NHL Buzz: Tarasenko, Schenn play for Blues against Predators

Welcome to the NHL Buzz. Throughout the 2021-22 season, NHL.com will have you covered with the latest news.

St. Louis Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, David Perron and Colton Parayko returned to the lineup for the Blues when they hosted the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Tarasenko, Schenn and Perron, each a forward, and Parayko, a defenseman, were removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Tarasenko missed four games, and Schenn, Perron and Parayko each missed two games.
"Obviously, these guys are real good players for us," Blues coach Craig Berube said Sunday. "They have been in the past. It's nice to get them back."
Tarasenko was third on the Blues with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 34 games entering Monday; Schenn had scored 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 22 games; Perron had scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 25 games; and Parayko led St. Louis in average ice time per game (24:10).
Forward
Logan Brown
, out the past two games with a non-COVID-19 illness, also returned to the lineup against Nashville. -- Lou Korac

Montreal Canadiens

Josh Anderson
returned for the Canadiens in a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
The forward missed 11 games because of an upper-body injury sustained against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 2. He was expected to be out 2-4 weeks.
"Anytime you're out for any period of time it's difficult not to be out there with your teammates," Anderson said Saturday. "All you want to do is try to help them and you can't do that up in the stands. Hopefully I'll be back next game and bring a lot of energy to the lineup."
Anderson is tied with
Nick Suzuki
for the Canadiens lead with seven goals, and his 13 points in 26 games are fourth. Montreal was 1-7-3 when he was out.
"I'm just hoping to bring the game that I play, the energy, being physical, being fast to the puck, and hopefully bring some other guys along with me," Anderson said. "I'm excited to get back."
Goalie
Jake Allen
is expected to be out one week after he was injured in the first period of a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Goalie
Cayden Primeau
was recalled from the taxi squad on an emergency basis and started Monday.

Buffalo Sabres

Peyton Krebs
returned to the lineup for the Sabres in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
The forward missed four games while in NHL COVID-19 protocol. He has one assist in 13 games this season, including one assist in four games with the Sabres after they acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights as part of the trade for center Jack Eichel.
Defenseman Jacob Bryson did not play because of an upper-body injury sustained during a 4-0 loss to the Red Wings on Saturday. He has seven assists in 32 games this season.
"'We play back to back. I don't expect him these two, but he should be clear soon after that," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "He played through it, and then obviously after the game a little more aggravating. Held him off today and we'll hold him off for at least a couple."
Defenseman
Mattias Samuelsson
was recalled from the taxi squad and was in the lineup. Defenseman
Casey Fitzgerald
was sent to the taxi squad.
Forward
Zemgus Girgensons
missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve Monday, along with goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) and defenseman Colin Miller (undisclosed).
After hosting the Red Wings, the Sabres will play at the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. -- Heather Engel

Detroit Red Wings

Thomas Greiss was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol and the goalie was not available for a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
Greiss is 6-7-1 with a 3.36 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 16 games.
Goalie Calvin Pickard was recalled from the taxi squad and backed up Alex Nedeljkovic.

Seattle Kraken

Chris Driedger was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Sunday and was available when the Kraken hosted the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
The goalie made 19 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and is 3-6-0 with a 3.18 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in 11 games (nine starts) this season.
"That'll mean, for tomorrow's game, obviously, we have to recall a goaltender and most likely just due to some logistics and actual weather, it will be Antoine] Bibeau," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Sunday.
Bibeau has a 2.51 GAA and .884 save percentage in five games with Charlotte of the American Hockey League and a 2.74 GAA and .928 save percentage in 10 games with Allen of the ECHL. He has four games of NHL experience, most recently two games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20.
Bibeau will back up
[Philipp Grubauer
against Chicago. -- Andy Eide

Carolina Hurricanes

Martin Necas
was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Monday.
The forward has scored 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 33 games. His four game-winning goals are tied with Nino Niederreiter for the Hurricanes lead.
Carolina next plays at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, TVAS, NESN, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).

#

Columbus Blue Jackets

Defensemen Adam Boqvist and Vladislav Gavrikov are in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Boqvist, who entered protocol Sunday, has scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 26 games. He returned to the lineup Dec. 30 after missing three games because of an upper-body injury sustained Dec. 9.
Gavrikov, who entered protocol Monday, has scored 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) in 36 games, second among Blue Jackets defensemen to Zach Werenski (21 points). Gavrikov's average ice tie of 21:23 per game is third, after Werenski (26:18) and Jake Bean (22:03).
The Blue Jackets next play at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Their game at the New York Islanders on Tuesday was postponed.

Dallas Stars

Denis Gurianov and Braden Holtby were removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol and could be in the lineup when the Stars host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; BSSW, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Gurianov missed three games in protocol. The forward has scored 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 31 games.
Holtby last played Jan. 9. He is 6-8-1 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in 17 games.

Edmonton Oilers

Stuart Skinner was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Monday.
The goalie is 4-6-0 with a 2.93 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 11 games. He made 20 saves in the Oilers' 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
The Oilers also are missing goalie Mike Smith, who is out 1-2 weeks with a partially torn tendon in his thumb.
Edmonton next plays at home against the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Their game against the Chicago Blackhawks scheduled for Tuesday was postponed.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Zach Bogosian is expected to be out 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury.
The defenseman had three hits and one blocked shot in 19:58 of ice time in the Lightning's 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. He has scored six points (two goals, four assists) and is averaging 17:25 of ice time in 23 games this season.
The Lightning also were missing defensemen Erik Cernak (lower body) and Jan Rutta (undisclosed) from practice Monday.
"Our poor [defensemen] are taking a beating," coach Jon Cooper said. "I don't know what's up. I guess it's just probably a little unfortunate side of things. Hopefully we can get this out of us soon. A couple of weeks [for Bogosian] isn't too bad."
Bogosian, Cernak and Rutta play on the right side for the Lightning. Cooper said Mikhail Sergachev, a left-handed shot, could shift to the right side.
"He has the ability to do it and do it quite well," Cooper said. "It is a luxury to have guys that can swing over there and 'Sergy' is definitely one of them."
Forward Ondrej Palat, who has missed the past two games because of an undisclosed injury, is possible to play at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).-- Corey Long