It’s a waiting game for forwards Brandon Pirri, Matt Puempel and to some extent, defenseman Adam Clendening.
The trade deadline is a week away and each was a healthy scratch again Tuesday night.
Pirri, signed as a free agent in August, hasn’t played at all in February, missing nine games. Puempel was claimed off waivers from Ottawa in November, and had played just once in the last seven, about eight minutes against the Islanders, when coach Alain Vigneault sat Pavel Buchnevich.
“It’s part of the business,” Puempel said recently. “Sometimes guys get hurt or get a game off, so you have to be ready.