Ilya Lyubushkin is battling an illness, which will allow Benoit to re-enter the Maple Leafs' lineup. Benoit has not played the last three games and has been held off the scoresheet in seven straight.
Jarnkrok returned to the lineup at the beginning of March after recovering from a broken knuckle but will return to the sidelines with a hand injury on a week-to-week basis. Jarnkrok was limited to only 8:16 time-on-ice before exiting Thursday's contest and had two points (0G / 2A) in five games since his return.
Colin White will draw into the lineup for the Canadiens on Thursday in favour of Pezzetta, who will be a healthy scratch. Pezzetta played the last two games, averaging under seven minutes per night while recording one shot and 11 hits.
Stecher will fill in on the Oilers' blue-line for Mattias Ekholm, who is out with an undisclosed injury. Stecher has one goal and four assists in 47 games this season.
Joshua hurt his hand in a fight on February 13th against Chicago and has not played since. The 27-year-old had been enjoying a breakout season in his fourth year in the NHL, with 13 goals, 26 points, 69 SOG, 46 PIMs and +16 plus/minus in 53 games before his injury.
Robertson was terrific in a brief stint with the Marlies, raising his totals to 11 points (5G / 6A) in 11 games in the AHL this season. His last game for the Maple Leafs was on February 29th, and he was amid a decent stretch of play, with four points (1G / 3A) in his last seven outings.
Knies exited Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in the first period after playing only 3:18 time-on-ice. The first-year forward has 26 points (11G / 15A) in 61 games this season and isn't expected to miss any time due to his injury.
Woll will get the nod for the tail-end of Toronto's back-to-back on Thursday after Ilya Samsonov got the nod in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime victory over the Sabres. It's the second time in as many games that Woll will face the Bruins. He surrendered four goals on 27 shots in a 4-1 loss to Boston on Monday. It was just his second start since returning from the ankle injury he suffered in early December. Woll and the Maple Leafs are +125 underdogs heading into Boston on Thursday.
McCabe missed Toronto's game Wednesday vs. Buffalo due to illness but is expected to return for the second half of their back-to-back on Thursday in Boston. The 30-year-old defenseman has already tied his career high in points (22) and surpassed his previous highs in goals (6) through only 55 games played this season.
Carolina was unable to sign their 2019 fourth-round pick (99th overall) Cade Webber and traded his rights to Toronto for a 2026 6th-round pick on Thursday. The 23-year-old towering stay-at-home defenseman has scored only one goal and 16 points in 115 games played across four NCAA seasons with Boston University.
Stecher will add some depth to the Oilers blueline ahead of Friday's trade deadline. The 29-year-old defenseman is in his eighth NHL season and has five points (1G / 4A), 52 hits, and 67 blocks in 47 games this season.
McCabe is a surprise scratch for Wednesday's game with the team not announcing his absence prior to the start of warmups. William Lagesson will likely draw into the lineup in his place.
The Stars acquired Tanev on Wednesday by giving up a 2024 second-round pick, a 2026 fourth-round pick, Artem Grushnikov and a conditional 2026 third-round pick to acquire Tanev. Tanev is a rugged defenseman, who has racked up 171 blocked shots this season to go along with one goal and 13 assists (14 points) in 56 games. He should bring plenty of stability to the Stars' second pairing. He has missed two games since joining the Stars due to immigration issues.
