NHL News: Bruins, Sabres, Avs, Stars, Devils, Lightning, Canucks, Capitals, Jets and Playoff Races
Zdeno Chara returned to the lineup. Steve Stamkos left with a lower-body injury.
On the Boston Bruins …

John Shannon: Defenseman Zdeno Chara returned to the Bruins lineup yesterday.

Joe Haggerty: Coach Bruce Cassidy said they hope that Rick Nash would be able to return to the lineup before the end of the regular season.

Fluto Shinzawa: Forward Riley Nash had required 40-plus stitches in and around his ear.

On the Buffalo Sabres …

Paul Hamilton: Defenseman Victor Antipin has a concussion to go along with other facial and dental injuries. He’s going to be out a while.

On the Colorado Avalanche …

Tyler King: Avs 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar confirmed that he’d return to UMass next year for his sophomore season.

On the Dallas Stars …

Frank Seravalli: The Stars became the first team that had 80 points through 66 games and missed the playoffs. They were 37-23-6 and then went 1-7-2. They’ve been eliminated with three games left.

On the New Jersey Devils …

Chris Ryan of NJ.com: The Devils have activated forward Marcus Johansson from the IR. He’s been out over two months with a concussion.

On the Tampa Bay Lightning …

Lightning Insider: Steven Stamkos left last night’s game with a lower-body injury.

Joe Smith: There was no update on Stamkos given after the game. More should be known today. Stamkos had been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury before so it might be related to that.

Joe Smith: The Lightning has signed Cal Foote to a three-year entry-level deal. He’ll join Syracuse in the AHL.

On the Vancouver Canucks …

Rick Dhaliwal: 2017 second-round pick Kole Lind will be joining the Canucks AHL team in Utica.

On the Washington Capitals …

Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin became the first Capitals player to play 1,000 games all in a Caps jersey.

On the Winnipeg Jets …

Ken Wiebe: The Jets have recalled defenseman Sami Niku, and he could make his NHL debut tonight.