Bourque has been sidelined by a head injury since February 1st, but he will draw onto the fourth line tonight vs. the Sabres. Bourque has nine goals and four assists (13 points) in 43 games and is expected to replace either Andreas Martinsen or Joe Colbourne.
Johnson has been out with a broken fibula since December 3rd, but will play tonight vs. the Sabres. The Avalanche are expected to ease Johnson into the lineup on Saturday, so expect Tyson Barrie to see time on the top PP unit, but for Johnson to play on the second unit.
Lehner allowed five goals on 37 shots in the Sabres’ loss to the Blackhawks last Sunday. After a bye week, Lehner will get back in goal tonight in Colorado. He has gone 5-4-1 with a 2.20 GAA and .942 SV% in his last 10 starts and posted a 23-save shutout in his first start against the Avalanche, which came just nine days ago.
Price allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Canadiens’ loss to the Islanders on Thursday. After a rough stretch of games, Price has improved recently, allowing just six goals on 85 shots (.929 SV%) in his last three games. Tonight he faces a Maple Leafs team that he has dominated this season—3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .953 SV% in the first three meetings of the season.
Hjalmarsson is day-to-day, so he won’t play on Sunday vs. the Blues. With Hjalmarsson out, Trevor van Riemsdyk will play on the top pair and Michal Rozsival will draw into the lineup.
McGinn suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday’s win over the Senators and will not play on Sunday. With McGinn listed as day-to-day, expect Derek Ryan to draw into the lineup for McGinn.
Quick has been sidelined since the season opener by a groin injury, but General Manager Dean Lombardi said it’s “possible” that Quick is activated from IR and starts this afternoon’s game. Don’t expect to hear about Quick’s status until just before this afternoon’s 4p.m. ET puck-drop.
Schultz has missed the last three games with a concussion, but was at practice on Friday and took part in today’s morning skate which suggests he should be in the lineup tonight despite being listed as a game-time decision. Schultz should play a big role with Kris Letang, Trevor Daley and Olli Maatta all sidelined with injuries.
It remains to be known when Letang got hurt, but he will be held out of the lineup in Saturday’s outdoor game vs. the Flyers. Letang joins Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley, which leaves the Penguins’ blueline extremely thin. Ron Hainsey is expected to play big minutes in his Penguins debut with Letang sidelined.
Marner will miss his fifth consecutive games with an upper-body injury that he suffered 10 days ago. Marner was on the ice for the Maple Leafs’ morning skate and head coach Mike Babcock said that he looked like the best player out there and didn’t know why he’s not playing tonight.
Bozak missed Friday’s practice and was not on the ice for Saturday’s morning skate, so Mike Babcock has listed him as a game-time decision for tonight’s contest with the Canadiens. With Bozak not available this morning, Ben Smith skated in his spot between James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown.
Bobrovsky surrendered four goals on 32 shots in the Blue Jackets’ loss to Nashville last Sunday. He is expected to start the Blue Jackets’ first game out of their bye week and it will be his third of the season vs. the Islanders—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 3.42 GAA and .889 SV% in the first two. Bob has struggled in February, going 3-4-1 with a 2.73 GAA and .909 SV%.
Murray allowed one goal on 30 shots in the Penguins’ win in Carolina on Tuesday. The win snapped a brief two-game losing streak for Murray, who will start tonight’s outdoor game vs. the Flyers. Murray is 12-2-2 with a 2.31 GAA and .927 SV% in front of the home crowd, but tonight’s game will be a little different than PPG Paints Arena.
Greiss stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Islanders’ 3-0 shutout win in Montreal on Thursday. Greiss has won three of his last four starts while posting a 1.51 GAA, .939 SV% and one shutout. He will look to stay hot this afternoon in Columbus—the 31-year-old stopped 21 of 23 shots in a 4-2 win in his first start against the Blue Jackets.
Andersen allowed one goal on 38 shots in the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers on Thursday night. Andersen is now 3-3-3 with a 3.41 GAA and .897 SV% in nine February starts and tonight he’ll take on Montreal for the fourth time this season—he has gone 0-3-0 with a 3.12 GAA and .901 SV% in them first three.
McCormick had just two shots and a minus-1 rating while averaging just 6:01 TOI in two games during his call-up. He will switch places with Phil Varone, who was recalled this morning.
Bailey registered six shots in two games while averaging just 9:56 TOI in two games during his call-up. He will switch players with Mike Blunden on the AHL roster.
Niskanen will miss his second game in a row after suffered a lower-body injury in Philadelphia on Wednesday. With Niskanen sidelined, John Carlson will continue to see a bunch of power play time and Taylor Chorney will remain in the lineup.
