Hayton was hurt in the World Juniors semi-finals and played through the injury to lead Canada to a gold medal. Hayton re-joined the Coyotes on Wednesday but is expected to miss multiple weeks with a shoulder injury.
Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Lightning's win over the Canucks on Tuesday. Vasilevskiy extended his winning streak to six games, posting a 2.17 GAA and .932 SV% in the process. Tonight he takes on a Coyotes team with their third-string netminder but also riding a four-game winning streak.
Shesterkin allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Rangers win over the Avalanche on Tuesday. Shesterkin had a tough start, giving up two early goals but settled in and recorded a win in his NHL debut. On Thursday he will face a Devils team that has won four of their last five road games (4-1-0) while scoring 3.20 goals per game.
Lizotte was forced to leave Wednesday's game vs. Dallas early in the first period and did not return. The 22-year-old's absence allowed Michael Amadio to move up to the third line and Matt Luff will draw in on the fourth line in Vegas.
Couture was forced to leave Tuesday's game against the Blues with an obvious lower-body injury that he suffered while crashing into the end boards. Couture had to be helped off of the ice and it didn't look good right away. The early reports are that Couture suffered a fractured ankle and is "week-to-week" but will likely be out until mid-February. Look for the Sharks to release a detailed timetable in the coming 24 hours.
Andersson was a pending restricted free agent who is now signed through the 2025-26 season. Andersson often fills in on the Flames top pair and is a future everyday top pair defenseman making second pair money. The 23-year-old has 12 points (3G / 9A) in 45 games this season while carrying a 52.9 CF% and +3.0 CF% rel.
Marchment has been in the lineup for the last three games but will be replaced by Dmytro Timashov on Wednesday.
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.
