NHL Scratches & Line Changes

Ryan Reaves(RW)|TOR
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Reaves will be a healthy scratch on Thursday in New Jersey.

Reaves only saw 7:36 TOI in Toronto's season opener on Wednesday but will head to the press box as a healthy scratch on Thursday in New Jersey for Bobby McCann. Reaves only appeared in 49 games in 2024-25, and it appears he will be in and out of the lineup again this season.

Source:
David Alter 2024-10-10T21:04:11.110Z
Ryan Reaves
Bobby McMann(C)|TOR
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McMann will make his season debut on Thursday in New Jersey.

McMann was a healthy scratch for Toronto's season opener on Wednesday but finds himself in the lineup for Ryan Reaves on Thursday in New Jersey. The 28-year-old had a surprise breakout season in 2023-24, with 15 goals, 24 points, 52 PIMs and a +13 plus/minus in 56 games played.

Source:
David Alter 2024-10-10T21:05:52.121Z
Bobby McMann
Nate Schmidt(D)|UTA
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Line Change
Schmidt will make his Panthers' debut on Thursday in Ottawa.

Schmidt was a healthy scratch in the season opener for the Panthers but will draw into the lineup with Adam Boqvist temporarily sidelined due to an upper-body injury. Schmidt had 14 points (2G / 12A) in 63 games while also racking up 66 hits and 76 blocked shots in the 2023-24 season.

Source:
Doug Plagens 2024-10-10T16:43:41.773Z
Nate Schmidt
Logan Thompson(G)|WAS
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Thompson (personal) is expected to return to Capitals' practice on Friday.

Thompson has been away from the team since Monday due to personal reasons but will return to practice on Friday ahead of their season opener on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Thompson is expected to share the crease with Charlie Lindgren this season, his first with the Capitals.

Source:
Tom Gulitti 2024-10-10T16:37:53.392Z
Logan Thompson
Michael Carcone(LW)|FA
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Carcone will make his season debut on Thursday in New York.

Liam O'Brien will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Carcone to make his season debut. Carcone was a regular for the Arizona Coyotes last season, playing 74 games, but had a tale of two very different seasons. In his first 26 games, Carcone had 17 points (14G / 3A), before tailing off for his final 48 games when he scored only 12 points (7G / 5A).

Source:
Belle Fraser 2024-10-10T16:36:11.786Z
Michael Carcone
Liam O'Brien(C)|UTA
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O'Brien will be a healthy scratch on Thursday vs. the Islanders.

Michael Carcone will make his season debut on Thursday, resulting in O'Brien being a healthy scratch. On Tuesday, O'Brien played 10:30 time-on-ice, recording a +1 plus/minus, one shot on goal, and seven hits. He had 14 points (5G / 9A), 153 penalty minutes, and 229 hits in 75 games last season.

Source:
Belle Fraser 2024-10-10T16:34:10.074Z
Liam O'Brien
Oliver Kapanen(C)|MON
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Kapanen will make his NHL debut on Thursday vs. Boston.

Emil Heineman will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Kapanen to make his NHL debut. Kapanen was the second-round pick (64 overall) of the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old spent last season with KalPa Kuopio (SM-liiga), where he scored 34 points (14G / 20A) in 51 games.

Source:
Montreal Canadiens 2024-10-10T16:05:14.562Z
Oliver Kapanen
Max Jones(LW)|EDM
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Jones is expected to come out of the Bruins lineup on Thursday.

Jones will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Riley Tufte to draw into the lineup. Jones was held without a point or shot on goal while registering a -1 plus/minus in 9:42 of ice time in the Bruins' season-opening 6-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Source:
Fluto Shinzawa 2024-10-10T15:20:09.272Z
Max Jones
Riley Tufte(LW)|BOS
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Tufte is expected to draw into the Bruins lineup on Thursday.

Max Jones will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Tufte to make his Bruins debut. The 26-year-old Tufte spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, tallying 45 points (23G / 22A) in 67 games with the Colorado Eagles. He has three points (1G / 2A) in 18 career NHL games.

Source:
Fluto Shinzawa 2024-10-10T15:18:23.920Z
Riley Tufte
Troy Stecher(D)|EDM
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Stecher is expected to be a healthy scratch for the OIlers' season opener on Wednesday.

Stecher will be a healthy scratch in the season opener for the Oilers, allowing Travis Dermott to make his debut with the team. The 30-year-old Stecher joined the Oilers late last season and tallied two points (0G / 2A), a +4 plus/minus, 10 blocks, and 15 hits in seven games.

Source:
Tony Brar 2024-10-09T17:19:01.472Z
Troy Stecher
Travis Dermott(D)|FA
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Dermott is expected to make his Oilers' debut on Wednesday.

Dermott signed with Oilers earlier this week after a successful PTO and will make his debut in their season-opener on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Dermott has 329 games of NHL experience and spent the 2023-24 campaign with the Arizona Coyotes, tallying seven points (2G / 5A), a -14 plus/minus, 64 blocks, and 52 hits. He will line up on the third defensive pair alongside Brett Kulak.

Source:
Tony Brar 2024-10-09T17:17:10.566Z
Travis Dermott
Ondrej Palat(LW)|NJD
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Palat (personal) returned to New Jersey's practice on Tuesday.

Palat was away from the team for several days to attend to the birth of his child and should be ready for their next contest on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 33-year-old Palat is in his third season with the Devils and is coming off his lowest full-season production campaign, scoring only 31 points (11G / 20A) in 71 games.

Source:
Mike Morreale 2024-10-08T16:33:11.173Z
Ondrej Palat
Nate Schmidt(D)|UTA
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Schmidt will be a healthy scratch for Florida's season opener on Tuesday.

Schmidt signed with the Panthers in the offseason but will begin his tenure with his new club as a healthy scratch in their season opener. Schmidt had 14 points (2G / 12A) in 63 games while also racking up 66 hits and 76 blocked shots in the 2023-24 season. Uvis Balinskis will draw in on the third defensive pair for the Panthers.

Source:
Jameson Olive 2024-10-08T15:04:46.328Z
Nate Schmidt
Spencer Stastney(D)|NSH
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Stastney (personal) will begin the season on the Injured/Non-Roster list.

Stastney was absent from Nashville's training camp due to personal reasons and will begin the season on the Injured/Non-Roster list. The 24-year-old signed a two-year, $3.3 million contract extension ($1,650,000 AAV) in the offseason after putting up two goals, four points and a +9 plus/minus in 20 games played in 2023-24.

Source:
Emma Lingan 2024-10-07T21:26:03.730Z
Spencer Stastney
Brandon Saad(LW)|VGK
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Line Change
Saad (personal) will begin the season on the Injured/Non-Roster list.

Saad is expected to miss the Blues' first road trip of the season as he awaits the birth of his third child and has been placed on the Injured/Non-Roster list to begin 2024-25. The Blues will hope to have their veteran 31-year-old left-winger back soon after he finished 2023-24 fourth in team goals (26) and fifth in points (42).

Source:
Jeremy Rutherford 2024-10-07T21:05:06.798Z
Brandon Saad

NHL Line Changes

NHL line changes are essential in keeping a team’s players fresh on the ice over the course of a hard-fought 60-minute matchup. With shift changes occurring rapidly throughout any given game, we are here to provide you with everything you need to know regarding line changes.

Making sure a team is efficiently making line changes can be essential to their success within a matchup, as it ensures that the players needed on the ice to gain the upper hand are ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. For NHL daily fantasy hockey players, knowing how to track line changes can be important as you look to keep tabs on the players you’ve drafted to your lineup and their production.

On The Fly

Unlike other sports where play must come to a stop in order to make a player substitution, in hockey, players can switch in-and-out of play on the fly. This helps in keeping the breakneck pace of the contest going, increasing the amount of action from whistle-to-whistle and avoiding any unnecessary stoppages.

On the fly changes are generally done when a team is in possession of the puck and are looking to make a transition play from their own end to their opponent’s side of the rink. Players must be aware of the action around them when making an on the fly substitution as a poorly timed switch could leave themselves vulnerable to an odd-man rush on the other end.

In order to make successful line changes on the fly it is up to the team coaching staff to keep players informed on when their line matchups are due to hit the ice. Generally, with both forwards and defensive pairings, line changes go from the first line trickling its way down to the fourth. Depending on the situation of the game, coaches may opt to give a particular line more playing time, increasing the amount of shifts they receive.

Play Stoppages

NHL line changes can also be made during stoppage of play, with both sides being given the chance to put fresh bodies on the ice ahead of the upcoming faceoff. Examples of a play stoppage that would allow teams to make line changes are after minor or major penalties, offsides, icing, and puck out of play calls. These line changes are often much more calculated as each coach has time to survey the other team and decide what would be the most advantageous line combination that will provide them with a competitive advantage.

Bench Configuration

It may seem like a confusing and unorganized area of the game, but in hockey there is a fair amount of strategy put into the bench configuration within a matchup. With both benches positioned in the neutral zone, making sure that players can quickly hop the boards and get into the game is key to making successful line changes. Benches are generally set so that players entering into the game on the fly are in the best possible position on the ice to fulfill their role.

Generally, a bench in hockey will have the forwards positioned closest to the attacking zone, whereas the defenceman will be situated closest to their defensive zone. This separates the forward lines and defence pairings from on another on each end of the bench so that groups can easily stay together. From here the rested forwards ready to enter into the game will be placed in the centre of the bench, positioned near the coaches so they can easily receive instruction before hitting the ice. This is also advantageous as players coming off the ice for a line change will often enter from the opposite side they came onto the ice from, preventing any unnecessary traffic or confusion when making a change. While each team may have their own preferences on how to configure their bench, these are the most common ways they are run.

Line Change Rules

Understanding the rules of NHL line changes in hockey is an understated part of the game and when used correctly can swing the tide of a matchup in your favour. Without in-depth understanding of line changes in hockey, this can cause costly mistakes that can result in minor penalties, lengthy shifts, or mismatches off a faceoff.

Last Line Change

The last line change rule exists so that the home team is able to make an adjustment to whatever lineup the visiting team decides to roll out after a stoppage in play. This rule was designed to make NHL line changes efficient, as well as provide both sides with the chance to strategically place their players based on the lines sent out by their opponents.

For example, after the whistle, the home team’s coach can elect to make a line change to the personnel on the ice. After that, the visiting coach will send out any new players into the game off of a line change. Thanks to the last line change rule, the home team coach is now granted the opportunity to make one last line change before play resumes to counter whatever line changes were made by the opposing team.

For daily fantasy sports bettors this is where having ample knowledge of each NHL team can come in handy. You can envision how each team may look to gain a competitive advantage over their opponent during a possession, drafting players who are set up for success within a matchup.

Penalties & Infractions

While NHL line changes are meant to be an efficient and simple way to keep the game being played at a fast-pace with minimal interruptions, there is still room for serious error during these substitutions. It’s not uncommon to see teams assessed for a penalty due to a botched line change, resulting in a power play opportunity for the opposing team.

A common penalty called as a result of a poorly executed line change is “too many men on the ice”. This penalty results when the offending team has six or more skaters (including the goaltender) on the ice at any given time and comes in physical contact with the puck. While players entering in the game during a shift change are eligible to hop the boards and get in on the action once their teammate is within five feet of the bench, they must time this correctly or they could be hit with a premature substitution infraction. When a bench minor penalty such as too many men on the ice is assessed, it is up to the team’s head coach to decide who serves the penalty based on the players currently on the ice at the time of the penalty.

Another line change infraction to be aware of is in the case of an icing call. Icing is called when a team plays a puck from their own side of the red centre line across the red goal line in their opponents end. When icing is called, a faceoff will be taken from the end of the team that committed the infraction. During an icing call the team that was called for icing is not able to make any line changes, meaning they are forced to keep all players who were on the ice at the time of the infraction in the contest. Their opponents however are allowed to make any line change they desire, making this an incredibly beneficial call if they can strategize correctly.

How Line Changes Impact Fantasy Hockey

NHL line changes can come fast and suddenly so it can be challenging to keep track of certain players over the course of a matchup. This can make it difficult for avid fantasy hockey managers and sports bettors to know when the players they’ve wagered on are on the ice. Some broadcasts now incorporate various display mechanics that allow for you to see who is on the ice at any given time, making shift change tracking much simpler than ever before. Be sure to stay up-to-date on the jersey numbers of any players on your fantasy roster or that you bet on as a failsafe so that you can find them quickly while watching the action unfold.

Knowing how long a typical shift for a player entering into a matchup is can be an advantageous piece of knowledge for fantasy managers and bettors alike. The longer a player’s shift lasts, the higher their chances of registering a point or other statistical milestone which can help you in winning your fantasy matchups and/or bets placed on a game.