Flyers' captain Couturier is battling a lower-body injury, did not play on Thursday, and is questionable for Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Morgan Frost drew into the lineup on Thursdays as Couturier's replacement. Couturier has eight points (3G / 5A) in 16 games this season but has been held off the scoresheet in 13.
Ersson was beginning to come to form lately, allowing only seven combined goals in his last five outings (3-0-1), posting a stellar .940 SV%. Expect Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov to both see a fair share of the crease over the next 1-2 weeks while Ersson is sidelined.
Loof was the third-round pick, 88th overall, of the St. Louis Blues in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old Loof has one point (0G / 1A) in 11 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season. In a corresponding move, the Blues recalled Corey Schueneman from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL).
Schueneman is an undrafted 29-year-old defenseman with 31 games of NHL experience but has not played since a seven-game stint with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2022-23 season. Predominantly an AHL player, Schueneman has five points (1G / 4A) in 13 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season. In a corresponding move, the Blues have reassigned Leo Loof to Springfield.
The Blue Jackets have lost six straight, with Merzlikins on the hook for four of them, but will roll with the Latvian goalie on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 30-year-old Merzlikins has shown flashes of strong play this season but has been inconsistent, including allowing four or more goals in three of his previous four outings (0-3-1), posting an ugly .872 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Friday's contest as +115 home underdogs against a Penguins club riding a two-game losing skid (0-1-1).
Jordan Harris will draw back into the Blue Jackets lineup on Friday, resulting in Johnson being a healthy scratch. Before Friday, Johnson had played all but one of 15 games for the Blue Jackets this season, averaging 14:58 time-on-ice, recording one assist and a -3 plus/minus.
Jack Johnson will be a healthy scratch on Friday, allowing Harris to suit up for only the second time in six games. The 24-year-old Harris is averaging 13:10 time-on-ice and has zero points in eight games this season.
The Blue Jackets have lost six straight, with Merzlikins on the hook for four of them, but will roll with the Latvian goalie on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 30-year-old Merzlikins has shown flashes of strong play this season but has been inconsistent, including allowing four or more goals in three of his previous four outings (0-3-1), posting an ugly .872 SV%. The Blue Jackets enter Friday's contest as +115 home underdogs against a Penguins club riding a two-game losing skid (0-1-1).
Pickering was the first-round pick, 21st overall, of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game and has one point (1G / 0A) in 12 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) this season.
Martinez has not played since the fourth game of the season, missing 12 straight. The veteran 37-year-old defenseman is averaging 21:02 time-on-ice through four games this season and has tallied one assist, 15 blocks, and one hit.
The Canucks will turn to Lankinen between the pipes for the sixth straight game and for the 11th time in the last 12. The 29-year-old Lankinen has earned his workload this season, being terrific in the crease for the Canucks, posting a 2.46 GAA and .911 SV% in 11 games (8-1-2). The Canucks enter the action on Thursday as -180 home favorites against a New York Islanders club averaging 2.6 goals per game.
Eriksson Ek suffered the injury in the first period and was unable to return. We should receive an update on his status ahead of the Wild's game against the Stars on Saturday.
It's unclear when Zuccarello suffered the injury, but he did not join his teammates for the start of the second period. We should receive an update on his status ahead of the Wild's game against the Stars on Saturday.
Joseph suffered the injury early in the second period and was unable to return. We should receive an update on his status ahead of the Blues' game in Boston on Saturday.
It's unclear when Chytil suffered the injury, but he was unable to join his teammates on the bench for the start of the third period. We should receive an update on his status ahead of New York's game in Seattle on Sunday.
Sturm left mid-way through the second period and was unable to return. We should receive an update on his status ahead of San Jose's game in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Wedgewood will make just his fourth start of the season when the Predators travel to Edmonton on Thursday. Wedgewood's last appearance came on November 7th in Florida. He allowed six goals on 34 shots as the Predators fell to the Panthers by a score of 6-2. Wedgewood owns a 1-2-0 record and a disappointing .841 SV% on the season. He and the Predators enter action on Thursday as +145 underdogs in Edmonton.
Brown will make his season debut on Thursday in place of healthy scratch Tyler Johnson. Brown had zero goals and one assist in 11 games with the Bruins last season.
Johnson will take a seat on Thursday after going pointless in his first four games with the Bruins. Patrick Brown will take his spot in the lineup.
Texier will take a seat on Thursday as Kasperi Kapanen draws back into the Blues' lineup. Texier has one goal and two assists in ten games this season.
