Kane, 2 other Blackhawks players out due to COVID-19 protocol

Patrick Kane is among a trio of Chicago Blackhawks players missing Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings while in COVID-19 protocol.

Kane didn't take part in the pregame warmup and was ultimately ruled out.

The Blackhawks placed the superstar winger in the protocol Saturday along with forward Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who were both removed from the list Sunday morning.

However, forward Jujhar Khaira and blue-liner Riley Stillman, as well as assistant coach Marc Crawford, landed in protocol Sunday evening and aren't available against the Red Wings.

Kane has gotten off to a strong start offensively this season, producing a goal and four assists over his first five games.

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Senators’ Murray headed to IR, Pinto to miss 1-2 weeks

The Ottawa Senators will place goaltender Matt Murray on injured reserve with a head/neck ailment, head coach D.J. Smith said Sunday, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch.

The 27-year-old exited Saturday's contest against the New York Rangers in the third period after forward Chris Kreider collided with his head.

Meanwhile, Senators forward Shane Pinto is expected to miss a week or two, but his injury is "a little better than we thought," said Smith.

Pinto left Thursday's game against the San Jose Sharks with an upper-body injury after crashing into the boards following a hard hit from defenseman Mario Ferraro. Smith said at the time that he didn't believe Pinto suffered any structural damage.

Ottawa recalled netminder Filip Gustavsson earlier Sunday.

The Senators take on the Washington Capitals on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

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Watch: Kraken crowd welcomes team, boos Bettman at home opener

The Seattle Kraken finally played in front of their home fans at Climate Pledge Arena for the first time in franchise history, and the crowd didn't disappoint.

Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke fired up the expansion team's supporters during the pregame festivities. The executive also revealed the club is retiring No. 32 to represent the NHL's 32nd current team and thank the 32,000 fans who made season-ticket deposits on the first day they were available.

In case there were any remaining doubts about Seattle being an NHL market, Kraken fans put that to rest by doing what all of the league's most vocal fanbases do best.

The high energy continued when the Kraken took the ice at home for the first time.

Here's how the opening faceoff looked and sounded.

The Kraken faithful went wild when Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn netted the team's first-ever goal in a home game.

The Kraken opened their inaugural campaign on a five-game road trip. They went 1-3-1 in those contests, earning their first-ever win by defeating the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Oct. 14.

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Muzzin laments Leafs’ blowout loss to Penguins: ‘It’s inexcusable’

The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their third straight game on Saturday in ugly fashion, losing 7-1 to the depleted Pittsburgh Penguins.

"We've got to go back to the drawing board," defenseman Jake Muzzin said, per The Athletic's James Mirtle. "We're going to have to work a lot harder to win. It's inexcusable. Myself, everyone. We need to be better."

To make matters worse for the Leafs, the Pens were without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust, and Jeff Carter.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was understandably upset postgame.

"I have a lot of thoughts," he said. "Not many good ones."

The Maple Leafs gave the puck away nine times - three times more than the Penguins. Keefe highlighted puck management as a necessary area of improvement moving forward, but also said the Leafs have been getting burned by cheating for offense and looking for the easy way out.

"It's easy to start doubting and questioning things when things aren't going your way," Keefe said, per The Hockey News' David Alter. "The difficult thing to do is to dig in and recognize that the league is very good and (if) you cut corners one little bit, teams make you pay for it."

Winger Mitch Marner, who has just one assist in six games this season, stressed the importance of patience.

"I don't think we can be concerned," Marner said, according to Yahoo Sports' Justin Cuthbert.

The Leafs are back in action on Monday against the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes.

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Report: Devils’ Blackwood vaccinated, to be cleared by December

New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be eligible to play by the time the team takes its first road trip to Canada, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Blackwood, who was one of the last remaining unvaccinated NHLers, will reportedly be cleared by Dec. 3, when the Devils are scheduled to play an away game versus the Winnipeg Jets.

The netminder, who'll turn 25 six days later, admitted in September he wasn't vaccinated, citing health reasons. He said he was undecided about getting the shot and wanted to take his time determining whether to do so.

The NHL's COVID-19 protocols allow teams to suspend unvaccinated players if they're unable to participate in club activities. The Devils didn't suspend Blackwood but he hasn't played yet this season.

The Canadian goalie, who's reportedly on Team Canada's long list for the 2022 Olympic Games, said in early October he was leaning toward getting the vaccine.

Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is the NHL's lone remaining unvaccinated player, according to Friedman.

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Murray exits late vs. Rangers with injury

Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray left Saturday's clash versus the New York Rangers late in the third period after sustaining an apparent injury.

Anton Forsberg replaced Murray in the contest.

The 27-year-old left immediately after Chris Kreider scored to make it 2-1 Senators. Kreider collided with Murray's head after tapping home a feed from Artemi Panarin.

The Rangers scored twice following Murray's exit and won in regulation.

Murray missed the first week of the campaign due to an illness. He made 22 stops for a loss in his first start of the season Thursday versus the San Jose Sharks.

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Letang added to COVID-19 protocol, out vs. Maple Leafs

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is in COVID-19 protocol and unavailable for Saturday's contest versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Mike Sullivan announced.

Letang returned a positive test and is in the process of getting that result confirmed, added Sullivan. Letang opened his 2021-22 campaign with four assists through four games.

The star blue-liner is the latest Penguins player to be sidelined early in the season. The club is already without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Bryan Rust due to injury, while Jeff Carter is also in COVID-19 protocol.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry produced a false positive test earlier this week but will start Saturday against Toronto.

The shorthanded Penguins have started the season 2-0-2.

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