Status Report: Kuzmenko returns to Penguins practice after father's death

Welcome to the NHL Status Report. Here is the latest lineup/injury news around the NHL.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Andrei Kuzmenko returned to practice with the Penguins on Friday, eight days after his father died on a fishing trip. The forward had left the team and gone to Russia to mourn his father, who was a respected hockey coach. "Thank you for everyone who supported me," Kuzmenko said. "I'm happy to go back to Pittsburgh. I missed everyone. I go back to reality, back to my job. And let's go, keep working. I missed hockey. And great start after first game (7-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday). I think it'll be good this season because I believe in this team." Kuzmenko, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Penguins on July 1, is expected to make his Penguins debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SNE, TVAS).

Ottawa Senators

Jake Sanderson returned to the ice and skated with the Senators on Friday and could be available for their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNP). "See how he is tomorrow," coach Travis Green said. ... Forward Warren Foegele (undisclosed) will play Saturday. … Defenseman Artem Zub (knee) and forward Andre Burakovsky (upper body) skated in noncontact jerseys Friday.

Dallas Stars

Matt Duchene (lower body) was placed on long-term injured reserve by the Stars on Thursday. The forward was dealing with the injury throughout training camp and will miss at least the first 10 games to start the season after having a setback. "We thought he was going to play but it doesn't look that way," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "And then if you look at the last couple of weeks, he just hasn't been able to turn the corner and even that's with two weeks of trying to nurse this thing around." Duchene had 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 57 regular-season games and nine points (two goals, seven assists) in six Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. Dallas recalled forwards Colin Blackwell and Arttu Hyry from Texas of the American Hockey League ahead of their season opener against the St. Louis Blues on Friday (9 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN1).

Columbus Blue Jackets

Ivan Provorov is week to week for the Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury and was played on injured reserve Thursday. The defenseman had never missed a game due to injury in his 10-season NHL career prior to a 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. He had played 778 games, including 375 in a row, and only missed three games due to COVID protocol in 2022. "This guy, he's a warrior, man," Columbus coach Rick Bowness said before the game. "He's just heartbroken that he's not playing. Like he unreal. He would go to 20 doctors and just hopefully find one that would say, 'Right, you can play.' ...He's heartbroken that he's not playing. This guy just loves to play and he's the ultimate team player, the ultimate team warrior. So that's a tough one." Provorov had 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 82 games last season and averaged 24:49 of ice time per game.