Dahlin has missed the last eight games with a concussion that he suffered on November 25th but could play Thursday vs. the Predators. Dahlin skated on the top-pair and top power-play unit in Wednesday's practice but head coach Ralph Kruger would not commit to him playing tonight.
Bernier allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Red Wings' loss to the Penguins last Saturday. Bernier has lost each of his last seven starts and has allowed at least three goals in each game--he's 0-5-1 with a 3.78 GAA and .885 SV% in that span. The Red Wings could be without Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou up front tonight, so it's hard to envision Bernier giving up less than three goals and getting enough goal support to win.
Ullmark allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Sabres' win over the Blues on Tuesday. Ullmark has taken over as the Sabres' No.1 and will make his fifth start in Buffalo's last six games. He has won four of his last five starts while stopping 148 of 161 shots (.919 SV%). The 26-year-old is 5-2-1 with a 2.49 GAA and. 922 SV% on home-ice this season.
The Penguins recalled Blandisi without any explanation, so we should find out if someone is hurt a few hours prior to puck-drop. Blandisi has three points (1G / 2A) in 11 games with the Penguins this season and has added seven points (3G / 4A) in 12 AHL games.
Primeau allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Canadiens' 3-2 loss to the Avalanche. Last Thursday. It was a solid NHL debut for the 20-year-old, who will make his second career start Wednesday vs. Ottawa. The Senators have surprised a lot of people this season and have played well on the road lately, winning six of their last seven while scoring 3.43 goals per game.
McIlrath has failed to record a point in 16 games with the Red Wings this season. With McIlrath and Dennis Cholowski going back to Grand Rapids, Jonathan Ericsson and Alex Biega will play on Thursday.
Cholowski has registered just two assists in his last 12 games and his return to the AHL suggests that Jonathan Ericsson and Alex Biega will play on Thursday. Cholowski had 12 assists in 25 games with Grand Rapids a season ago.
MacEwen was recently sent back to Utica but was quickly summoned after Micheal Ferland suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday. MacEwen has nine points (3G / 6A) in 14 AHL games and two points (1G / 1A) in seven NHL games this season.
Ferland was forced to leave Tuesday's game vs. the Maple Leafs with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Ferland was in just his second game back after missing 17 games with a concussion. There's obvious fear that Ferland could be dealing with another concussion, which would sideline him for an extended period of time. The Canucks recalled Zack MacEwan from Utica (AHL), which suggests Ferland won't play Thursday.
Bemstrom was hurt on a cross-check from Brian Boyle in Saturday's game in Florida and will be out until at least mid-to-late January. Alex Wennberg replaced Bemstrom on Monday and will likely remain in the Blue Jackets lineup moving forward.
Saarela played in three straight games with Florida, failing to record a point with just three shots in 11:41 ATOI. With Saarela being sent back to the AHL, Denis Malgin is expected to draw back into the Panthers lineup on Thursday.
Peca was forced to leave Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh with a lower-body injury and may not play vs. the Senators. The fact that the Canadiens recalled Ryan Poehling from Laval (AHL) this morning, suggests that Peca won't be available.
Werner was sent down on Tuesday because they expected Philipp Grubauer (hamstring) would be ready for Wednesday's game vs. the Flyers. Werner will serve as Pavel Francouz's backup for the second straight game.
Francouz allowed five goals on 33 shots in Colorado's overtime loss to the Flames on Monday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Francouz, who will start again Wednesday with Philipp Grubauer still sidelined with a hamstring injury. The 29-year-old netminder is 3-1-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .901 SV% on home ice and gets the nod vs. a Flyers team without two of their top-6 wingers.
Lindblom is dealing with an upper-body injury, leaving the Flyers without two of their top-6 wingers in Colorado. Lindblom joins Travis Konecny on the sideline and will be replaced by David Kase, who was called up on Wednesday morning.
Kadri has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury but will play vs. the Flyers on Wednesday. Kadri, who has 20 points (10G / 10A) in 27 games this season, will skate with Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky at even strength and is expected to be back on the top power-play unit.
Zadina was sent down during the Red Wings' lengthy layoff but has appeared in seven straight games with the Red Wings. He has three assists in his last four games but heads back to the Griffins, where he has 13 points (7G / 6A) in 20 games.
Makar, who missed the first game of his pro career on Monday, skated on his own in a non-contact jersey on Tuesday. Makar has been "feeling better the last couple days" according to head coach Jared Bednar but the rookie defenseman is not expected to play vs. the Flyers.
Kadri has missed the lat three games with a lower-body injury but was a full participant in Tuesday's practice and may play vs. the Flyers. Kadri, who has 10 goals and 10 assists (20 points) in 27 games this season, will skate with Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky if he plays.
Staal was forced to leave Tuesday's game after colliding head/shoulder first with a linesman in the neutral zone. Staal was down for a while and had to be helped off of the ice by the Wild medical staff. It looks like Staal is going to miss some time, leaving them without their first and second-line centres moving forward.
