Ice Chips: Leafs' Pacioretty (lower-body) back on ice
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty was back on the ice Friday morning after missing Thursday's game against the St. Louis Blues with a lower-body injury, reports TSN's Mark Masters.
Pacioretty left Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with the injury and did not return.
The 35-year-old American has two goals over five games with the Maple Leafs in 2024-25, his first season in Toronto.
Pacioretty signed a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs ahead of the season after joining the team on a profession tryout during training camp.
Here were Toronto's lines Friday according to Masters:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Domi - Nylander
Lorentz - Tavares - Robertson
Holmberg - Kampf - Reaves
Dewar, Pacioretty
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson
McCabe - Tanev
Benoit - Timmins
Liljegren - Myers
Hakanpää
Stolarz
Woll
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers skated the following lines in practice on Friday:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Skinner-Henrique-Brown
Janmark-Ryan-Perry
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stetcher
Kulak-Emberson
Skinner
Vasily Podkolzin has been elevated to the second line alongside Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson.
The Oilers are also examining a new second pairing on the blue line, as Troy Stetcher is skating alongside Darnell Nurse in that pairing.
The team has yet to find a consistent fit for their second defensive pairing, which is part of the reason for the slow start.
Edmonton (2-4-1) battles the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
The Senators have reassigned goaltender Leevi Merilainen to the AHL's Belleville Senators, indicating Linus Ullmark could be ready to make his return Friday.
Ullmark has been sidelined since Oct. 12, missing four games, with head coach Travis Green revealing last week that he was dealing with a "strain."
The goaltender was initially expected to return late last week, but has remained sidelined. According to TSN's Claire Hanna, Ullmark said Tuesday that he was feeling good but wanted to get a couple of full speed practices in before returning to build back up to game speed.
Anton Forsberg has been handling goaltender duties since, posting a 2.94 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
Merilainen has appeared in three AHL games this season, recording a 3.47 GAA and .852 save percentage.
Ullmark is 1-1-0 with a 2.58 GAA and .914 save percentage through two games this season before sustaining the injury.
The Sens also recalled forward Cole Reinhardt from Belleville on Friday. Forward Shane Pinto did not skate Thursday and will be a game-time decision Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, reports TSN's Claire Hanna.
Pinto has one goal and two assists in six games so far this season, playing over 17 minutes in Ottawa 4-0 win over Utah on Tuesday.
Philadelphia Flyers
Head coach John Tortorella said via NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jordan Hall Friday that forward Travis Konecny is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
He missed practice on Friday after playing 21:26 in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. He has three goals and one assist in seven games so far this season.
Meanwhile, Tortorella also said defenceman Cam York is dealing with an injury and he is insure of York's status. He played 22:05 on Wednesday and has three points in seven games this year.
Buffalo Sabres
Forward Zach Benson is not practising with the Sabres Friday morning as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury, reports Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News.
Benson missed Tuesday's game against the Dallas Stars and has been battling the injury since the start of the season.
The 19-year-old does not have a point in the six games he's played in this year while averaging 14:10 of ice time per game.
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken sent defenceman Cale Fleury to the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, it was announced Friday.
He has yet to appear in an NHL game this season and has three goals in three AHL games.
The Panthers have signed forward Hunter St. Martin to a three-year, entry-level contract, it was announced Friday.
St. Martin, 19, was selected in the sixth round of this summer's draft (No. 193 overall), posting seven goals and one assists through his first eight games of the season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Blue Jackets centre Dmitri Voronkov practised with the team Friday as he continues to make his way back from an upper-body ailment, reports Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.
General Manager Don Waddell said earlier this month the team expected Voronkov back by the end of November.
The 24-year-old had yet to make his season debut. He had 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points in 75 games last season as a rookie.