White missed the final five games before the All-Star break but said he’s almost 100 percent sure that he will play on Friday. The Senators went 2-3-0 without White, who has 11 goals and 15 assists (26 points) in 44 games this season.
Johnson was forced to leave Monday’s game vs. the Devils and did not return. Head coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update on Johnson’s status post-game but expects to have more information on Tuesday. This is poor timing because the Penguins depleted their blueline depth on Monday, trading Jamie Oleksiak to the Stars.
Jones was banged up in the All-Star game and was not on the ice for Monday’s practice, but is expected to play Tuesday vs. Buffalo. Jones enjoyed a successful All-Star weekend and returned to his team with seven goals and 22 assists (29 points) in 41 games this season.
Nieves has split his time between the AHL and NHL for the last two seasons, scoring seven points (2G / 5A) in 16 games with the Rangers. Look for him to centre their fourth line with Cody McLeod and Pavel Buchnevich on Tuesday.
Hayes has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury but will replace Mats Zuccarello, who is sidelined with a foot infection. Hayes has had a solid campaign, scoring 10 goals with 23 assists (33 points) in 39 games and will skate on the second-line with Jimmy Vesey and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Gostisbehere was a late-scratch from Monday’s game against the Jets and has already been ruled out for Tuesday’s game in New York. Look for Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim to play huge minutes and eat-up the power-play time while Gostisbehere is out.
Durzi was a second-round pick (No.52 overall) in 2018 but remains unsigned as he plays for the Guelph Storm (OHL). Durzi, who was traded by Owen Sound this season, has totalled eight goals and 20 assists (28 points) in just 26 OHL games between the two teams.
Grundstrom was one of the Maple Leafs’ top prospects and has been enjoying a quality campaign with the Marlies, scoring 13 goals with 16 assists (29 points) in 42 games. Grundstrom, a former second-round pick, plays a physical two-way game but doesn’t project to be much of a high-end scorer at the NHL-level.
Toronto needed to bolster their blueline and did so by adding Muzzin, who has spent the first seven seasons of his career in Los Angeles. The Maple Leafs really needed a right-handed defenseman but Muzzin was a much cheaper alternative and goes to Toronto with one more season on his contract that carries a $4.0M AAV cap-hit. Muzzin, who is 6-foot-3, 213 lbs., who can produce solid offensive numbers and play physically. He projects to play on the top-pair with Morgan Rielly, which will allow Ron Hainsey to play significantly less taxing minutes.
Gostisbehere was expected to be in the Flyers lineup on Monday but the team announced he would miss the game right at 7:00 pm. This is a tough break for them as the Flyers lack offensive talent on the back-end outside of Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim.
The Penguins acquired Oleksiak from the Stars last season for the very same fourth-round pick that the Stars just sent back to them. It was essentially an 83-game loan, where Oleksiak had eight goals and 17 assists (25 points). The move frees up $2.1375M in cap space for the Penguins.
Georgiev allowed seven goals on 40 shots in the Rangers loss in Columbus back on January 13th. The 22-year-old has gone 3-1-0 with a 1.89 GAA, .931 SV% and one shutout on home-ice this season and will get the start tonight to give All-Star Henrik Lundqvist a breather. Georgiev is 2-9-0 with a 3.66 GAA and .883 SV% during his 11 games with Hartford (AHL) this year.
Despite picking up two assists in the final two games before the Bruins’ bye week, Forsbacka Karlsson heads to Providence to allow Trent Frederic to make his NHL debut on Tuesday. Overall, Forsbacka Karlsson has nine points (3G / 6A) in 28 games with the Bruins this year.
Donato was a healthy scratch in the Bruins final game before the All-Star break and has been replaced on the active roster by Peter Cehlarik. Donato can’t seem to get anything going this season, scoring just six goals to go along with three assists in 34 games with Boston.
Cehlarik played in the final three games before the All-Star break, scoring two goals and one assist in three games. That mini hot-streak was enough for the Bruins to want him to stay on the active roster over a struggling Ryan Donato.
Frederic was a first-round pick of the Bruins back in 2016 (No. 29 overall) and could make his NHL debut on Tuesday. The 20-year-old centre has collected 10 goals and seven assists in 37 games this season, in what is his first full AHL season. Frederic is expected to replace Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson in the Bruins bottom-6.
McIntyre has been called up on emergency basis because Tuukka Rask has been placed on IR. McIntyre will serve as Jaroslav Halak backup for at least one game (Tuesday) after going 16-8-0 with a 2.74 GAA and .887 SV% in 27 AHL games.
Rask was forced to leave the Bruins game vs. the Rangers back on January 19th following a collision with Filip Chytil in which Rask sustained a concussion. The Bruins moved him to IR and turn things over the Jaroslav Halak in the immediate future. Zane McIntyre has been recalled from Providence (AHL) to serve as Halak’s backup on Tuesday.
Zuccarello was not on the ice for Monday’s practice which makes him questionable for Tuesday’s game due to a foot infection. This would be a tough break for owners who recently picked Zuccarello up expecting him to continue his red-hot streak.
Wood missed the Devils last two games before their bye week but is expected to play Monday in Pittsburgh. Wood, who has 16 points (5G / 11A) in 45 games, is expected to skate on the second line with Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri.
