Slafkosvky, Anderson, Matheson absent from Canadiens practice

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Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens held a practice session on Tuesday ahead of a pivotal Game 5 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

As TSN’s Kenzie Lalonde reports, forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Josh Anderson were both absent from the session, while defenceman Mike Matheson was also not on the ice.

Anderson, 31, has not been practicing since he suffered an apparent injury in Game 3 of the series last week, but he did play 13:18 in Game 4 on Sunday.

Anderson, was a surprise star in the early part of this series with goals in each of the first two games. He appeared to suffer an injury on a hit by Scott Sabourin late in the third period of Game 2 – a play which was whistled for a five-minute major for interference on Sabourin initially, but was later reduced to a two-minute minor. Anderson left the ice after sustaining the hit and did not return.

The team has not reported any issue for Matheson, who registered 23:08 of ice time in Game 4’s victory for the Lightning.

Slafkovsky skated 18:46 on Sunday. He was the hero in Montreal’s victory in the series opener, scoring the overtime winner to complete a hat trick.

Game 5 of this series goes from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, with the series tied 2-2 after a comeback victory by the Lightning on Sunday in Montreal.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Brandon Hagel did not participate in practice with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, according to reports.

The 27-year-old forward leads all skaters with six goals in the playoffs so far, and his two third-period goals in Game 4 helped push the Lightning to a 3-2 victory to even the series at two games apiece.

The Lightning have also played this series without star defenceman Victor Hedman, and though he is continuing to practice with the team, he is not expected to be in the lineup at any point this series.

Hedman has not played since March 19, and had been away from the team due to a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars will not have star centre Roope Hintz in the lineup in Game 5 on Tuesday or in Game 6, per The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus.

The 29-year-old Hintz has been out of the lineup since March 6, when he suffered a lower-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche.

Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan wouldn’t rule Hintz out for a Game 7, if the series goes that far, but said he wouldn’t “bet on” Hintz being ready for that game, per Lazerus.

Hintz scored 15 goals and finished with 44 points in 53 games in the regular season.

The Stars enter Tuesday’s Game 5 tied 2-2 in a hotly-contested series against the Minnesota Wild.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres skated the following lines in practice on Tuesday:

Krebs-Thompson-Tuch

Zucker-McLeod-Quinn

Benson-Ostlund-Doan

Greenway-Kozak-Malenstyn

Dahlin-Samuelsson

Byram-Power

Stanley-Timmins

Lyon

The Sabres are looking to take the series against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 on Tuesday.

Buffalo took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a blowout 6-1 victory on Sunday.