We are tracking all the news from morning skates and practices on a busy Tuesday in the NHL.
This file will be updated throughout the day with the latest developments from around the NHL:
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos will miss his second game in a row with a lower-body injury on Tuesday, when Tampa faces the Buffalo Sabres, coach Jon Cooper confirmed after the morning skate.
Stamkos also was out Sunday in Ottawa for a loss against the Senators.
Tampa Bay is already without starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is expected to miss at least one more month after having back surgery. Centre Tyler Motte will miss his third straight game due to an upper-body injury.
Two straight losses to Atlantic Division rivals, coupled with the injuries led to Cooper expressing a sense of urgency.
“To go on this trip this early in the year and get zero points out of teams you’re competing for a playoff spot makes it a little bit of an uphill climb and that’s not something you want to do early in the year,” Cooper said. “I don’t want to say, Game 4s (of the season) are big games, but this is a big one for us.”
Stamkos, 33, has two goals and four points in two games this season. In 2022-23, he had 35 goals and 84 points in 81 games.
Forward Michael Pezzetta will make his season debut with the Canadians on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, coach Martin St. Louis said after morning skate.
Pezzetta had seven goals and eight assists in 63 games this season.
The Canadiens needed a forward after Kirby Dach was sidelined indefinitely by a lower-body injury this past weekend.
Meanwhile, Samuel Montembeault will make his second start in a row for the Habs in net. He stopped 28 shots in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
Minnesota Wild
Defenceman Alex Goligoski will be out versus the Canadiens with a lower-body injury, the team announced, per Michael Russo of The Athletic.
With defenceman Jared Spurgeon (upper-body injury) and forward Matt Boldy (upper-body injury) also hurt, Russo reports the Wild will play a man short against the Canadiens.
Goligoski, 38, had two goals and four assists in 46 games for the Wild last season. He has played 1,044 career games.
Centre Josh Norris (shoulder) took line rushes on Tuesday at practice and appears to be nearing a return to the lineup.
“Everything stays the same for Josh. … We’re getting closer,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said, per Ian Mendes of The Athletic.
Meanwhile, fellow forward Tim Stutzle missed practice for a maintenance day.
General manager Patrick Allvin placed Guillaume Brisebois on long-term injured reserve on Tuesday as the defenceman recovers from an undisclosed injury. He had already missed the first two games of the Canucks’ season and this move would sideline him for at least the next 10 games and 24 days.
In a corresponding move, forward Jack Studnicka had his emergency call-up status terminated and now remains on regular recall, the club announced.
Brisebois, 26, has skated in 27 career NHL games, 17 of which were with the Canucks last season, scoring one goal and two assists.
He missed the final seven games of last season with an upper-body injury after taking a puck to the face against the Calgary Flames on March 31.
Buffalo Sabres
The winless Sabres will make a change at forward on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, inserting Tyson Jost for Victor Olofsson, per Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News.
Jost, who will make his season debut, had seven goals and 15 assists in 59 games last season.
Olofsson doesn’t have a point in two games this season. He had 28 goals and 12 assists last season.
New York Islanders
Defenceman Scott Mayfield is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, the team reported.
Samuel Bolduc will replace Mayfield on Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes.
Mayfield had six goals and 18 assists in 82 games for the Islanders last season.
-With files from the Associated Press