Timashov was a healthy scratch on Monday and in two of the last three games but will replace Mason Marchment in the lineup on Wednesday. He has three goals and five assists in 30 games this season.
With Shayne Gostisbehere out with a knee injury, Friedman will play in his second career NHL game. The 24-year-old, who has 10 points (2G / 8A) in 28 AHL games this season will skate on the third pair with Robert Hagg.
Gostisbehere is dealing with a knee injury and underwent an MRI earlier today. Mark Friedman was called-up from the AHL this afternoon and will make his season debut in Gostisbehere’s place and Travis Sanheim will see power-play time.
Lehner missed the last two games with a knee injury but declared himself good-to-go following Wednesday's practice. Kevin Lankinen was assigned to the AHL this afternoon, clearing the way for Lehner to at least be available to backup Corey Crawford.
Lankinen served as Corey Crawford's backup for the last two games so his return to the AHL suggests that Robin Lehner will be available on Thursday.
Vejdemo appeared in four of the last five games but failed to record a point while playing 7:30 ATOI. His return to the AHL suggests that Brendan Gallagher could be back in the lineup on Thursday. The 23-year-old heads back to Laval, where he has 16 points (8G / 8A) in 30 games.
Smith gave up four goals on 36 shots in the Oilers win in Toronto on Monday. Smith will make his fourth straight start on Thursday after going 2-0-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .918 SV% in his previous three outings. He'll face a Canadiens team that is riding a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) while scoring 2.57 goals per game.
Hayton served as captain for Team Canada, who won the gold medal at the World Juniors. Hayton finished seven in tournament scoring, scoring six goals with six assists (12 points) in seven games. He has posted four points (1G / 3A) in 14 NHL games this season.
Andersen was pulled after allowing three goals on 19 shots in the Maple Leafs loss to Edmonton on Monday. It was a rare horrible outing for Andersen, who is now 2-0-1 while allowing 12 goals on 132 shots (.909 SV%) since the Christmas break. One of those wins was against the Jets, who he'll face again tonight--he stopped 45 of 48 shots in a 6-3 win last Thursday.
Hart was yanked after he allowed three goals on 12 shots in the Flyers 6-2 loss in Arizona on Saturday. Hart struggled on the road-trip, going 0-3-0 while giving up 15 goals on 88 shots (.830 SV%) in four games. He'll be happy to return to home-ice, where he has gone 11-1-2 with a 1.49 GAA, .947 SV% and one shutout in 14 games this season.
Andreoff was set to be a healthy scratch for the second straight night, so he heads back to the AHL with Mark Friedman coming up to take his spot on the roster. Andreoff has four goals and four assists in 14 AHL games this season.
Friedman, 24, was a third-round pick in 2014 (No.86 overall) and has played in just one career NHL game since then. The 5-foot-10, 192 lbs. defenseman has accumulated 10 points (2G / 8A) in 28 AHL games this season.
Silfverberg was forced to leave Tuesday’s loss to the Blue Jackets and is questionable to play Thursday. With Silfverberg not on the ice on Wednesday, Max Comtois skated in his spot and will likely play there tomorrow if he can’t go.
Strome was forced to leave Tuesday’s game with an ankle injury and will miss at least one game. He was not available for Wednesday’s practice and head coach Jeremy Colliton is unsure about a timeline but doesn’t expect it to be long-term.
Bishop allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Stars win over the Predators in the Winter Classic. With Anton Khudobin set to start Wednesday in Los Angeles, Bishop will get the second-half of the back-to-back on Thursday. In his first two games against the Golden Knights, Bishop has gone 1-0-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .917 SV%.
Klingberg will miss his second straight game on Wednesday and likely won’t play Thursday in Vegas either. With Klingberg out, Esa Lindell is expected to continue to quarterback the second power-play unit.
Khudobin allowed one goal on 23 shots in the Stars win over the Red Wings last Friday. In his last five outings (four starts), Khuodbin has gone 4-0-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .949 SV%. He has been steady all season long, even on the road, where he is 6-4-1 with a 2.51 GAA and .928 SV%. Tonight he faces a Kings team that has lost three of their last four home games while averaging 2.25 goals per game.
Frolik was acquired from the Flames last Thursday and will make his season debut a week later. Frolik skated on the second line with Marcus Johansson and Conor Sheary at Wednesday's practice and is also expected to see some penalty kill time.
Bourque remained in the lineup with Andrew Copp back in the lineup on Monday but will be replaced by Jansen Harkins tonight in Toronto.
Harkins was a healthy scratch in Montreal on Monday but will replace Gabriel Bourque tonight in Toronto. Harkins has two assists while playing 8:54 ATOI in seven games this season.
