Line Change
Jeff Petry will be a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Florida.
NHL Scratches & Line Changes
Parker Wotherspoon will make his season debut Thursday vs. Toronto.
Wotherspoon was recalled Wednesday after putting up an assist, six PIMs, and a -1 plus/minus in six games with Providence (AHL) and will make his Boston Bruins debut Thursday vs. Toronto. The 26-year-old defensemen signed a one-year, $775,000 deal with Boston in the offseason and has an assist, 10 SOG, four PIMs and a +5 plus/minus in 12 career games played after debuting in 2022-23 with the New York Islanders.
Kirill Marchenko will draw back into the Blue Jackets' lineup Thursday vs. Tampa Bay.
Olivier Mathieu will be a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Tampa Bay.
MacDermid is on the ice for warmups and is expected to draw back into the lineup for the Avalanche on Wednesday.
Line Change
Steel will draw into the Stars lineup on Wednesday.
Line Change
Ben Hutton will draw back into the Golden Knights' lineup Thursday vs. Winnipeg.
Hutton has been a healthy scratch for Vegas' previous five games but will draw back into the lineup Thursday vs. Winnipeg to replace Nicolas Hague (lower body). The 30-year-old defenseman has an assist, eight SOG, five PIMs, and a +3 plus/minus through five games played in 2023-24.
Jonathan Drouin is expected to be a healthy scratch Wednesday vs. St. Louis.
Drouin has only one point (0G / 1A) while averaging 13:16 time-on-ice through eight games with the Avalanche this season. Drouin started the season playing on the top line, skating alongside his former junior hockey linemate Nathan MacKinnon but has since been shifted off the line after failing to refind their chemistry. Riley Tufte will slot into the lineup and play alongside Ryan Johansen and Valeri Nichushkin.
Line Change
Riley Tufte is expected to make his Avalanche debut Wednesday vs. St. Louis.
After a terrific start to the AHL season with the Colorado Eagles, recording eight points (6G / 2A) in six games, Tufte has been recalled by the Avalanche. Tufte has only played 13 games in his NHL career, all with the Dallas Stars, in which he has recorded one point (1G / 0A). He is expected to make his Avalanche debut on Wednesday playing on a line with Ryan Johansen and Valeri Nichushkin.
Line Change
Brandon Biro is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday vs. Philadelphia.
Biro was recalled from the Rochester Americans of the AHL and is expected to make his NHL season debut on a line with Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway. The undrafted 25-year-old has six points (2G / 4A) in five games with the Americans this season. The roster spot opened up for Biro with Eric Comrie (lower-body) being placed on the injured reserve.
Heinen will make his season debut in Monday's game against the Panthers.
Heinen has been at camp with Boston on a PTO since the preseason and will make his season debut on Monday after he finally signed a one-year, $775,000 contract earlier today. The 28-year-old left-winger had eight goals, 14 assists, 96 SOG, 12 PIMs, and a -5 plus/minus in 65 games with Pittsburgh in 2022-23. He is entering his eighth NHL season and returns to Boston where he spent the first four years of his career. Patrick Brown will sit out in place of Heinen.
Line Change
Boris Katchouk will be a healthy scratch on Monday vs. Arizona.
Katchouk will be the odd man out of the Blackhawks' lineup on Tuesday vs. Arizona as Andreas Athanasiou draws back in. The 25-year-old has done little offensively this season as he has no goals, an assist, seven SOG, two PIMs and a +1 plus/minus in eight games played.
Andreas Anthansiou will draw back into the Blackhawks' lineup on Monday vs. Arizona.
Athanasiou was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks' previous game vs. Vegas but will draw back into the lineup for Boris Katchouk on Monday in Arizona. The 29-year-old has struggled out of the gate this season as he has no goals, three assists, 14 SOG, and a -2 plus/minus in seven games played.
Line Change
Isaak Phillips will make his season debut as he rejoins the Blackhawks' lineup Monday vs. Arizona.
Phillips has been a healthy scratch for all eight of Chicago's games so far in 2023-24 but will make his season debut Monday vs. Arizona. The 22-year-old defenseman is Chicago's 2020 fifth-round pick (141st overall) and had a goal, four assists, 16 SOG, five PIMs, and a -10 plus/minus in 16 games played in 2022-23.
Kaedan Korczak will draw back into the Golden Knights' lineup on Monday vs. Montreal.
Korczak will return to the lineup and replace Brayden Pachal after being a healthy scratch on Saturday. Korczak has four points (1G / 3A), four blocks, and 10 hits in five games this season.
Line Change
Brayden Pachal will be a healthy scratch on Monday vs. Montreal.
Pachal will be scratched for the second time in the last three games, making room for Kaedan Korczak to draw back into the lineup. Pachal had a -2 plus/minus rating while only playing 9:54 in his last game. He has one goal, 11 blocks, and 15 hits in eight games this season.
Line Change
Justin Holl will be a healthy scratch on Monday vs. the New York Islanders.
Holl currently sits tied for 10th in the NHL with his +7 plus/minus but is the odd man out of the Red Wings lineup Monday as they take on the New York Rangers. The 31-year-old defenseman was signed to a three-year, $10.2 million contract in the off-season and has three assists, one SOG, 10 PIMs, and a +7 plus/minus in eight games so far in 2023-24.
Line Change
Isaak Phillips will draw back into the Blackhawks' lineup on Monday vs. Arizona.
Line Change
Ryan Poehling will be a healthy scratch on Monday vs. Carolina.
Poehling will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season, allowing Morgan Frost to return to the Flyers' lineup after being a healthy scratch for six consecutive games. Poehling has a -1 plus/minus rating and zero points while averaging 11:32 time-on-ice through eight games this season.
Line Change
Morgan Frost will return to the Flyers' lineup vs. Carolina after being a healthy scratch for the last six games.
Frost has been a healthy scratch the last six games and will return to the Flyers' lineup on Monday, replacing Ryan Poehling. Frost broke out last season, recording 46 points (19G / 27A) in 81 games but hasn't had the favour of John Tortorella and the Flyers' coaching staff early this season. He is likely to slot on the second line with Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster.
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.