Bruins’ Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha Expected To Miss Stadium Series
The Boston Bruins could be without two centers when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series on Sunday. Both Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha will not be joining the Bruins on their trip to Florida due to injury per Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe.
Lindholm was designated as out day-to-day with an upper-body injury after leaving Boston’s Tuesday win over the Nashville Predators early. Zacha left Thursday’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury of his own, sustained on a hit from Philadelphia’s Nicolas Deslauriers. No timeline has been provided for Zacha’s injury.
Boston recalled Matthew Poitras to fill in for Lindholm’s absence on Thursday. Poitras, playing in his first NHL game of the season, recorded one penalty and five shots in 11 minutes of ice time. He filled a fourth-line, winger role while Tanner Jeannot and Marat Khusnutdinov moved into elevated roles.
The Bruins beat Philadelphia handedly – by a score of 6-3 – largely thanks to the performance of their sole healthy line. The trio of Viktor Arvidsson, Casey Mittelstadt, and Fraser Minten combined for three goals and seven shots on net in Thursday’s game. That brings Minten up to 14 poitns in 14 games in January, third-most on the team behind David Pastrnak (25 points) and Charlie McAvoy (16).
Now down yet another center, the Bruins are sure to lean on their high-performing second-line in a tough matchup on Sunday. That focus will leave Pastrnak and wing partner Morgan Geekie free to support a fill-in center to round out the team’s top-six. Through the mess of injuries, this could present a rare chance for Khusnutdinov to step between strong wingers. The 23-year-old, Russian centerman has an impressive 11 points in 14 games this month – fifth-most on the Bruins – to go with a plus-nine and 15 shots on net. He has looked capable of handling the tempo of his top teammates – but has struggled at the faceoff dot, with a bleak 45.1 faceoff percentage on the season.
That could push the Bruins to give Mark Kastelic – and his team-leading 60.0 faceoff percentage – a bit more responsibility. Kastelic platooned with Jeannot on Boston’s third-line following Zacha’s absence. His season has favored the other side of the scoresheet, marked by 15 points and 106 penalty minutes in 55 games. That will limit Kastelic’s ability to fit into the top of the lineup. It could also push Boston to move Minten or Poitras from the wing to center, while leaving Khusnutdinov and Kastelic as alternatives on the wing.
The Bruins are not currently carrying an extra forward. They will need to make a recall before Sunday if they want to ice 12 forwards. Top candidates for a call-up include Fabian Lysell and high-speed winger Matej Blumel. Blumel managed no scoring and a minus-three in four NHL games earlier this season, while Lysell hasn’t appeared in the NHL since last year, when he scored three points in the first 12 games of his NHL career. The former first-round pick ranks second on the AHL’s Providence Bruins in scoring with 34 points in 35 games.
Injury Notes: Malkin, Letang, Halliday, Glass
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that veteran center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang both will not practice today. The club did not divulge any additional details as to why the pair will not practice, only adding that “their statuses will be updated tomorrow.” According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Malkin “has been laboring with an apparent shoulder injury since December,” something that could be the source of his absence today. As for Letang, there is no indication as to if he is injured, but Rorabaugh noted he “had some struggles” during the team’s win Thursday over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both Malkin and Letang have been pillars of the Penguins franchise for the last two decades, though their contributions have, to varying degrees, declined as they’ve gotten deeper into their thirties. Malkin, 39, is having a vintage season with 41 points in 39 games, but Letang, 38, has struggled and is no longer widely considered Pittsburgh’s best blueliner. Any extended absence faced by the two of them would deal a blow to the Penguins’ ability to hold onto their current position in the standings, which is second in the Metropolitan Division.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- Ottawa Senators center Stephen Halliday missed the team’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 28 due to an upper-body injury, and was classified as day-to-day. Today, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Halliday was at Senators practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. That would appear to indicate that Halliday is working his way back, but still has some way to go before he’s fully ready to return to head coach Travis Green’s lineup. Halliday, 23, has 10 points in 21 NHL games for the Senators this season, and 26 points in 22 AHL games.
- New Jersey Devils center Cody Glass will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip to Ottawa, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Glass missed the Devils’ game Thursday against the Nashville Predators with an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old has carved out a steady role in the middle of the Devils lineup and has scored 13 goals and 18 points in 42 games so far this year.
Blues Activate Oskar Sundqvist From Injured Reserve, Recall Matt Luff
1/30/26: The Blues once again recalled Luff from AHL Springfield under emergency conditions, restoring the recall they made, and then reversed, yesterday. The move fills the roster spot they opened when they reassigned Luff as part of the series of transactions they made that activated Sundqvist off of IR.
Luff has had a strong season so far, scoring 33 points in 33 games at the AHL level. That’s earned him the chance to dress for five NHL games, where he’s scored one goal and averaged 9:08 time on ice per game.
1/29/26: The Blues announced Thursday that they’ve activated center Oskar Sundqvist from injured reserve. As previously reported, St. Louis assigned wingers Matt Luff and Hugh McGing to AHL Springfield in the corresponding moves after recalling them under emergency conditions just this morning, leaving them with an open roster spot.
Whether or not Sundqvist enters the lineup tonight against the Panthers remains to be seen. He was labeled as a game-time decision this morning by head coach Jim Montgomery alongside top-six wingers Jordan Kyrou and Jake Neighbours (via NHL.com’s Lou Korac). Returning Luff and McGing to Springfield indicates the Blues have certainty that at least two of those names will be available. Considering Sundqvist has been a healthy scratch on a few occasions this season, though, he may still be outside of the lineup if all three are healthy.
The 31-year-old’s stay on IR was brief. He landed there last Friday and ended up missing four games with an ankle laceration that he sustained on Jan. 18 against the Oilers. With that, the healthy scratches and a lower-body injury that kept him on the shelf for the first couple of weeks of the season, Sundqvist has been limited to 39 out of 53 possible contests in 2025-26.
Now in his 11th NHL season and second stint with the Blues, Sundqvist remains an all-situations pivot who’s anchored the fourth line between Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker for a decent portion of the campaign. He’s flexed into both the Blues’ second penalty-killing and power-play units when needed and is averaging 13:20 of ice time per game, right in line with his career average.
While he hasn’t been in the Blues’ lineup every night, he’s still been reasonably productive in his depth role for a St. Louis squad that struggles to score. He’s managed three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 39 games, a pace of 0.33 per game that outmatches what he’s done in either of his last two seasons in Missouri. That’s despite him shooting at 9.4%, more than a full point below his career average.
Sundqvist’s -13 rating is uninspiring but not unexplainable. He starts 71.5% of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone, one of the highest rates in the league among forwards.
Utah Mammoth Reassign Dmitri Simashev
1/30/26: The Mammoth announced that Simashev has been reassigned to AHL Tucson just two days after he was recalled. Simashev was a healthy scratch for Utah’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night. Returning Simashev to the AHL gives him the chance to play in the pair of games scheduled for the Roadrunners this weekend.
While he averages just 15:28 time on ice per game at the NHL level, Simashev has been trusted with a far more significant role in Tucson. He’s got 20 points in 20 games in the AHL this season, and letting Simashev continue to play a big role at that level could aid the development of the 2023 No. 6 pick.
1/28/26: Before last night’s win over the Panthers, the Mammoth announced they’ve recalled defenseman Dmitriy Simashev from AHL Tucson. He takes the roster spot of center Cameron Hebig, who’s on his way back down to Tucson in the corresponding move.
Simashev, who turns 21 next week, will get his second crack at NHL ice time in his rookie season. The sixth overall pick in the 2023 draft cracked Utah’s opening night roster and spent the first couple of months in a rather expanded role, riding shotgun with countryman Mikhail Sergachev on the Mammoth’s top pairing while Sean Durzi dealt with an upper-body injury.
The experiment didn’t go all too well. Drafted as a smooth-skating shutdown piece, Simashev had one assist and a -9 rating in 24 outings while averaging 15:28 of ice time per game. Despite owning a 6’4″, 200-lb frame, the lefty didn’t leverage it often and only recorded eight hits.
Sergachev ended up faring much better with Durzi than he did in several weeks of play with Simashev. The Sergachev-Durzi pairing has controlled 54.0% of expected goals at 5-on-5, while the Sergachev-Simashev unit posted a 48.3 xGF%, per MoneyPuck.
As such, Simashev was sent down to Tucson in early December. Since going down, he’s been nothing short of dominant. Most expected his lack of offense in Russia’s top league to be a concern, but he’s rattled off a point per game in 20 appearances with a +3 rating. He’s more than earned a second look and will get one now, likely competing with Nick DeSimone and Olli Määttä to take on a third-pairing job with fellow lefty Ian Cole.
As for Hebig, he’d been up as an extra forward for the last week after Utah sent veteran Kevin Rooney down. The 29-year-old didn’t end up playing and is thus still awaiting his NHL debut. The 5’10” pivot has enjoyed a career-best campaign in Tucson, where he ranks second on the team in scoring with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 35 games.
Flyers Could Explore Trade Options For Samuel Ersson
At one point this season, it looked as though the Philadelphia Flyers might be buyers, not sellers, in the lead-up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline. First-year head coach Rick Tocchet had the club primed to make a run to the playoffs, a clear step forward in the team’s retooling process.
Those Flyers look like a distant memory at this point, though, as the team has lost three consecutive games and endured a 2-7-1 stretch in its last 10 contests. They currently sit 10 points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference’s final wild card spot, and eight points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers’ downturn has shifted the focus on the team heading into the trade deadline. Instead of identifying potential targets around the league the team might add, the Flyers now look more like a team that will subtract from its roster, rather than add. Last week, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported the Flyers were likely to have a “quiet deadline” unless a potential core player, perhaps at their key position of need, center, becomes available.
One name the Flyers could end up moving on from is netminder Samuel Ersson. Kurz wrote regarding Ersson that it “feels like it’s time for a change of scenery” for the player and club. There don’t appear to be a large number of goalies available for trade at this time, and the key name on the market, Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild, figures to have a significant price tag attached.
For most teams, acquiring Ersson is a far more realistic possibility than shelling out high-end assets to land Wallstedt. Of course, Ersson isn’t of the same caliber of talent as Wallstedt, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes to help an NHL team.
The 26-year-old has been relied upon heavily by the Flyers over the course of the last few years.
The Swedish netminder played in 51 games in 2023-24, earning the vast majority of starts after the team’s No. 1 netminder, Carter Hart, became unavailable in the middle of the year.
He struggled at times, and his final save percentage of .890 certainly isn’t strong, but there were moments in the season where he showed the kind of talent that gave the Flyers faith brighter days could be ahead.
The following season, Philadelphia again trusted Ersson to be their leading man in the crease, as he played in 47 NHL games, the most of any netminder in the organization. Once again, Ersson showed flashes, but those quality starts began to become more infrequent. His final statistics regressed even further, as he finished with an .883 save percentage, and was one of the league’s weakest goalies in several metrics.
The Flyers signed Dan Vladar to stabilize their goaltending this past summer, and Vladar has validated their investment with a strong 2025-26 campaign. But while Vladar has stood out this year, Ersson’s struggles have persisted. Through 24 games this year, he has just an .856 save percentage, the lowest among netminders with at least 15 games played in 2025-26.
It’s fair to question, given his poor numbers and highly inconsistent performance over the last few years, whether other NHL teams would truly be interested in adding Ersson. But the netminder is a pending arbitration-eligible RFA with a cap hit of just $1.45MM.
He’s likely to be one of the more experienced netminders readily available for trade at this point in the season, and can likely be acquired for a relatively low cost.
If a team is confident in its goaltending department, and believes it can maximize Ersson’s talent in a way the Flyers have thus far been unable to, he could end up on the move.
Ersson could also be a fit for a team looking to simply enhance its depth at the position, especially if an injury strikes. If a team in the playoff race loses a netminder to injury at some point between now and the trade deadline, Ersson’s name will be one to watch.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Transaction Notes: Chrona, Makiniemi, Senyshyn
Nashville Predators AHL goalie Magnus Chrona will head overseas to the SHL next season, according to a report from Aftonbladet’s Simon Eld. Per the report, Chrona has signed a contract with Swedish club Brynäs, and will join the team starting in the 2026-27. The 25-year-old is currently playing out a one-year, two-way contract with Nashville, and is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent unless he plays in 19 NHL games this season. Getting into that many NHL games at this point appears to be almost impossible for Chrona, as veteran Matt Murray appears to be clearly ahead of him in terms of who would receive a recall to Nashville in the event of an injury to Juuse Saros or Justus Annunen.
An NCAA national champion and former NCHC Goalie of the Year, Chrona has had an up-and-down pro career to this point. He was forced into some difficult on-ice situations in his rookie season as a member of the Sharks, and was dealt to Nashville in the summer of 2024 as part of the trade that sent Yaroslav Askarov to San Jose. He’s been the No. 2 goalie for the AHL Milwaukee Admirals since the deal, playing behind Murray. He posted a .903 save percentage in 30 games last season, and has duplicated that mark in 13 AHL games this season. Looking ahead to next season, one wonders if either goalie playing for the Predators’ ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, might get a shot to earn a regular role in Milwaukee. 2019 fifth-rounder Ethan Haider has a .926 save percentage in 16 ECHL games this season, and won his lone AHL start of the year. 23-year-old T.J. Semptimphelter, a former Hobey Baker nominee, has a .942 save percentage through the first 18 games of his ECHL career. Both players are playing out one-year contracts this season.
Other notable recent transactions from around the hockey world:
- Another former Sharks netminder signed a contract this week, with Finland’s Eetu Makiniemi signing a one-year contract extension with his current club, Liiga’s TPS Turku. Makiniemi played in two NHL games for the Sharks in 2022-23 before playing through the 2024-25 season at the AHL level. He elected to leave the AHL after playing just five games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, and has been solid for TPS. Playing in a tandem with 20-year-old Noa Vali, Makiniemi has a .903 save percentage in 22 games. He’s been the more reliable netminder in the tandem for TPS this season, as Vali has an .887 save percentage through 20 games this year.
- 2015 Boston Bruins first-round pick Zachary Senyshyn has agreed to a contract termination with his DEL club, the Schwenninger Wild Wings. Senyshyn was in the middle of a third consecutive DEL campaign with the club, where he has been a reliable top-six goal scorer. Senyshyn, who has over 300 games of AHL experience, left North America at the end of 2022-23 to sign in the DEL, and he has helped the Wild Wings reach at least the playoff qualifiers in both of his prior seasons in Germany. He’ll now look to continue his career elsewhere, and there is no word at this point as to where he might end up signing. He had 10 goals and 15 points in 31 DEL games this season.
Red Wings Recall Justin Holl
1/30/26: Detroit announced Friday morning that Dries has been reassigned back to AHL Grand Rapids. His stay on the NHL roster has therefore ended less than 24 hours after it began.
Dries did not dress for Detroit’s shootout loss to the Washington Capitals last night, instead serving as a healthy scratch. With the Griffins taking on the Chicago Wolves tonight, Dries’ reassignment allows Grand Rapids to have access to a key veteran for their final game this month.
The 31-year-old, who has played in over 100 NHL games, has not dressed for an NHL contest since 2022-23, and is still waiting on the chance to make his Red Wings debut.
1/29/26: The Red Wings announced they’ve recalled defenseman Justin Holl and center Sheldon Dries from AHL Grand Rapids. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 21 in the corresponding move. Detroit had an open roster spot entering today, so only one spot needed to be opened.
The veteran Holl had to wait quite some time for his first recall of the season after landing on waivers in October, but it finally came past the halfway point on the calendar. Holl, who turns 34 tomorrow, is in the final season of a three-year, $10.2MM contract that he signed in free agency in 2023 that virtually carried negative value from the start. He served as the Wings’ extra defender for most of the first year of the deal and then cleared waivers to begin 2024-25, although he still remained up on the NHL roster for nearly all of last season.
This year, though, Holl has seen extended time in the AHL, his first minor-league action since the 2017-18 campaign. The 6’4″, 205-lb righty has leveraged his nearly 400 games of NHL experience into being one of the top shutdown defenders in the league, posting 10 points and a +17 rating in 31 games. With his help, Grand Rapids is off to a historic 32-5-3 start through 40 games.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports there’s a flu bug going around the room before tonight’s game against the Capitals. The Wings were already carrying an extra defenseman in Erik Gustafsson, and since they’re already down a lefty with Edvinsson out, it would likely be Gustafsson who draws in if a Detroit defender needs to sit. In case it’s two names heading out of the lineup, though, Holl would see his first NHL action in over nine months.
How Holl plays in whatever limited NHL opportunities he gets down the stretch will be crucial in his positioning for a one-way contract in free agency this summer. He once reliably logged over 20 minutes a game for the Maple Leafs with decent under-the-hood numbers before signing in Detroit. His role with a new team next season won’t climb past the No. 6/7 deployment he’s seen while on Detroit’s roster, but a strong showing in a small sample could go a long way toward convincing a team he can still be a reliable extra option.
Detroit didn’t have an extra forward on hand, so Dries will come in if anyone is sick. The 31-year-old Michigan native is also an experienced plug-in option with over 100 games of NHL experience, although he hasn’t made a big-league showing since skating in a career-high 63 games with the Canucks in 2022-23. He’s now in his second season in the Wings organization with Grand Rapids, where he’s posted 14 goals and 28 points in 32 games.
Edvinsson’s IR placement is only a formality. He’s already been ruled out through the Olympic break with his lower-body injury and there’s no certainty he’ll be ready to return once games get going again in late February.
Snapshots: Hughes, Zacha, Stanley
New Jersey Devils star and Team USA selection Jack Hughes left tonight’s game after the first period and did not return, shared by Amanda Stein, Team Reporter. He went down the tunnel early against Nashville, was able to return for another shift, only to leave again. After the overtime win, Stein followed up that it was a lower body injury, not believed to be serious, according to Head Coach Sheldon Keefe, however it will require further evaluation.
The night ended after just 2:27 on the ice. Hughes returned in late December after missing a month with an off-ice accident, requiring finger surgery. Since coming back, the 24-year-old has recorded 16 points in 18 games, including six in his last five contests. As New Jersey’s top center, Hughes leads all forwards in ice time and still ranks third in team scoring, despite missing 18 games.
Considering that Hughes was able to return momentarily, there was reason for optimism, and thankfully it appears he has avoided a serious injury. New Jersey returns to action on Saturday in Ottawa, with the Olympics two weeks away.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Boston Bruins forward and former Hughes teammate Pavel Zacha’s night ended early due to an upper-body injury, as confirmed by the team. The 28-year-old center has continued to be an effective producer, with 36 points in 53 games, ranking fourth on the team in that category. Zacha has missed just one contest so far in 2025-26. The Bruins’ depth down the middle is being tested, as Elias Lindholm is day-to-day, so the hope is that Zacha will be good to go by Sunday, as they travel to Tampa Bay.
- In an article published by Kyle Morton of The Fourth Period, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley was mentioned as a likely trade candidate as a “rental”, as was discussed on Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, featuring Tyler Yaremchuk, Carter Hutton, and David Pagnotta. Winnipeg has started to get back into the win column, but their early 2026 struggles may have sunk their season for good. Stanley, a former first round pick who is now a pending unrestricted free agent holds a friendly cap hit of just $1.25MM. The 6’7″ lefty has become more noticeable this season, with eight goals in 51 games after a career high of just one in each of his first five NHL seasons. Besides the sudden offense, Stanley has leaned fully into an enforcing role, with 95 penalty minutes, a career-most with many games to spare. As is the case with comparable defenders, Stanley has his weaknesses, currently holding a 46.5% Corsi For at even strength, but still holds traits always favored by contenders. No teams have necessarily been listed as suitors at this point, but the Red Wings stand out as one option in need of a bottom pairing upgrade, in which Stanley could play in a lighter role built for his strengths.
Patrick Kane Becomes All-Time U.S. Born NHL Points Leader
History was made tonight in Detroit as Red Wings forward Patrick Kane broke Mike Modano’s record for most points by a United States born player, as he reached 1,375, seen in a clip shared by the NHL.
The milestone was reached on a secondary assist as Ben Chiarot teed off on a one-timer, beating Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren, and tying the game 1-1.
As it was naturally a focus for the team to get their future Hall of Famer the record tonight on home ice, Kane seemingly broke it in the first few minutes of the game. He fed Alex DeBrincat for a tally in a signature play, but it was called back for offside. Nonetheless, Kane found the scoresheet midway through the second period for good.
The Buffalo, New York native takes the crown after the legendary Modano held the record for over 18 years. It was last broken by Modano on November 7, 2007 in a Dallas Stars win over San Jose, as he surpassed legendary defenseman and former Sabres Head Coach Phil Housley.
Detroit shared a video of Modano, who also donned the Winged Wheel in the twilight of his career, congratulating Kane on the accomplishment.
Kane, 37, has naturally started to slow down with age and dealing with injuries, as his 31 points in 38 games so far seems to be the new norm. However, he and DeBrincat remain as dangerous together as always, and he is still an elite power play set up man, with an 89.1% Corsi For on the man advantage.
The icon is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, but in all likelihood, Detroit will snap their nine year postseason drought, and Kane continues to be a big part of the Wings’ revival, certainly enjoying his tenure on his third Original Six franchise.
In terms of active United States born players who could challenge the record into the future, Auston Matthews stands as the second-highest active player with 772 points in 676 games. If able to stay healthy and play into his late 30s as Kane has, with his 1,341 games so far, Matthews is right on track to reach the record.
Perhaps one day the Arizona-born sniper could take the honors, but for now, it’s proudly in the hands of Kane, who sits fourth in points among active players, behind just Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Evgeni Malkin. Kane is expected to eclipse the 1,400 mark by the end of the season, as he’s hovering around 10 points behind the 39-year-old Malkin, who also continues to produce despite his age.
Although Team USA is set to take on the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics without Kane, indicative of a new era, the 2007 first overall pick has made an indelible impact on the game, not only for United States hockey, but the National Hockey League in its entirety. Tonight proves to be another unforgettable achievement in Kane’s remarkable career.
Image Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Injury Notes: Turcotte, Roy, Nylander
Los Angeles Kings Head Coach Jim Hiller told reporters, including Zach Dooley, Manager of Editorial Content, that Alex Turcotte is out for the remainder of the road trip due to an upper-body injury.
Having returned home, the forward is ruled out until at least next Wednesday, as the Kings will take on Seattle back in Los Angeles.
Set to turn 25 next month, the former fifth overall pick has just 12 points in 49 games, but he still brings versatility to the Kings’ middle six. Turcotte has won 55.7% of draws this season, a career best, to go with a standout 57.2% Corsi For at even strength. The Illinois native may not pan out as a high offensive producer as initially expected, but he is still a valuable third line center for now, who will be missed for the rest of the week.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy is absent tonight against Detroit, noted by Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Both he and Rasmus Sandin were listed as questionable, the latter able to return to action. Meanwhile, Roy will miss his second game of the campaign, the first coming last Tuesday, due to an apparent lower-body injury. The 30-year-old has 14 points in 53 games on the season, serving as a steady shutdown righty averaging 20:46 a night, good for third on the team. Roy could return by Saturday, as his Capitals host Carolina. Until then, Declan Chisholm remains in the lineup.
- Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander practiced today but still won’t play in Seattle tonight, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, who did say that there is a “good chance” he returns Saturday in Vancouver. The forward is dealing with a lingering groin ailment which sidelined him for six games earlier in the year. Without their leading point-getter, who has 48 in just 37 games, the Leafs have gone 1-4-1 and lacking a regulation win, in a time they desperately need points to try and reach the postseason.