Anderson is set to miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. The Blue Jackets have not released any type of timeline for his return, but the fact they are updating his status on a game-to-game basis suggests that he is simply day-to-day.
Dobson was the No.12 overall pick in 2018 and is set to replace Johnny Boychuk on the third pairing on Tuesday. The 6-foot-4, 184 lbs. rookie defenseman had 15 goals and 37 assists (52 points) in 56 QMJHL games last season.
Anderson played 16:54 and 16:01 TOI in his first two games of the season but will come out of the lineup vs. Buffalo. Anderson battled a lingering shoulder injury throughout training camp but there’s no evidence that it’s the same injury. Sonny Milano will replace Anderson in the Blue Jackets lineup.
Laine is coming off of a forgettable season but gets a two-year bridge deal close to $7.0M AAV. Laine’s SH% unsurprisingly fell off of a cliff last year after shooting 18 percent in his first two seasons. Even in a “down year,” Laine still scored 30 goals, which showcases how good he is. Look for his SH% to bounce-back a little bit, making Laine a 40-goal threat again in year-4.
Montembeault was forced into NHL action last year, going 4-3-2 wth a 3.04 GAA and .894 SV% in 11 games. Montembeault currently projects to serve as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup following Roebrto Luongo’s retirement and the James Reimer trade but things could change before the start of the 2020 campaign.
In his first season in the Canadiens organization, Belzile let the Laval Rockets (AHL) in goals (19), assists (35) and points (54). The 27-year-old centre will start 2019-20 with Laval.
Sund, 23, was an undrafted free agent defenseman from Finland, who had eight goals and 27 assists (35 points) in 60 games with Sport Vaasa of the Finnish Liiga. "Tony is a big, smooth-skating defenseman who uses a strong stick to take away passing lanes and to close plays quickly,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said. “He has tremendous vision that made him one of the top passers and playmakers from the back-end we saw this season.”
Texier was a healthy scratch in Game 5 but is expected to replace Adam Clendening in Game 6. The Blue Jackets will go back to 12 forwards and six defensemen with Texier skating on the fourth line with Brandon Dubinsky and Markus Hannikainen. The 19-year-old has two goals on eight shots with one assist in seven games this postseason.
Veleno dropped to the Red Wings in last summer’s draft, where he was selected No.30 overall. Veleno dominated the QMJHL where he was third in the league in assists (62), fourth in points (104) and seventh in goals (42). Veleno will have an opportunity to make the Red Wings out of training camp but could head to Grand Rapids (AHL) for some extra seasoning.
Montembeault allowed three goals on 18 shots after replacing Roberto Luongo in the Panthers 6-1 loss in Montreal on March 26th. Montembeault has gone 0-3-0 with a 4.52 GAA and .856 SV% in his last five appearances (four starts). The 22-year-old is 2-1-1 with a 3.26 AA and .883 SV% in four starts on home-ice this season.
Byron was involved in a scary situation in which he had to be helped off of the ice after a fight with MacKenzie Weegar on March 26th. Byron will draw back into the lineup on the Canadiens fourth line with Nate Thompson and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
