COVID-19 protocol and did not participate in a 2-1 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets at home Saturday.
Assistant John MacLean coached the Sharks for a game delayed 30 minutes. San Jose forwards
Andrew Cogliano
,
Jonathan Dahlen
and
Matt Nieto
, and defensemen Erik Karlsson,
Jake Middleton
,
Radim Simek
and
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
were unavailable, as was forward and captain Logan Couture, who has a non-COVID illness.
"That's what adversity does, right?" Sharks goalie James Reimer said after the game. "It forces you to depend on each other and bring out the best in each other."
Forwards Nick Merkley, Jaycob Megna and John Leonard, and defensemen Nicolas Meloche and Ryan Merkley, were recalled from San Jose of the American Hockey League.
"All San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda players and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and compliant with the NHL's COVID-19 testing and guidance protocols," the Sharks said in a statement. -- Chelena Goldman