Sergachev has not played since December 19th and will miss at least six more games. After being placed on long-term injured reserve, the earliest Sergachev can return to the lineup is on February 7th, which appears likely after he practised with the second powerplay unit at practice on Monday. Sergachev had 19 points (2G / 17A) in 33 games before his injury.
Perunovich left Sunday's game vs. the Kings with a lower-body injury and will not be available for Tuesday's game vs. Columbus. The Blues hope he'll be ready to go after the All-Star break/bye week, but it's too early to tell. Expect Tyler Tucker to replace him in the lineup on Tuesday.
DeSimone was a healthy scratch for the last five games for the Calgary Flames and was placed on waivers on Wednesday. The 29-year-old defenseman has five points (1G / 4A), 19 shots, 12 hits, and 21 blocks in 23 games this season.
Yamamoto will draw in for John Hayden, who is a healthy scratch on Wednesday. Yamamoto has seven goals and five assists in 42 games this season.
Perunovich will fill in for the injured Justin Faulk (undisclosed). Perunovich has no goals and nine assists in 28 games this season.
Schmaltz last played on January 16th, exiting the game with an upper-body injury after playing only 11:11 time-on-ice, and he has missed three games since. The talented playmaker has five points (3G / 2A) in his last six games and will return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
DeSimone has been a healthy scratch the last two games and was placed on waivers by the Flames on Wednesday. The 29-year-old defenseman has five points (1G / 4A), 19 shots, 12 hits, and 21 blocks in 23 games this season.
Schmaltz last played on January 16th, exiting the game with a lower-body injury after playing only 11:11 time-on-ice, and he has missed three games since. The talented playmaker has five points (3G / 2A) in his last six games and is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
Vejmelka served as the backup to Connor Ingram for the last five games but will return to the crease on Wednesday. After a brief stretch of promising play in December, Vejmelka has allowed three or more goals in four straight games (1-3-0), posting an ugly .852 SV%. The Coyotes, winners of two straight, are sizeable +204 road underdogs against a Panthers club that snapped a four-game losing skid with a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Vanecek served as the backup to Nico Daws on Saturday in a one-side 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Given Vanecek's tremendous effort the previous night, saving 29 of 30 shots (.967 SV%) in a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils will turn back to him on Monday. Vanecek has helped a struggling Devils squad record at least a point in each of his last three starts (2-0-1), posting a .907 SV% in the process. The Devils, losers of three of their last four (1-3-0), are -120 road underdogs against the Vegas Golden Knights, who are riding a three-game winning streak.
Vanecek served as the backup to Nico Daws on Saturday in a one-side 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Given Vanecek's tremendous effort the previous night, saving 29 of 30 shots (.967 SV%) in a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils will likely turn back to him on Monday. Vanecek has helped a struggling Devils squad record at least a point in each of his last three starts (2-0-1), posting a .907 SV% in the process. The Devils, losers of three of their last four (1-3-0), are -120 road underdogs against the Vegas Golden Knights, who are riding a three-game winning streak.
With his grasp on the Devils' starting job slowly slipping away from him, Vanecek will get a shot at redemption on Friday as he will be back between the pipes for the Devils when they travel to Columbus. Nico Daws got the nod in goal in each of New Jersey's previous three games, but head coach Lindy Ruff is opting to go back to Vanecek after suffering back-to-back defeats. We last saw Vanecek on January 11th when he surrendered four goals on just 20 shots as the Devils suffered a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Lightning. Vanecek has managed to scrape together a 14-7-2 record on the season despite an .882 SV%. He's in an ideal spot to get back in the win column on Friday with the Devils being -150 favourites in Columbus.
Schmaltz recorded one assist in the Coyotes' last contest but exited the game with a lower-body injury after playing only 11:11 time-on-ice. The talented playmaker has five points (3G / 2A) in his last six games, and will officially be out for Thursday's game against the Vancouver Canucks as he is considered day-to-day.
Carcone has been a healthy scratch for the Coyotes' previous two games but will draw back into the lineup Thursday vs. Vancouver as he replaces Josh Brown. The 27-year-old was one of the league's best goal scoring stories for the first quarter of the season but has not found the back of the net in the last 13 contests. In 39 games this season, he has 14 goals and 19 points with 12 PIMs.
