Ice Chips: Leafs’ Matthews, Knies out vs. Canadiens

Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies both skated with the team on Saturday morning but will remain out against the Montreal Canadiens, TSN’s Mark Masters reports.

Matthews, 28, has been out of the lineup since Nov. 11 with a lower-body injury, while Knies, 23, has missed each of the Leafs’ past two games with a lower-body injury of his own.

Saturday’s skate marked the fifth consecutive day that Matthews has been on the ice, while Knies returned for the first time since being a late scratch for Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.

Toronto’s captain has scored nine goals and 14 points across 17 games played this season, while Knies has totaled five goals and 22 points in 19 appearances.

Masters also reports that Sammy Blais will draw into the lineup in place of Jacob Quillan against the Canadiens.

Blais, 29, was scratched for Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but will be in the lineup against the team that waived him earlier this season.

Blais inked a one-year, $775,000 deal with Montreal this summer before being placed on waivers in October.

The Montmagny, Que. native was claimed by Toronto in a move that reunited him with head coach Craig Berube after the pair won the Stanley Cup together in 2019.

In seven appearances for the Leafs this season, Blais has scored one goal with two assists.

Quillan, 23, comes out of the lineup after playing in each of Toronto’s past two games.

The Dartmouth, N.S. native was recalled from the AHL by the Maple Leafs earlier this week after Brandon Carlo was placed on injured reserve.

Quillan has yet to record a point in three games at the NHL level after signing with Toronto as a free agent in 2024.

Nashville Predators

Roman Josi will make his return to the lineup for the Nashville Predators Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche, head coach Andrew Brunette announced.

Josi, 35, returned to practice earlier this week after missing each of Nashville’s past 12 games with an upper-body injury sustained on Oct. 23.

The Predators captain also missed the final 25 games of last year’s season after being diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome.

A native of Bern, Switzerland, Josi has recorded one goal and four assists in eight games played this year.

A second-round pick of the Predators in the 2008 draft, Josi is the franchise’s leading scorer with 729 points across 970 games played.

Florida Panthers

Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net for Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

The Russian netminder is coming off of his second shutout of the season on Thursday in a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils, turning away all 32 shots he faced.

Bobrosvky, 37, owns a 10-5-0 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage in 15 starts for Florida this season.

Florida enters play on Saturday at 11-8-1, good for fifth place in the Atlantic Division.

Ottawa Senators

Olle Lycksell has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Belleville (AHL), the Ottawa Senators announced Saturday.

The Sens have also loaned defenceman Lassi Thomson to their AHL affiliate.

Lycksell, 26, was placed on waivers by the team Friday after being activated off of concussion protocol.

He last appeared during the Senators’ 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 8.

He has a goal in six games with Ottawa this season.

The 5-foot-11 winger joined the Senators as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season.

Drafted 168th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017, Lycksell has two goals and 12 points in 51 career games split between the Flyers and Senators.

Thomson, 25, heads back down to the AHL after being recalled earlier in the week.

The Tampere, Finland native did not appear in a game for Ottawa during his most recent stint with the team, and now rejoins Belleville where he has three goals and one assist in 15 contests this season.

A first-round selection of the Senators in 2019, Thomson has recorded five assists in 18 games for Ottawa over the course of his career. He last appeared in a game at the NHL level during the 2022-23 season.

The move comes as defenceman Thomas Chabot inches toward a return to the lineup with the team in the midst of a seven-game road trip.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues have recalled defenceman Logan Mailloux from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, the team announced Saturday.

Mailloux, 22, heads back up to the Blues following a two-week, five-game stint with Springfield.

The Belle River, Ont. native has made nine appearances for St. Louis this season, going without a point and posting a minus-12 rating in 12:33 of ice time per game.

Mailloux, a first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021 draft, was acquired by St. Louis over the summer in exchange for Zachary Bolduc.

In 17 games played at the NHL level, Mailloux has scored two goals and five points.

St. Louis also placed forward Alexandre Texier on unconditional waivers for contract termination on Saturday, according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston.

The 26-year-old from France has one assist over eight games with the Blues in 2025-26.

Texier recorded six goals and five assists over 31 games with the Blues last season.

Over 240 career games with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Blues, Texier has tallied 40 goals and 51 assists.