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Welcome to the NHL Buzz. The 2024-25 season is underway, and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news.

Florida Panthers

Matthew Tkachuk will be out about one week with an illness.

The 26-year-old forward will miss his second straight game when the Panthers face the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday (1 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NESN, TVAS). The Panthers visit the Columbus Blue Jackets and return home for games against Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday and the Minnesota Wild the following Tuesday.

“Matthew’s going to be out a week,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “I think we’re shooting for Minnesota at home a week from tomorrow.”

Tkachuk has two assists in two games after scoring 26 goals with a team-leading 62 assists in 80 games for the Stanley Cup champions last season.

Center Aleksander Barkov is out 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury. The Panthers captain left a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday late in the third period after sliding into the boards. — Joe Pohoryles

St. Louis Blues

Brandon Saad was activated Monday and could make his season debut for the Blues against the Minnesota Wild at Enterprise Center on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN).

The 31-year-old forward was away to be with his wife, Alyssa, who was expected to give birth to the couple’s third child.

Alexandre Texier was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The forward had an assist in 13:03 of ice time in a 3-2 season-opening win at the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 8.

Minnesota Wild

Joel Eriksson Ek did not travel with the Wild for their 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday because of a broken nose.

The forward is expected to be available when Minnesota visits the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. He left a 5-4 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday following an elbow by defenseman Adam Larsson at 7:07 of the second period.

The Wild reassigned Travis Boyd to Iowa of the American Hockey League. The forward was recalled on an emergency basis Sunday.

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon also did not play against the Jets. Minnesota’s captain is day to day with a lower-body injury.

Seattle Kraken

Vince Dunn missed a 2-0 loss at the Dallas Stars on Sunday because of an upper-body injury.

The defenseman, who is day to day, was injured in a 5-4 shootout win at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

“I think the strength of the group is that it is deep,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said before the game. “I think the strength through the first two games has been, with the exception of [Brandon Montour Saturday] night — 25 minutes and a lot of that’s overtime and getting a few extra minutes in overtime — we’ve really had consistent minutes throughout the pairings. That’ll really be the same tonight. It’s next man up and next man to do the job.”

Ryker Evans moved up to the top pair with Adam Larsson. Josh Mahura was on the third pair with Will Borgen.

“I liked Ryker’s game for the last exhibition game and first game against St. Louis,” Bylsma said. “Skating really well, moving the puck really well, defending really aggressively and physical. He knows 100 percent what’s expected from him on the ice and how we want to play, and executing together as a group.”

Dallas Stars

Mathew Dumba did not play for the Stars against the Kraken.

The defenseman sustained a lower-body injury and missed the second and third periods of a 3-0 win against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Stars coach Peter DeBoer said Dumba would be evaluated Monday. — Taylor Baird

Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Nedeljkovic participated in a full practice Sunday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in a preseason game Sept. 30.

The goalie will not be available against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, Prime, SN-PIT). Nedeljkovic first joined the Penguins for a morning skate Saturday before a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“He’s obviously making real progress,” coach Mike Sullivan said.

Nedeljkovic, the expected backup when healthy, shared a net with 22-year-old prospect Joel Blomqvist. He signed a two-year, $5 million contract ($2.5 million average annual value) to stay in Pittsburgh on June 20 after starting 12 of the final 13 games last season.

“It’s always nice to stick around and have some consistency with where you’re at,” Nedeljkovic said Sept. 20, two days after training camp opened. “Not having to go to an entirely different locker room, where you only know 2-3 guys at best maybe, to stay here and have to meet only a few new faces, it makes it easier to feel comfortable in the room.”

Blomqvist has started two of the Penguins’ first three games this season. He made 29 saves in each, a 6-3 win in his NHL debut at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and the loss to Toronto.

Goalie Tristan Jarry could start Monday for the first time since making 34 saves in a 6-0 season-opening loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. — Wes Crosby