Xhekaj was a healthy scratch for Thursday's game in Washington but he will replace Justin Barron in the lineup on Saturday. Xhekaj has no points and a minus-6 rating in eight games this season.
Montembeault was pulled after allowing five goals on 10 shots in the Canadiens' loss to the Kraken on Tuesday. Cayden Primeau struggled on Thursday, so the Canadiens will go back to Montembeault Saturday in Pittsburgh. Montembeault has had some ugly starts this season but still holds a 57.1 QualityStart% and comes into Saturday with a 3.67 GAA and .891 SV% in seven games.
After playing in all 10 games to start the season, Lundkvist will come out of the lineup on Saturday. Lundkvist will be replaced by Brendan Smith.
Seguin will come out of the lineup on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. He'll be replaced by Oskar Bäck. Seguin's injury is not believed to be serious and he could be back in the Stars lineup when they return from Finland next Thursday vs. the Blackhawks.
Smith will draw into the Stars lineup for the first time since October 19th. Smith, who is still looking for his first point of the season, will replace Nils Lundkvist on the Stars' blueline.
Bäck has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace Tyler Seguin (lower-body) in the lineup on Saturday. Bäck has just one assist and four shots on goal in eight games this season.
Ersson allowed one goal on 21 shots in the Flyers win over the Blues on Thursday. Ersson has won three in a row while posting a 2.00 GAA and .917 SV%. He draws a pretty solid matchup this afternoon against a Bruins team that has the seventh-fewest goals per game (2.64) this season. Still, the Flyers are +102 home underdogs.
Woll allowed one goal on 25 shots in the Maple Leafs' win over the Kraken on Thursday. Woll will start for a second straight game, as he faces his hometown team in St. Louis. Woll faced the Blues in his first start of the season, he allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 5-1 loss on on October 24th.
Nedeljkovic allowed one goal on 23 shots in the Penguins' win over the Ducks on Thursday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Nedeljkovic to open the season and moved him to a 3.18 GAA and .890 SV% through four games. On Saturday, Nedeljkovic and the Penguins are -178 home favourites vs. the Canadiens.
Holl will be replaced by Erik Gustafsson and sit as a healthy scratch for the second time in three games. Holl has just one assist in seven games this season.
Gustafsson continues to shuffle in and out of the Red Wings lineup, as he'll replace Justin Holl in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last two games. Gustafsson has two assists and 10 SOG in six games this season.
Motte had been practicing with the team over the last couple of days but will miss his seventh straight game on Sunday. Head coach Derek Lalonde said that Motte "will need some more time." Jonatan Berggren, who was trending toward being a healthy scratch, will remain in the lineup vs. the Sabres.
Nedeljkovic allowed one goal on 23 shots in the Penguins' win over the Ducks on Thursday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Nedeljkovic to open the season and moved him to a 3.18 GAA and .890 SV% through four games. On Saturday, Nedeljkovic and the Penguins are -178 home favourites vs. the Canadiens.
Chychrun was hurt Tuesday vs. the Rangers, and moving him to IR means that he'll miss at least two more games. The Capitals used the roster spot to call up Vincent Iorio from Hershey (AHL) to have an extra defenseman for their Saturday/Sunday back-to-back.
In a corresponding move, the Capitals placed Jakob Chychrun on injured reserve. Iorio, who appeared in six NHL games last season, has scored one goal with two assists (three points) in nine AHL games this season.
Knight allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Panthers' win over the Islanders last Saturday. WIth Sergei Bobrovsky starting yesterday, Knight will start the second-half of the Panthers back-to-back in Finland. He hasn't been particularly sharp in his three starts (3.03 GAA and .898 SV%) but it's been good enough win two of three.
Reilly avoided being stretchered off, but had to he helped off the ice after being hit by Jordan Greenway. The Islanders did not have a post-game update on his status but the defenseman will travel to New York with the team and be re-evaluated. Expect Dennis Cholowski to replace him in the lineup on Sunday.
DeSmith stopped 25 of 27 shots in the Stars win in Boston last Thursday. With Jake Oettinger starting on Friday, DeSmith will get the second-half of the back-to-back on Saturday vs. the Panthers. He's had a great start to his Stars career, going 2-1-0 with a 1.69 GAA, .936 SV% and one shutout in three starts.
With Tampa Bay looking for a season-best four-game winning streak, they will turn to Vasilevskiy between the pipes on Friday night for his fifth straight start. The 30-year-old Vasilevskiy has had an up-and-down season, with a 2.47 GAA and .911 SV% in nine games (6-3-1), but has been exceptional lately, allowing two or fewer goals in three straight (3-0-0), posting a stellar .962 SV%. Tampa Bay enters the action on Friday as slight +103 road underdogs against a Minnesota Wild club with only one regulation loss (6-1-2).
Ullmark has had an inconsistent start to his tenure as a Senator, partly derailed due to injuries, but was tremendous in his last outing, saving 26 of 27 shots (.963 SV%) in an 8-1 win over the St. Louis Blues and will return to the crease on Friday night against the New York Rangers. The Senators are sporting a 5-4-0 record and rank in the top five in the league offensively, averaging 4.2 goals per game. That said, the Senators enter the action on Friday as +170 road underdogs against a Rangers club with a 6-2-1 record.
