The 38-year-old center hadn't played since Oct. 10, missing 14 games with a calf injury. Staal, the Hurricanes captain, practiced twice in Finland and played on special teams Friday, suggesting he was ready to return.
"Obviously excited to get back into it and get back with the fellas and get back to the grind," Staal said. "Obviously it was a long month, month-and-a-bit. Just excited about being here and excited about getting in the game."
He won the Conn Smythe Trophy last season as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Carolina win the Cup in six games against the Vegas Golden Knights. He had 12 points in 19 games with six of his eight goals coming in the Final.
Staal has no points in six games this season. He was injured during a morning skate on Oct. 10.
"Obviously, we're a much better team when he's going at full speed," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I don't expect a ton out of him tonight. We'll see how it goes, but (we've) got to get him going."
Staal, who has been Hurricanes captain since the start of the 2019-20 season, has 747 points (318 goals, 429 assists) in 1,409 games with Carolina and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"There's boxes you got to check off as you're getting back and I had a good week kind of on my own skating and I felt really good," Staal said. "Jumped into some practices and felt good with the team too so there's a point where you just kind of got to rip the Band-Aid off and go see how it feels on the ice and hopefully it feels good."
The Hurricanes (15-3-2) entered Saturday with the best points percentage (.800) in the NHL. They went 11-2-1 without him.
"It's huge," Carolina forward Seth Jarvis said. "(Staal is) a real calming presence, both in our locker room and on the ice, and someone that our team relies heavily on in a lot of situations. So, it's huge to have him back, and a big boost for our group."
With Staal returning, Carolina placed defenseman Mike Reilly on waivers. Reilly has two assists and is plus-4 in eight games this season, averaging 12:26 of ice time.
NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
