NHL Status Report: Sanderson to play for Senators in opener

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

Ottawa Senators

Jake Sanderson will play for Senators in their season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNP). The defenseman left a preseason game on Sept. 26 for precautionary reasons and had been held out of practice before returning Friday. ... Forward Warren Foegele (undisclosed) will play Saturday. … Defenseman link-placeholder-2 and forward Andre Burakovsky (upper body) skated in noncontact jerseys Friday.​

Pittsburgh Penguins

Andrei Svechnikov will make his Penguins debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SNE, TVAS). The forward returned to practice on Friday, 10 days after his father died on a fishing trip. He left the team on Sept. 24 and gone to Russia to mourn his father, who was a respected hockey coach. "I'm happy to go back to Pittsburgh. I missed everyone," Kuzmenko said Friday. "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." ... Forward Blake Lizotte (lower body) did not play in the regular-season opener but took part in an optional skate Saturday and could play. "I feel good. I do anticipate to play; I’m available," he said. ... Forward Ben Kindel (lower body) didn't practice after he was a full contact participant the past two days.​

Seattle Kraken

Mackie Samoskevich was activated off injured reserve and is expected to make his debut for the Kraken at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SNW, NHLN, KONG, Prime Video). The forward did not play in a season-opening 6-1 win at the Calgary Flames on Thursday because of an upper-body injury. He was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers on June 21. ... Forward Jacob Melanson was placed on injured reserve and is week to week with an upper-body injury. He played 9:31 against the Flames.​

New York Islanders

Mathew Barzal is progressing but still not skating for the Islanders. The forward missed training camp due to aggravating a prior injury and did not play in a season-opening 2-1 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Barzal is expected to skate by the end of next week. He led New York with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists) in 81 games last season.