Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen says the lower-body injury that forced him to miss time earlier in the season is still bothering him despite his return.

"I'm not really where I want to be, obviously," Andersen said Thursday. "I think I'm working towards just getting to as good as possible. But I think everyone goes through a season where you'll have something going on. It's just a matter of how well you can manage it and play through it.

"I don't think anyone's going to have a season where you don't feel a little bit (banged up) here and there, and you try to do the best you can to manage it and play as well as you can."

Andersen was injured in a win over the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 20. He missed the next four games, then returned for a victory over the Edmonton Oilers on March 3.

The veteran netminder's play has noticeably declined since he rejoined the club. Andersen went 7-1-2 with a .911 save percentage in the 10 games before he got hurt - including the contest against Montreal - but he's won only two of six appearances while posting a .887 save percentage since returning.

Toronto has had four days between games this week and will host the Calgary Flames in a back-to-back Friday and Saturday.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Evgeni Malkin for at least their next three contests. The club placed the star forward on injured reserve retroactive to March 16, meaning he'll be ineligible to return until at least March 23.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said earlier Thursday that Malkin would miss the evening's game against the New Jersey Devils. Pittsburgh will also play New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday before getting two days off ahead of a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres next Wednesday and Thursday.

Malkin is continuing to be evaluated for a lower-body injury he suffered during Tuesday's contest against the Boston Bruins, Sullivan added Thursday. The Russian sniper returned for one shift before being ruled out for the rest of the game after colliding with defenseman Jarred Tinordi in the first period Tuesday.

The Penguins have recently battled injuries to their forward group, with Teddy Blueger and Jared McCann sidelined with ailments. Despite the injuries piling up, Sullivan believes his group of forwards can battle through it.

"We just got to bring a hard team game with the resilience that's necessary to win in this league," Sullivan said. "Injuries are just a part of our game. For me, it's all about an attitude and making sure that we look at this as an opportunity. Making sure that we play together and we have a collective effort out there."

Malkin was heating up before the injury, recording 12 points over an eight-game point streak. He's managed eight goals and 16 assists in 29 contests this season.

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Anaheim Ducks defense prospect Jamie Drysdale is expected to make his NHL debut Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, the team announced.

The 18-year-old tallied four goals and six assists in 14 games with the AHL's San Diego Gulls this season.

Anaheim selected Drysdale sixth overall at the 2020 NHL Draft.

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Cast members from the "The Mighty Ducks" movies will soon be on the ice together again.

Stars from the original three movies will be reuniting for the sixth episode of the upcoming Disney+ revival series, "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers," according to Sydney Bucksbaum of EW. Actors Elden Henson (Fulton), Matt Doherty (Averman), Vinny La Russo (Adam Banks), Marguerite Moreau (Connie), Garret Henson (Guy), and Justin Wong (Kenny Wu) are all confirmed to appear in the episode alongside Emilio Estevez, who's reprising the role of coach Gordon Bombay.

"It starts with a fun encounter coach Bombay has with Fulton - they have an interesting run-in on the street reminiscent of ways they used to meet each other back in the early days," creator Steven Brill said. "This chance meeting between Bombay and Fulton leads to a bigger story."

In the reunion episode, the original cast will come together for a "Spirit of the Ducks" gala to honor the Mighty Ducks' current head coach and the history of the team. But as Estevez revealed, Bombay wasn't invited to the gala.

"Either the Ducks fell short or he fell short of expectations of where they'd be at this point in their lives," Estevez said. "The show is not without the Disney magic that has to exist so I think ultimately it will be satisfying.

"But it leans into reality a little bit more than one would expect, which excited me. That's really like life; something that looks like a curveball that you couldn't hit ends up being something that's a gift later on."

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Ottawa Senators netminder Joey Daccord had to be helped off the ice Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks after suffering an apparent leg injury during a non-contact play.

Daccord was making just his sixth start of the season - and seventh of his career. The 24-year-old was only playing because starter Matt Murray and backup Marcus Hogberg are both already injured.

Filip Gustavsson, a 2016 second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was forced to make his NHL debut in relief of Daccord.

Ottawa claimed goaltender Anton Forsberg off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets earlier Wednesday.

Head coach DJ Smith had no update on Daccord postgame.

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The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins both canceled their morning skates ahead of their Thursday night matchup due to COVID-19 protocols.

It's not currently known whether the teams' 7 p.m. contest will be affected as a result, according to The Athletic's John Vogl.

A Sabres training staff member entered the protocol early Thursday, according to Vogl. The team is currently contact tracing.

For the Bruins, one of their players entered the league's protocol, the team announced. Boston placed forward Jake DeBrusk on the COVID-19 list late last week but removed him Sunday after head coach Bruce Cassidy revealed it was due to a false positive, according to Boston Sports Journal's Conor Ryan.

The Sabres experienced a pause in play earlier this season due to an outbreak that affected several players and coaches.

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