NHL Buzz: Skinner placed on injured reserve by Sabres

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Buffalo Sabres

Jeff Skinner was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury Thursday.

The forward left a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the second period Wednesday after a hit by Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. Skinner didn’t return and finished with one shot on goal in 7:57 of ice time.

Skinner is tied for the Sabres lead in goals (12) and tied for second in points (22) with forward JJ Peterka.

He’ll miss at least three games, including Friday at the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B, TVAS), and is eligible to return for a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 21.

Brett Murray was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League. The forward has zero points in one game with Buffalo this season.

Minnesota Wild

Jared Spurgeon is day to day with a lower-body injury and did not play for Minnesota in its 3-2 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Wild coach John Hynes said the injury is not related to an in-game situation. Minnesota defeated the Seattle Kraken 3-0 on Sunday, when Spurgeon, a defenseman, was plus-2 with two shots in 27:20 of ice time.

Spurgeon, who missed the first 13 games of the season due to a lower-body injury sustained during the preseason, has four assists and is plus-6 in 13 games.

The Wild are also without defenseman Jonas Brodin, who is week to week with an upper-body injury sustained in a 4-3 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 8.

“You have guys that have to fill those roles,” Hynes said. “It’s not like you’re replacing players, but guys get opportunities. We have good players in the organization and we get to come out and play a real strong team game and give ourselves a chance to win.” – Jessi Pierce

Vancouver Canucks

Pius Suter returned when the Canucks won 4-0 against the Florida Panthers on Thursday after the center missed 14 games with a lower-body injury.

Suter hadn’t played since Nov. 12 at the Montreal Canadiens. He practiced in Vancouver two days later but had a setback and wasn’t back on the ice with teammates again until Dec. 8.

The forward returned on the fourth line after playing primarily on the third line his first 15 games of the season, scoring each of his four goals in his final six games before the injury.

Suter did not have a shot on goal but was plus-1 in 15:01 of ice time.

“Before he got hurt, he was really coming,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “I thought there was about 5-6 games he was one our better forwards. I’ve got to obviously manage his minutes.”

Suter signed a two-year, $3.2 million contract with the Canucks as a free agent Aug. 11 and was being counted on to help improve the penalty kill and center depth. He lost his spot on the third line to Teddy Blueger, the team’s other offseason free agent center addition, while he was out with injury, but will continue to kill penalties.

“[Suter] is a type of guy he can take a face-off in his own end against a really good line and I don’t have to hide him,” Tocchet said.

Suter is playing with Andrei Kuzmenko, who was dropped from the first to the fourth line three games ago but remains on the top penalty kill, and Phillip Di Giuseppe, who started the season on the second line before being dropped further down the lineup in December.

“I want to make sure I put him in good situations,” Tocchet said. “He’s got a good forechecker in Di Giuseppe, he’s got a guy like [Kuzmenko] who can make plays, so it’s a good start for him.”

Nils Aman, who had two assists in nine games as the fourth-line center and was also killing penalties with Blueger, was taken out of the lineup, which Tocchet said was a hard decision.

“Internal competition is good,” Tocchet said. “That’s what good teams have.” — Kevin Woodley

Calgary Flames

Chris Tanev flew home to Calgary and did not conclude the three-game road trip with the Flames at Minnesota on Thursday, a 3-2 shootout loss.

The defenseman sustained an upper-body injury in a 6-5 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Monday following a hit from Avalanche forward Ross Colton. Tanev was hurt just 15 seconds into that game, didn’t return and then was a late scratch for a 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. He did not travel to Minnesota with the Flames after that loss.

“Like we mentioned before, he has an upper-body injury and he’s a day-to-day guy for us,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.

Tanev has seven points (one goal, six assists) in 28 games. — Jessi Pierce