Around the NHL: Stenberg's first game, Makar's return, Varlamov's comeback

Tuesday's league-wide status sheet is mostly good news for once: a No. 2 pick gets his first real game, a Norris winner is back on the ice, and a 38-year-old goalie with two rebuilt knees gets a start. Here's what matters.

Stenberg gets his first Sharks game tonight

Ivar Stenberg, the second overall pick in June, makes his preseason debut for San Jose against Vegas at 10 p.m. ET. Per Sharks Hockey Digest's Max Miller, the 18-year-old Swede skates between Alexander Wennberg and Collin Graf, the line he's had all camp. He's also on the left flank of the top power play.

Ryan Warsofsky's read, per NHL.com: "You can see the game slowed down for him."

Ferda read: putting an 18-year-old on PP1 before he's played a shift is either a vote of confidence or a very loud hint about what they think of the rest of the roster. Probably both.

Makar takes a full practice, targets Friday

Cale Makar was a full participant in Colorado's practice for the first time since camp opened, skating on the top pair with Devon Toews, per Colorado Hockey Now's Aarif Deen. NHL.com has him on track for Friday's game against Winnipeg.

Makar said the lower-body issue isn't the one that bothered him in the Western Conference Final, and admitted "it was a little bit of a grind over the summer" to get here.

Ferda read: the Avs ran the same five-man power play that finished last season, Makar at the point with MacKinnon, Necas, Kadri and Landeskog. Makar called it a clean slate. It'd better be. That unit spent last spring stuck in quicksand, his word.

Varlamov's first NHL game in 22 months

Semyon Varlamov starts tonight against the Rangers and splits the game with Ilya Sorokin, per NHL.com. It's his first NHL action since Nov. 29, 2024.

He's 38, he's had two partial knee replacements, and he played two AHL games for Bridgeport at the end of last year to prove the legs work. Peter DeBoer: "It's been quite a journey for him."

Ferda read: that's a full-ferda comeback and we're rooting for it. It also decides whether the Isles really carry three goalies into October.

Tucker's knee is "more than day to day" in St. Louis

Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker tweaked his knee in a corner drill Sunday and didn't skate Monday. Jim Montgomery told reporters it's "more than day to day, but we don't have a timeline yet," with a re-evaluation in a couple of days, per The Hockey News' Lou Korac. NHL.com says he may miss the Oct. 2 opener in Dallas.

Ferda read: that cracks the door for Adam Jiricek, the 16th pick in 2024, to grab the seventh-D job. Injuries on the third pair are how prospects become NHL players.

Zuccarello stays in the red jersey

Mats Zuccarello is still in a non-contact sweater at Kings camp with a shoulder injury and no timetable, per NHL.com. Peter Laviolette told Mayor's Manor he can't put a date on it and that "erring on the side of caution, especially at this time of year, is a good thing."

Ferda read: a veteran with a bad shoulder in September is a guy you save for December, not for a preseason game.

Quick hits

Ville Koivunen (upper body) sits out Pittsburgh's game against Detroit tonight. Justin Brazeau is day to day with a lower-body injury from Monday's loss to Buffalo. Seattle's Jake O'Brien is day to day and missed Tuesday's practice.

Dallas expects Matt Duchene (maintenance) and Colin Blackwell (lower body) back on the ice Wednesday. Friday is the earliest either plays, per Glen Gulutzan.