Vlasic was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2019 and is set to make his NHL debut after finishing his third year at Boston University. The towering (6-foot-6, 199 lbs.) defenseman had eight points (1G / 7A) and 31 PIMS in 32 games with Boston University this season. He'll start out on the third pair with Erik Gustafsson.
Knight and Jonas Johansson swap spots, likely so Johansson can get some game action in over the weekend. Without a back-to-back over the weekend, Knight is likely to serve as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup on Sunday.
Bertuzzi still isn't eligible to travel to Canada, so he won't play in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver. This is tough timing for the Red Wings, who lost Robby Fabbri for the season on Thursday. Taro Hirose was recalled from the AHL to fill in.
Bertuzzi missed Wednesday's practice due to a non-COVID illness and is questionable to play Thursday vs. the Wild. Expect Givani Smith to draw into the lineup if Bertuzzi can't go.
Greenway has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury but is set to return to the lineup vs. the Rangers on Tuesday. Greenway, who will slot back into his usual spot on the third line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno, has 14 points (4G / 10A) in 41 games this season.
Knight will be make his first NHL start since February 1st. He's had ups and downs in 2022 but his last three NHL starts were solid, going 2-1-0 with a .931 SV%. He's spent almost half of the season in the AHL, where he is 7-3-0 with a 2.55 GAA and .917 SV%.
The Panthers open the week with a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday and Knight is expected to start one of those games. With the easier matchup on Monday in Buffalo, it seems likely that Knight will start the front-end of the back-to-back. Knight has gone 7-3-0 with a 2.55 GAA And .917 SV% in 10 AHL games.
Greenway suffered an upper-body injury in Ottawa on Tuesday and is not expected to play on Thursday. Mats Zuccarello is expected to replace Greenway, returning from an upper-body injury that kept him out on Tuesday.
Byram continues to work his way back from the lingering effects of head injuries and skated both Tuesday and Wednesday. Head coach Jared Bednar said Byram's road to recovery "is not necessarily a straight line" and that they are taking it day-by-day.
Nick Cousins is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, so Smith comes up from the AHL and should play in the bottom-6 on Tuesday. Smith has spent most of the season in the AHL, posting 10 goals and 12 assists (22 points) in 33 games with Milwaukee.
