NHL Buzz: Duchene week to week for Predators with upper-body injury

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Nashville Predators

Matt Duchene will be out week to week for the Predators because of an upper-body injury.
The forward sustained the injury early in the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday when he was hit in the left hand by a shot of teammate Dante Fabbro.
Duchene leads Nashville with 22 goals and is second with 56 points in 72 games.
"Obviously, we lose [Duchene] in the second period, so that hurts a lot," Predators forward Cody Glass said. "We have a young group, and it was kind of one of those adversity things where guys have got to step up, and that's kind of what this whole thing has been about."
The Predators (36-28-8) are five points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who have played two more games, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
There are three weeks remaining in the regular season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathan Toews has resumed skating, including a session on Sunday, and there's a hope the Blackhawks captain could soon join his teammates at practice.

"To me, this has been the best scenario I've seen since him coming back, where he's feeling better, and hopefully that translates to getting on the ice with the team," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "Unfortunately, we don't practice tomorrow or later in the week, might be more toward the end of the week, but we'll see where he's at. Maybe he even gets out for a morning skate soon."
Toews announced on Feb. 19 that he was dealing with symptoms of long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, which caused him to miss the entire 2020-21 season. The forward, who is third on Chicago with 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 46 games this season, last played on Jan. 28.

"I think just by [Toews'] mannerism today, that to me is a good sign, because I know he can get frustrated, and as you guys know from the past, he gets pretty direct, and today he was good," Richardson said. "He was in there stretching, he was in there relaxing, talking with (former Blackhawks forward) Andrew Shaw and a few old guys here for the weekend. So real good mindset right now." -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Ottawa Senators

Jakob Chychrun will be out "a couple weeks" with a lower-body injury, Senators coach D.J. Smith said.
The defenseman, who was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 2, has five points (two goals, three assists) in 12 games and is averaging 21:00 of ice time since joining the Senators.
"He's done a nice job moving pucks, putting guys into the boards, and it's a big loss for us, but we've dealt with so many of these injuries and things this year for whatever reason," Smith said Saturday. "The next guy has to come in and do the job."
Ottawa, which lost 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, is seven points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Senators will also be without Ridly Greig for the remainder of the regular season after the forward sustained a sternum injury in a 7-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. -- Mike G. Morreale