Roster notes …
- Chris Kuc: Blackhawks Duncan Keith had surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee. He’ll be out four to six weeks.
- Adam Vingan: Lightning coach Jon Cooper said that Victor Hedman will be in the lineup tonight.
- Derek Willis: The Flames will have Sam Bennett, Joe Colborne and Michael Ferland ready to go.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Having depth on the blueline with eight NHL defenseman is nice for the Stars, but it can be tough to have two defenseman sitting for five straight games. Jordie Benn and Jyrki Jokipakka beat out Patrik Nemeth and Jamie Oleksiak.
“We’ve discussed it. I’d like to get our two that have been sitting out in,” Ruff said. “But at the same time, we’ve won a few in a row. There’s a competition to stay in, and there’s a competition to get in.”
- Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks have reassigned defenseman Shea Theodore.
- Anaheim Ducks: Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said that Clayton Stoner (lower-body) is ready to go. There was no update on Simon Despres (upper-body).
- Rob Mixer: The Blue Jackets send Kerby Rychel to the AHL with Alex Wennberg returning to the lineup.
- Steve Zipay: The Rangers put Tanner Glass on waivers. If he clears, the Rangers would save $950,000, carrying a $500,000 cap hit.
- Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins notes – Daniel Sprong has visa issues and won’t be in the lineup.Power-play unit 1: Sidney Crosby (right half wall), right winger Phil Kessel (slot), left winger Chris Kunitz (net front), center Evgeni Malkin (left half wall) and defenseman Kris Letang (center point).
Power-play unit 2: center Nick Bonino (right half wall), right winger Patric Hornqvist (net front), left winger David Perron (slot), defenseman Ian Cole (right/center point) and defenseman Olli Maatta (left point/left half wall).
- Lance Hornby: Maple Leafs Tyler Bozak missed practice again today.
- Tom Gulitti: Devils coach John Hynes said that Jon Merrill isn’t quite ready to return to the lineup.
- Jeremy Rutherford: Kevin Shattenkirk practiced with the Blues today for the third day in a row.
Lines and Defensive pairings …
- Jack Michaels: Oilers lines: Hall-RNH-Miller, Pouliot-McDavid-Yak, Korpi-Lander-Purcell, Gazdic-Letestu-Klink.
- Derek Willis: Flames lines: Gaudreau-Monahan-Frolik Bennett-Backlund-Hudler Ferland-Colborne-Jones Bollig-Stajan-Jooris. Defensive pairings: Giordano-Hamilton Russell-Wideman Kulak-Engelland
- Erik Erlendsson: Lightning lines: Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan Palat-Johnson-Kucherov Killorn-Filppula-Paquette Boyle-Namestnikov-Condra. Defensive pairings: Hedman-Stralman Carle-Garrison Coburn-Sustr
- Mike Heika: Stars lines: Benn-Seguin-Sharp Fiddler-Spezza-Nichushkin Janmark-Eakin-Hemsky Roussel-Faksa-Sceviour
- Boston Bruins: Lines: Marchand—Bergeron—Eriksson + Connolly Beleskey—Krejci—Pastrnak Kelly—Spooner—Hayes Rinaldo—Kemppainen—Randell + Talbot. Defensive pairings: Chara—K. Miller Krug—McQuaid Cross—C. Miller Morrow—Trotman
- Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Panthers lines: 16 Aleksander Barkov – 11 Jonathan Huberdeau – 68 Jaromir Jagr, 73 Brandon Pirri – 27 Nick Bjugstad – 18 Reilly Smith, 36 Jussi Jokinen – 63 Dave Bolland – 21 Vincent Trocheck, 86 Connor Brickley – 17 Derek MacKenzie – 42 Quinton HowdenDefensive pairings: 51 Brian Campbell – 5 Aaron Ekblad, 33 Willie Mitchell – 44 Erik Gudbranson, 7 Dmitry Kulikov – 6 Alex Petrovic
- Adam Kimelman: Flyers lines: Raffl-Giroux-Voracek, Read-Couturier-Simmonds, Gagner-Laughton-BSchenn, VandeVelde-Bellemare-White. Defensive pairings: Streit-Schultz, Del Zotto-Manning, Medvedev-Gudas
Starting goalies …
- Sam Carchidi: Steve Mason will start in net for the Flyers.
- Adam Kimelman: Antti Niemi will start in net for the Stars.
- Jeremy Rutherford: Jake Allen will start in net for the Blues.
- Rich Chere: Cory Schneider will start in net for the Devils.
- Randy Sportak: Karri Ramo will start in net for the Flames.
- Shawn Mitchell: Curtis McElhinney will start in net for the Blue Jackets.
