Donato has been disappointing in the early portion of the season, scoring just once in six games. He will be a healthy scratch for the second time in four games and will be replaced by Anders Bjork.
Bjork was a healthy scratch in Edmonton on Thursday, but will replace Ryan Donato in the Bruins lineup in Vancouver. Bjork has scored just one goal and one assist in five games this season.
Miller suffered a head injury while blocking a shot in Edmonton and will return to Boston to be undergo further testing. With Charlie McAvoy also out, Urho Vaakainen has been called-up and will play on Saturday.
McAvoy took a hit against Edmonton last week and has not been feeling right according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. McAvoy will undergo testing in Boston, so he won’t be available for Saturday’s game in Vancouver. Kevan Miller is also out, so Urho Vaakaninen has been recalled and will play.
Halak allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Bruins overtime loss in Edmonton on Thursday. Halak has become the most trusted goalie in Boston early in the season, posting a 1.69 GAA, .939 SV% and one shutout in his first four appearances. He has a better matchup tonight than he did in his last two starts.
Lehner was forced to leave Thursday’s game in Los Angeles, but stopped 28 of 30 shots and earned the win regardless. Lehner is surprisingly O.K. and will start tonight in San Jose. So far he has stopped 87 of the 93 shots (.935 SV%) that he has faced in his first three starts with the Islanders.
Beauvillier missed the Islanders morning skate and will be replaced by Tom Kuhnhackl in the Islanders lineup on Saturday. Beauvillier is considered day-to-day.
Quick had a rough return to the crease on Thursday, allowing six goals on 29 shots in the Kings loss to the Islanders. Despite the terrible outing, the Kings will stick with their unquestioned No.1 netminder this afternoon. He has a strong matchup against a Sabres team that is currently 30th in the NHL in scoring (1.86 GF/PG).
Elie has been in and out of the Sabres lineup since being claimed off of waivers, but will be out tonight with Patrik Berglund returnnign from being a healthy scratch on Thursday.
Thompson has not recorded a point while averaging 11:44 TOI/GM in his first seven games as a Sabre. Johan Larsson will draw in and take Thompson’s spot in the bottom-6.
Larsson has not played since October 11th, but will replace Tage Thompson in the lineup on Saturday. Larsson has a career-high of just 17 points (4G / 13A) in 80 games last year.
Markstrom has not started since October 9th, when he allowed five goals on 33 shots in the Canucks loss in Carolina. Anders Nilsson has played very well for the Canucks, but Markstrom will get back between the pipes tonight. He has allowed a combined 10 goals on 68 shots (.853 SV%) in his last two starts, so look elsewhere for a starter tonight.
Berglund was a healthy scratch on Thursday, but is expected to replace Remi Elie in the lineup on Saturday. Berglund has just one assist while averaging 14:25 TOI/GM in six games with the Sabres.
Vaakanainen, 19, has registered two assists in six games with Providence so far this season. The 2017 first round pick (No.18 overall) could draw into the lineup in Vancouver after being called-up on an emergency basis, suggesting someone is hurt.
Saros stopped all nine shots that he faced to guide the Predators to a win after replacing Pekka Rinne last night. Rinne landed on IR this afternoon, so Saros will be their No.1 netidner moving forward and comes into Saturday at 3-0-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .917 SV% in three starts.
Nelson was a healthy scratch on Thursday, but will be back in the lineup for the injured Nathan Beaulieu on Saturday. Nelson has no points and a minus-1 rating while averaging 16:03 TOI/GM in his first five games of the season.
Beaulieu played just 12:00 TOI on Thursday and will not play Saturday because of an undisclosed injury. Casey Nelson will draw into the Sabres lineup for Beaulieu.
