Bruins’ Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy return from injuries
Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha and and defenseman Charlie McAvoy will return Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild after missing multiple games became of upper-body injuries.
Zacha, who has eight goals and 19 points in 26 games, is expected to rejoin Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on the No. 1 line after missing three games.
“I wasn’t gone for that long, so hopefully it’s going to be good,” Zacha said. “We’ll see today in the game, I think. I just had one full practice with the team, so I’m excited to jump in the game and see how it goes.”
McAvoy, who turns 26 on Thursday, reunited with Matt Grzelcyk on the top defensive pairing after missing the past four games. He leads Bruins defensemen this season with three goals and 17 points in 21 games.
Blackhawks’ Kevin Korchinski rejoins team after father’s death
CHICAGO — Kevin Korchinski has rejoined the Chicago Blackhawks following the death of his father, Larry.
Korchinski, 19, was on the ice for Chicago’s morning skate ahead of Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Coach Luke Richardson said the rookie defenseman is going to need some time before he is ready for games again.
“It was great to see him,” Richardson said. “The guys really responded well having him back in the dressing room and he had a big smile in there this morning. So it was good to see him out on the ice.
“He hasn’t skated much, I think once when he was at home, so we’re just going to just let him have a couple of practices and see where he’s at and let him tell us when he’s ready to go.”
Korchinski has two goals and five assists in 25 games in his first NHL season. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft hasn’t played since he skated for more than 18 minutes during a 1-0 victory over Anaheim on Dec. 7.
Larry Korchinski, who played junior hockey for Saskatoon in the Western Hockey League before becoming a lawyer, was 59 when he died. The Blackhawks flew to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Friday morning for the funeral.
Kevin Korchinski did not speak with the media following the morning skate.
“I don’t know if anyone knew he was coming back [Tuesday], so I think it was a big uplifting thing to be able to see him,” forward Tyler Johnson said. “I mean he’s family. He’s our brother. We missed him.”
Forwards Colin Blackwell and MacKenzie Entwistle are slated to return against Colorado. Entwistle has been sidelined by an illness, and Blackwell is playing his first game since Feb. 27.
Philipp Kurashev was scratched because of an illness after skating on the team’s top line Tuesday morning.
Blackwell, 30, had a team-high six hits while skating for more than 16 1/2 minutes. He is coming back after a series of setbacks following sports hernia surgery in March.
“Not bad for a guy that was basically playing men’s league for the last month,” Blackwell said. “Yeah, no, it felt pretty good. Obviously a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. It’s been a long time coming.”
While Entwistle and Blackwell returned to the lineup, defensemen Seth Jones (left shoulder) and Alex Vlasic (upper body), along with forwards Joey Anderson (left shoulder) and Andreas Athanasiou (groin), were sidelined by injuries. Anderson was placed on injured reserve on Monday.
Richardson said Jones probably won’t return before the team’s holiday break.
“It’s just one of those ones that it got a little bit worse after he got off the ice and showered up and saw him the next day,” he said. “So he’s a little farther out than Vlassy.”
