Devils captain returns to practice 

The Devils are inching back to full health among their complement of star forwards. Captain Nico Hischier, who remains sidelined with an upper-body injury, returned to practice Monday, per the team.

Hischier hasn’t played in over three weeks, last appearing in the team’s October 27 contest against the Sabres. He’s missed the following nine games due to injury and landed on injured reserve last week in order to create room on the Devils’ 23-man roster. This doesn’t confirm Hischier will return to game action in time for the Devils’ next game, a Wednesday contest against the Red Wings, although it is a good sign that he’s nearing a return. Hischier can be activated from IR at any time, given he’s missed more than seven days since the injury occurred. The Swiss center had just two goals and no assists in seven contests this season.

Also in New Jersey, NHL.com’s Mike Morreale relays that forwards Timo Meier and Tomáš Nosek are absent from practice Monday, both with injury concerns. Meier, 27, remains away from the team with a lower-body injury that’s kept him out of the last two games, and he remains listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, Nosek left Saturday’s contest and did not return after taking a jarring hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. It appears to be an upper-body injury for the Czech depth forward, who’s played in just six of 15 contests this season due to injuries. He’s still looking for his first point as a Devil after signing a one-year, $1M deal with the team in July.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference on this Monday morning:

• Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot returned to practice in a non-contact jersey Monday, albeit for a skills session, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. Chabot is in the third week of the four-to-six-week recovery timeline for the right-hand fracture he suffered on October 26 against the Islanders. He has not met the requirements to be activated off LTIR yet, however. Chabot must miss two more games before he can return to the lineup, putting his earliest possible return on December 1 against the Blue Jackets. The Senators have certainly missed their $8M man on the blue line, who has three assists and a -1 rating in seven contests this season while averaging 24:19 per game.
• From one country’s capital to another, Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov returned to practice Monday morning, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. Kuznetsov was absent from the team’s Saturday game against the Blue Jackets and its preceding practice with an undisclosed illness. The Russian center is in the seventh season of an eight-year deal carrying a $7.8M cap hit, and his offensive production is off to a mediocre start for a second straight season. Playing over 21 minutes per game, Kuznetsov has three goals and eight points in 14 contests in 2023-24.