PHILADELPHIA -- The Washington Capitals on Wednesday acquired goaltender Jaroslav Halak and a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft from the Buffalo Sabres in a trade for goaltender Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla.

Halak joined the Sabres on Friday as part of the trade that sent Ryan Miller and Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues. Halak leaves Buffalo without playing a game for the Sabres; he was the backup to Jhonas Enroth on Monday against the Dallas Stars.

VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks officially announced Eddie Lack will start Sunday against the Ottawa Senators at the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place (4 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"Lack has played really well the last two games and deserves the start," Canucks coach John Tortorella told the team's website.

It will be Lack's third straight start. He had a 20-save shutout Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues and then made 22 saves on 23 shots in regulation and overtime, plus six saves on seven shots in the shootout in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen isn't the sort of person who shows his emotions publicly.

But in speaking with the 38-year-old, it's obvious how important is for him to play for his native Finland in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. And after missing two games with a foot injury, Timonen said two days of skating has him feeling healthy enough to get back in the lineup for the Flyers for their game Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche.

"The last five, six days have been tough," said Timonen, who was injured blocking a shot during a game Jan. 31 against the Anaheim Ducks. "I want to play. The Olympics is coming. I want to get a couple games in, at least one. It [the foot] is going the right way and I feel pretty good. It's a good feeling."

PHILADELPHIA -- Only once this season has the Colorado Avalanche gone more than two straight games without a win, a four-game stretch in December that saw three of the games end in overtime or a shootout.

That's why there wasn't a lot of worry around the Avalanche locker room Thursday ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Flyers, two days removed from one of their most lopsided defeats this season, a 5-1 loss at the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

"Just a bump in the road," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "It's one of those things. We're all professional. We just have to put it behind us. We've all dealt with big losses before and this is no different. … That's what's great about this sport, you get a chance two days later to regroup. We're looking forward to [the game Thursday]."

VOORHEES, N.J. -- The Philadelphia Flyers are one of seven teams separated by eight points in the Metropolitan Division, but just two of them will claim the division's automatic spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With a home-and-home set against the New York Islanders starting Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the Flyers have a chance to do some serious damage to the competition.

The Flyers enter the game second in the division while the Islanders are eight points back in eighth.

"Playing a division rival, you want to be able to take the two points," Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said after the team's morning skate at its suburban New Jersey practice site, Virtua Health Flyers Skate Zone. "We've got a back-to-back here. The more separation we can create the better."

The Flyers' next four games are against division opponents; after their game Monday at Nassau Coliseum, they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and then play at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

PHILADELPHIA -- With the early afternoon start at Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning passed on morning skates. However, both teams announced who their starting goaltenders will be.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper announced Friday that Anders Lindback would start for the fourth straight game while Ben Bishop recovers from an injury to his right wrist.

Lindback is 1-2-0 in his three most recent starts, allowing 10 goals on 59 shots. He's 4-9-1 in 15 games this season, with a 3.18 goals-against average and .877 save percentage. However one of his four wins this season came Nov. 27 when he stopped 19 of 21 shots in a 4-2 win against the Flyers in Tampa.

In six NHL games against the Flyers Lindback is 3-3-0 with a 2.18 GAA and .917 save percentage.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers forward Matt Read will be out at least through the weekend due to a concussion sustained Dec. 31 against the Calgary Flames.

Read was not in the lineup for the Flyers' game Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, marking the fourth straight game he's missed. He'll also be out for their games Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sunday at the New York Rangers.

PHILADELPHIA -- The last time the Montreal Canadiens were in Philadelphia was Dec. 12. The Flyers were in their first game at home after a six-game road trip and it was the back end of a back-to-back.

When the teams play Wednesday it's the same situation for the Flyers, who are in their first game back after a six-game road trip that concluded with a win Tuesday at the New Jersey Devils.

“The last time we played Montreal was the exact same situation,” Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said. “We kept our game simple, we got pucks deep, we grinded their [defense] down and we played a strong 60 minutes. I think we’re going to try to the exact same thing [Wednesday].”

Doing the exact same thing would give the Flyers 10 straight wins at home. Helping that effort would be another strong game from forward Scott Hartnell, who is riding a career-best eight-game point-scoring streak.

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PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers' Claude Giroux and the Montreal Canadiens' Daniel Briere were celebrated as league champions on Wednesday. Well, the German league.

Giroux and Briere played for Eisbaren Berlin during the lockout last season and the team went on to win the championship of the DEL, Germany's top-tier league.

The players were honored by members of the team's fan club. About 20 fans arrived in Philadelphia wearing custom jerseys that had Briere's name and number on one sleeve and Giroux's name and on number on the other sleeve. They also wore scarves with the players' faces on them.

PHILADELPHIA -- Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said he expects there to be lots of internal competition to replace the production supplied by forward Alex Galchenyuk.

Galchenyuk, fourth on the team with 10 goals and 23 points, will miss six weeks with a broken hand sustained during a game Jan. 6 against the Florida Panthers.

Bergevin, speaking during the Canadiens' optional morning skate Wednesday prior to their game at Wells Fargo Center against the Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 p.m. ET, TSN), said he will look at the current roster for someone to step into Galchenyuk's role before investigating any trades.

"We always look within first," Bergevin said. "A player like Alex you don't, unless you want to give up the house, the farm, to replace him, it's impossible. You look at Tampa Bay when they lost [Steven] Stamkos … he's not Stamkos but I'm just saying. [Phoenix Coyotes captain] Shane Doan went out for a while. You don't replace these players. You just give more guys ice time and they have to come through for you."