News Burst: Pacioretty could be back on Saturday

Welcome to the news burst section! During the 2021-22 season, NHL.com brings you the latest news from across the league.

New York Rangers

attackers Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney could be back in the Rangers lineup for the matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG, SN360, CITY, TVAS2, NHL LIVE).

Injured in the upper body, Kakko has not played since January 21 and Rooney since March 2.

Kakko has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 37 games, while Rooney has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 51 games.

Rangers have also indicated that the striker Tyler Motte would be sidelined indefinitely with an upper body injury and that Filip Chytil is evaluated on a weekly basis, also because of an upper body injury.

Motte quit in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking a hit from the forward Anthony Angello.

Vegas Golden Knights

Max Pacioretty could be back in action against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, BSAZX, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). A decision will be made just before the match.

The striker hasn’t played since March 11 due to an undisclosed injury.

Pacioretty trained on a trio completed by Chandler Stephenson and Mattias Janmark and on the first unit of the power play, Friday.

Pacioretty has 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games this season.

Ottawa Senators

attackers Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson won’t be in uniform against the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Stützle missed Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators with a lower-body injury, while Batherson was hampered by a virus.

Stützle ranks third among the Senators with 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) in 68 games.

 » [Stützle] is close to a return, but I’ll wait for the report from the therapists. But I don’t think he’s going to play,” coach DJ Smith said Friday. He won’t play unless he’s 100 percent. »

Batherson has 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 36 games.

« He wasn’t feeling very well, » Smith said. Not well enough to get to the arena. He won’t travel with us. We’ll see how he feels today. […] Unfortunately, it looks like we’re going to have to do without him and Timmy. »

Stützle and Batherson could, however, be in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.