Andrei Kuzmenko was back on the ice with Pittsburgh on Friday, returning to practice 10 days after leaving the club following the death of his father during a fishing trip. Kuzmenko travelled to Russia to mourn his father, a respected hockey coach, and now appears set to make his Penguins debut when Montreal visits Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
The 29-year-old winger signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Pittsburgh on July 1. He said the support he received meant a great deal and that he was glad to rejoin the room after missing the group and the game. Kuzmenko also pointed to the Penguins’ 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday as an encouraging early marker, saying he believes in the team entering the season.
In Ottawa, Jake Sanderson rejoined the Senators on the ice Friday and has a chance to be available for Saturday’s opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET. Coach Travis Green said the club would assess the defenseman again Saturday before making the final call. Forward Warren Foegele, listed with an undisclosed issue, is expected to play against Toronto. Artem Zub, dealing with a knee injury, and forward Andre Burakovsky, nursing an upper-body injury, both skated in non-contact sweaters.
Dallas loses Duchene for at least 10 games
Matt Duchene will not be in Dallas’ lineup for the opening stretch after the Stars placed the veteran forward on long-term injured reserve Thursday. His lower-body problem followed him through training camp, and a recent setback means he must miss at least the first 10 games of the season.
Coach Glen Gulutzan said Dallas had hoped Duchene would be ready, but the forward had not made enough progress despite spending the previous two weeks trying to manage the injury. Duchene produced 16 goals and 29 assists in 57 regular-season games last year, then added two goals and seven assists in six playoff appearances.
The Stars recalled forwards Colin Blackwell and Arttu Hyry from Texas of the American Hockey League ahead of Friday’s season opener against the St. Louis Blues at 9 p.m. ET.
Columbus, meanwhile, has lost one of its most dependable blue-liners. Ivan Provorov has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is considered week to week. Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres marked the first time in his 10 NHL seasons that he missed a game because of an injury.
Provorov had dressed for 778 NHL games, including a 375-game consecutive-games run. The only previous absences of his career came when he missed three games under COVID protocol in 2022. Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness called the defenseman a warrior and said Provorov was devastated to be out, describing a player who would seek every possible medical opinion in hopes of being cleared to play.
The 28-year-old logged 24:49 per game last season, finishing with nine goals and 22 assists across 82 games. Replacing those minutes, and his steady availability, becomes an immediate early-season task for Columbus.
