Preseason Buzz: Galchenyuk held out of practice with Penguins
Raanta day to day for Coyotes; Dzingel might not play in Hurricanes opener
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
Welcome to the 2019 preseason! This is a busy time, with rookies looking to make a name for themselves and veterans looking to lock down roster spots. Each day, we will have all the updates of note right here.
Here is the preseason news for Thursday:
Galchenyuk misses practice with Penguins
Alex Galchenyuk is day to day with a lower-body injury that kept him from practicing with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It was not said if the injury will prevent the forward from playing when Pittsburgh opens its regular season against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 3. Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins were being cautious by holding out Galchenyuk, who did not play in a 4-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday after taking part in the morning skate.
Dominik Kahun replaced Galchenyuk at second-line left wing with center Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust.
"We've tried to move [Kahun] around the lineup a little bit," Sullivan said. "He's played with [Sidney Crosby]. He's played with [Malkin] now. We're exploring where he might best fit with the group. We're doing that with a number of guys."
Wes Crosby
Raanta has lower-body injury
Goalie Antti Raanta is day to day for the Arizona Coyotes with a lower-body injury.
Arizona recalled goalie Ivan Prosvetov from Tucson of the American Hockey League.
A lower-body injury limited Raanta to 12 games last season.
Dzingel might not start season with Hurricanes
Ryan Dzingel (lower body) might not play in the Carolina Hurricanes' season opener against the Montreal Canadiens at PNC Arena on Oct. 3.
The forward sustained a lower-body injury in a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Coach Rod Brind'Amour said Dzingel may be considered more than day to day.
"He felt better today, but I don't really know what that means," Brind'Amour said. "That's all he told me. I think it's probably longer than that."
Zacha to debut for Devils
Pavel Zacha will play his first game this preseason for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Friday.
The center, who signed a three-year contract as a restricted free agent on Sept. 10, reported to the Devils on Wednesday and traveled with them after getting his United States work visa approved but did not play against the Boston Bruins.
"It'll be important to get my legs back, get the skating and rhythm back in jumping back into the lineup," Zacha said Wednesday. "I was more excited getting back with the team."
Byram reassigned by Avalanche to Vancouver of WHL
Bowen Byram was reassigned by the Colorado Avalanche to Vancouver of the Western Hockey League.
The 18-year-old defenseman, selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, was minus-4 with three shots on goal in four preseason games. He'll play his second season in the WHL, where he had 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) and a plus-33 rating in 67 games in 2018-19.
Cozens assigned to junior team by Sabres
Dylan Cozens was assigned by the Buffalo Sabres to Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League.
The No. 7 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft played in three preseason games, including a game-low 8:37 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
"We believe he goes away from here a better player than he was when we drafted him," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said about the forward, "and we believe he's going to come back and make a very hard push for being a part of this team next year."
Heather Engel
Canadiens place veterans on waivers
Forwards Dale Weise, Matthew Peca and Phil Varone, and defensemen Karl Alzner and Xavier Ouellet, were placed on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens.
Alzner has played 682 NHL games over 11 seasons, the past two in Montreal.
Weise has played 490 NHL games for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He was traded to the Canadiens by the Flyers on Feb. 9.
Whitecloud week to week for Golden Knights
Zach Whitecloud is week to week for the Vegas Golden Knights after the defenseman sustained an upper-body injury in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.