Zuccarello returned to the Rangers lineup on Thursday, but is nicked up again and will not play on Saturday. The newly acquired Ryan Strome will replace Zuccarello and make his Rangers debut.
Markstrom allowed five goals on 34 shots in the Canucks loss against the Islanders on Tuesday. Markstrom was finally given a breather on Thursday, so he’s expected to start on Saturday. Markstrom is riding a three-game losing skid and has a tough matchup as he goes head-to-head with Carey Price.
Panarin missed Thursday’s game but was back in practice on Friday and will play on Saturday. Panarin re-enters the lineup with 18 points (5G / 13A) in 18 games this season.
Lundqvist was pulled after allowing five goals on 17 shots in the Rangers loss to the Islanders on Thursday. It was the lone blimp in an otherwise strong November for Lundqvist, who has a 2.76 GAA and .915 SV% in 15 starts this season. He is also 5-3-0 on home-ice this year.
Foligno will be scratched on Saturday, but Artemi Panarin and Riley Nash are expected to be back in the Blue Jackets lineup after missing Thursday’s game with illness. Expect Foligno to be back in the lineup in Toronto on Monday.
Bergeron was nicked up in the Bruins loss in Dallas on Friday and will be a game-time call in Arizona tonight. Bergeron has had injury troubles in the past, but it doesn’t sound like this is overly serious.
Helm left this afternoon’s game in New Jersey with an upper-body injury and head coach Jeff Blashill expects him to be out for an extended period of time. Helm played just 2:03 TOI before departing the game and his injury will likely lead to someone being called up from the AHL.
Beaulieu is expected to be a healthy scratch on Saturday with Casey Nelson being re-inserted into the lineup. It’s a bit of a surprising decision with Beaulieu recording one goal and two assist in his last three games.
Nelson has sat out of the last four games, but will replace Nathan Beaulieu in the lineup on Saturday. Nelson has just two assists and 10 shots on goal in 13 games this season.
Ullmark surrendered five goals on 32 shots in the Sabres loss in Montreal on November 8th. Ullmark has been up-and-down in five starts this season, posting a 2.79 GAA, .916 SV% and one shutout overall. Tonight he runs into a Wild team that has won six of their last eight games (6-2-0) while averaging 3.88 goals for per game.
Dell surrendered four goals on 31 shots in the Sharks loss in St. Louis on November 9th. Dell opened the season with a win, but has lost four straight games since, allowing a combined 13 goals on 125 shots (.896 SV%). Dell has struggled and the Blues are seventh in the NHL in scoring, but they do come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Brassard has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury, but he is set to return on Saturday night. Brassard is expected to centre the Penguins second line with Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel with Sidney Crosby out with an upper-body injury. Brassard has one goal and four assists (five points) in eight games this season.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as head coach Mike Sullivan said he expects Crosby to mis about one week. With Crosby missing his second straight game, Evgeni Malkin will play huge minutes again tonight.
Petrovic has appeared in all 16 games this season, picking up just one assist, 18 PIMS and 27 shots. He will be replaced by Mark Pysyk, who returns from an upper-body injury.
Malgin was in the lineup for the last seven games, picking up just one goal and one assist. He will be replaced by Maxim Mamin tonight.
Pysyk has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury, but will replace Alex Petrovic on Saturday. Pysyk has just two assists in five games this season.
Mamin has been a healthy scratch for the last five games, but will replace Denis Malgin in the lineup on Saturday. Mamin has no points and just six shots in six games this season.
