Ice Chips: Tkachuk to return to Senators lineup Thursday vs. Hurricanes
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Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will return to the Sens' lineup on Thursday for their season finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tkachuk told reporters after practice that he will play and that there's "no issues, no problems."
Tkachuk has not played since March 30 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he continues to nurse an upper-body injury.
Senators head coach Travis Green said Tkachuk is “not the kind of player that just dips his toe in the water. I don’t want him going out there and just skating around. If he’s going to play, he’s going to play for keeps and he’s going to play for real.”
The Senators are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, having claimed the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
While Ottawa has won five straight games against them, Toronto is favoured to win the series, going off at -172 to advance, per FanDuel, and the Senators opened at +142.
The two teams last met in the playoffs in 2004.
The Senators skated the following lines in practice Thursday ahead of their season finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Perron-Cozens-Batherson
Greig-Pinto-Amadio
Cousins-Gaudette-Zetterlund
Sanderson-Jensen
Chabot-Zub
Kleven-Matinpalo
Toronto Maple Leafs
Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson participated in the Toronto Maple Leafs' practice on Thursday ahead of their season finale against the Detroit Red Wings.
Ekman-Larsson has not played since April 11 after suffering an upper-body injury.
Joseph Woll practiced in the starter's net on Thursday and is expected to start for Toronto in the season finale.
Toronto has already clinched the Atlantic Division title and will face the Senators in the first round of the playoffs.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild rookie defenceman Zeev Buium skated on the top power-play unit in practice on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
After winning the NCAA championship as a freshman with Denver and returning to the Frozen Four last weekend, Buium, 19, decided to end his college career after two seasons and make the jump to Minnesota. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Sunday and joined the Wild at the rink for practice, meet-and-greets and more paperwork on Monday.
“Kind of like your first day school," coach John Hynes said.
“I don’t think there was much more, development-wise, for me in college hockey," said Buium, who was the country's highest-scoring defenseman and one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker player of the year award. “I can obviously get bigger, stronger and faster, but taking this next step and pushing myself even more, it’s the right moment.”
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks reassigned a host of players to the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks on Thursday, general manager Patrik Allvin announced.
Defencemen Kirill Kudryavtsev and Victor Mancini, forwards Aatu Räty, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson and Ty Mueller and goaltender Nikita Tolopilo were all reassigned to Abbotsford.
Of the group, Aatu Raty played the most significant role for the Canucks, whose playoff hopes faded down the stretch.
The native of Oulu, Finland appeared in 33 games where he scored seven goals and finished with 11 points.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Forward Jack Williams is expected to make his NHL debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, per The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.
Williams was signed out of Northeastern University in March, and will replace Zach Aston-Reese in the lineup, who is dealing with an injury.
The Blue Jackets had their playoff hopes snuffed out on Wednesday when the Montreal Canadiens clinched the final spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken reassigned forward John Hayden to the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, the team announced on Thursday.
Hayden has a goal and an assist in 20 games with the Kraken this season.
The 30-year-old joined the Seattle franchise in 2022-23, after making stops with the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres in six years before then.