NEWARK, N.J. -- Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will get his first start in almost a month on Sunday when the Philadelphia Flyers visit Prudential Center for an Atlantic Division showdown against the New Jersey Devils.
 
The Flyers scored a 1-0 shootout victory less than 24 hours earlier behind Ilya Bryzgalov's fifth shutout of the season. It was Bryzgalov's 11th straight start between the pipes. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette told the media prior to faceoff that Bobrovsky would get the nod -- Bryzgalov is the likely starter on Tuesday in Philadelphia when the Flyers close out the home-and-home set with the Devils.
 
Bryzgalov is 8-2-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and three shutouts in Philadelphia's last 11 games -- including a no-decision. He's posted a 0.99 GAA and two of the shutouts during the Flyers' current five-game winning streak.
 
"We talked about this, looking at the schedule and what was coming up," Laviolette said. "The back-to-back and the fact Bryz has played 11 in a row, every other night, pretty much. It's a chance to get a fresh goaltender in there."
 
Bobrovsky, who last started Feb. 18 in a 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, is 12-8-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .900 save percentage in 24 appearances for the Flyers this season. He is 1-1-1 with a 4.71 GAA and .864 save percentage in three career games against New Jersey.
 
"You look at the schedule and what you have available, we got a guy who has been waiting and wants to get in there and play and this is a perfect spot to get him in there, as opposed to running Bryz down," Laviolette said.
 
Bobrovsky had lost four of the five starts he made in February.
 
The Flyers are 2-0-1 against the Devils in 2011-12 and have won five of eight and eight of the last 12 meetings. New Jersey has won its last two at the Wells Fargo Center, including a 4-3 shootout decision when the teams last met on Nov. 3.
 
The Devils will counter with Martin Brodeur in goal. Brodeur is 44-29-9 in 83 career games against the Flyers with a 2.50 GAA, .904 save percentage and nine shutouts.
 
Here are the projected lineups for each team:
 
DEVILS
 
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Ryan Carter - Steve Bernier
 
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Anton Volchenkov - Marek Zidlicky
 
Brodeur will start and Johan Hedberg, who earned a 23-save, 2-1 victory on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, will serve as backup.
 
FLYERS
 
Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Matt Read - Danny Briere - Wayne Simmonds
Max Talbot - Sean Couturier - Zac Rinaldo
Jody Shelley - Eric Wellwood - Brayden Schenn
 
Nicklas Grossmann - Braydon Coburn
Matt Carle - Erik Gustafsson
Brandon Manning - Andreas Lilja
 
Bobrovsky gets the start in goal, with Bryzgalov serving as backup.

The return of Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter certainly wasn't the only big story coming out of Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thursday morning.

According to Blue Jackets TV play-by-play voice Jeff Rimer, the team has not only lost third-line center Derek MacKenzie with concussion-like symptoms, but defenseman Fedor Tyutin might be lost for the remainder of the season.

Rimer told NHL Home Ice on Thursday that Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards informed the media of the injuries following the team's afternoon practice.

"Tyutin wasn't on the ice for practice," Rimer said. "He had blocked a shot in third period [of a 3-2 win over Phoenix on Tuesday] from the point and continued to play, but broke his right hand and is likely out for the balance of the season."

Additionally, MacKenzie is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. No timetable has been given on his return and, according to Rimer, the team's medical staff will be monitoring him closely.

MacKenzie and Tyutin, along with captain Rick Nash and Vinny Prospal, were the only four to play in every game for Columbus this season. Tyutin has 5 goals and 26 points in 66 games, and MacKenzie has 7 goals and 14 points in as many games.

The absence of MacKenzie opens the door for rookie Ryan Johansen, who had been a healthy scratch the last two games. Johansen will draw back into the lineup and play center. Additionally, Maksim Mayorov has been recalled from the team's AHL affiliate in Springfield.

Johansen has 9 goals and 17 points in 51 games for Columbus this season. Mayorov has 1 goal in eight appearances in 2011-12.

On Feb. 23, the Blue Jackets dealt Carter to the Kings in exchange for defenseman Jack Johnson and a conditional first-round pick. Carter has 2 goals in five games for Los Angeles after scoring 15 goals in 29 contests for Columbus. This will be Carter's first visit to Columbus since the trade.

Indian Ice head coach and general manager Kyle Wallack is looking forward to getting New England prep school standout Cristoval "Boo" Nieves on the ice for his first practice with the team on Thursday at Pepsi Coliseum.

Nieves closed out his high school season at the Kent School in Connecticut last weekend with a semifinal-round loss to St. Sebastian's School (Mass.) in the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association large-schools tournament.

Nieves made the flight to Indiana on Thursday morning.

The Colorado Avalanche on Thursday announced that center Matt Duchene would be sidelined approximately 3-4 weeks while he recovers from a right ankle injury.

Duchene, who was hurt in the third period in a victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, does not need surgery. The Avalanche made the announcement via their Twitter account on Thursday morning.

Duchene needed help getting off the ice after coming in contact with Minnesota's Nick Palmieri.

"We hope he will be OK," Avalanche rookie forward Gabriel Landeskog told local reporters. "We have a good team even without him. It is a team sport and we have a good group."

Duchene, who is in his third season with Colorado, has 13 goals and 26 points in 48 games with the Avalanche this season. He also has 36 hits and 31 blocked shots. The club will play eight of their remaining 14 regular-season games on the road, starting with Thursday's visit to Nashville. The Avs are 10th in the Western Conference with 74 points.

On Thursday afternoon, Duchene tweeted: "I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to be back in an Avs jersey before the season is over. It kills me to be out again."

The Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday recalled defenseman Brandon Manning and forward Harry Zolnierczyk from the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

The Flyers, who play host to the Florida Panthers on Thursday at Wells Fargo Center, are without defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Andrej Meszaros due to lower-body injuries. Forward James van Riemsdyk is out 4-6 weeks following foot surgery earlier this week and Jacob Voracek (head) and Jaromir Jagr (hip) are questionable after being injured in Tuesday's game against Detroit.

Zolnierczyk, 24, has 3 goals and 5 points in 36 games with the Flyers this season. He last played Feb. 5 at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. Manning, 21, has yet to play in an NHL game. In 32 games with the Phantoms this year, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound defenseman has 4 goals and 9 points.

Forward Stefan Matteau of the U.S. Under-18 National Team Development Program knows he is much more valuable on the ice than watching his teammates from the sideline.

Unfortunately, however, Matteau will be doing the latter on Wednesday when the USNTDP host the Muskegon Lumberjacks in a United States Hockey League matchup at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube in Michigan.

Matteau, who NHL Central Scouting has ranked No. 13 among those North American skaters eligible for the 2012 Draft, will be serving a one-game suspension on Wednesday for spearing a player on the Green Bay Gamblers on March 1.

Matteau had scored a pair of goals to give the NTDP a 2-0 lead before being issued a game misconduct for his spear with 53 seconds remaining in the second. The gritty Gamblers scored three unanswered goals in the third to ultimately win the contest, 3-2.

For the season, Matteau has connected for 14 goals and 28 points in 39 games. He also leads the team with 151 penalty minutes.

"I can't take bad penalties when the team needs you most," Matteau told NHL.com. "We were up 2-0 and I was playing pretty well. But you learn from these things. I guess I have to be smarter, but the way I play, I think I will get penalties. It's going to get better, but I'm a physical player."

Matteau, the son of former 13-year NHL veteran Stephan Matteau, was asked if he is upset over the amount of time he's spent in the penalty box this season.

"I don't like getting the penalty minutes, but I like that physical game that makes me a tough player, gritty player," Matteau said.

Matteau racked up 67 PIM's with the U.S. National Under-17 Team last season and 98 penalty minutes with the Notre Dame (Sask.) Hounds midget program in 2009-10 prior to joining the NTDP.

"I'm a big bodied power-forward, got a lot of skill and got a good shot and I play with an edge," Matteau said. "I like to bring an all-around solid game."

The U18 NTDP will next host the Youngstown Phantoms on Saturday.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale

NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise declared himself good to go on Tuesday following his team's morning practice at Prudential Center in preparation for the New York Rangers.
 
In the second period of a 1-0 loss to the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, Parise was struck in the left hand with a shot by Isles defenseman Milan Jurcina. While he was able to finish the game, he appeared a bit uncomfortable at times and was ultimately taken for X-rays. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello informed the local media on Monday that the results were negative and showed no broken bones.
 
"Yeah, it would take a lot for me to miss this game," Parise told reporters. "I wouldn't want to miss this game … I'll be alright.

"Everyone is hurt and sore one way or another, and that's just how it is in March and April. Probably 15 or 20 guys are dealing with some type of injury, so it's nothing really."
 
The Devils are certainly going to need all hands on deck in their fifth meeting against their Atlantic Division rival this season. The Rangers are 2-1-1 against the Devils, scoring a 2-0 victory in the most recent meeting on Feb. 27 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have outscored the Devils, 9-5, including a 6-2 advantage in the third period. Additionally, 12 of the last 16 meetings have been decided by two goals or less.
 
"It's great rivalry," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. "If you can't get up for this game … they're leading the conference. They're a team we're trying to close the gap and a team we might see in the playoffs at some point. It's two critical points for us where we're sitting in the standings, so all that factors in, and then you have the rivalry. The games we've had with them have been great; emotionally and from a hockey point of view, so it's exciting."
 
Meanwhile, left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky, who has skated the last two days after missing the last two games with a right knee injury, will be sidelined again. An MRI on Ponikarovsky's knee on Saturday revealed no damage.
 
"I did some conditioning and skating," Ponikarovsky said. "I'm doing well and [the knee] feels much better right now. It's been three days since it happened and I'm taking it day by day. I'll practice again [Wednesday] and see how it goes. I'm definitely not going [Tuesday]."
 
On defense, Andy Greene, who sat out Sunday's game after suffering back spasms during his pre-game stretching routine, did practice but admitted he'll be a game-time decision against the Rangers.
 
Martin Brodeur will face the Rangers in the regular season for the 94th time in his career. He sports a 45-28-20 mark with a 2.11 goals-against average, nine shutouts and a .919 save percentage.
 
Here are the probable line combinations for the Devils:
 
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Steve Bernier - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Ryan Carter - Cam Janssen
 
Adam Larsson - Matt Taormina
Bryce Salvador - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Marek Zidlicky

Game time decision: Andy Greene
 
Brodeur will start and Johan Hedberg will serve as backup.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale

If forward Devin Tringale of Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts wasn't on the radar of those NHL scouts prior to the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association tournament, he is now.

The 5-foot-11 3/4, 195-pound left wing, ranked No. 98 on NHL Central Scouting's list of 2012 draft-eligible North American skaters, scored the overtime winner in the tournament semifinals on Friday before connecting for the eventual game-winner in the championship contest on Sunday at the IceCenter in Salem, N.H.

It marked the first time the fourth-seeded Spartans, who defeated top-seeded Salisbury in the semifinal and then No. 2 seeded Noble & Greenough in the final, celebrated a state championship.

"This is quite an achievement for our boys and we're all very proud of them," Lawrence athletic director Kevin Potter told the media.

Tringale, who is bound for Harvard, scored the decisive goal with 18 seconds left in the second period against Noble & Greenough (Mass.) en route to a 3-2 championship verdict. He also assisted Tyler Whitney's goal a little over two minutes earlier to pull Lawrence into a 2-2 tie.

"It's crazy," Tringale, the team's captain, told ESPNBoston.com following the victory. "We got the coach with the bucket of water. We're all on top of the world right now. On top of New England."

NEWARK, N.J. -- Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault gave his players a deserved morning off on Friday after scoring a dramatic shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings less than 24 hours earlier.
 
The Canucks will arrive at Prudential Center a little after 4 p.m. ET to prepare for their intriguing tussle with the surging New Jersey Devils.
 
The victory at Joe Louis Arena gave the Canucks an NHL-best 21-10-2 mark on the road -- the team finished as the League's best road team last season (27-10-4). On top of that, Vancouver is 7-2-1 in the last 10 contests away from home and have scored more road goals (107) and more road power-play goals (29) than any other team in the NHL.
 
At the center of that offensive assault, of course, are Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who have combined for 41 goals and 88 assists this season on the team's top line. Henrik leads the club with 66 points and Daniel is tops with 28 goals.
 
In addition to the Sedin twins, however, Devils coach Peter DeBoer can also point to the production coming from a player he knows very well, right wing David Booth. Booth, who was acquired by Vancouver from Florida, DeBoer's former team, on Oct. 11, has collected 11 goals and 22 points in 34 games with the Canucks. He has played on a line with Mason Raymond and center Ryan Kesler.
 
The 27-year-old Booth couldn't catch a break in 2009-10 after watching his point totals increase during his first three years in the League. One of the scariest images of that season was Booth absorbing a crushing open-ice hit from Philadelphia captain Mike Richards in October 2009, and being carried off the ice on a stretcher with a concussion that would cost him 45 games and any hope of earning a roster spot on the U.S. Olympic Team heading to Vancouver.
 
"David is a great kid," DeBoer said. "He was heading towards a great career and then had that hit and it really set him back. He missed a ton of hockey."

He'd return to the lineup and suffer a second concussion in March, falling victim to another open-ice hit from Canadiens defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, officially ending his season.
 
DeBoer, who is ecstatic to see Booth having such success in Vancouver, said he may have erred in his decision to bring Booth back into the lineup so soon after his head injury.
 
"Looking back, I probably asked and expected too much out of him coming off the injury that he was coming off, and he didn't have the year he wanted to," DeBoer said. "When you look at the guys coming off those types of concussions around the League, very few of them don't take at least a year to recover, so I think when I watch him now, I see the David Booth of the pre-injury and that's good to see."
 
Booth seemed to make up for lost time last season, connecting for 23 goals and 40 points while averaging just over 19 minutes a game. He led the club with a whopping 280 shots. In 41 games this season, he has 11 goals and 23 points.
 
Here's what the Canucks lineup might look like against the Devils on Friday:
 
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows
Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - David Booth
Chris Higgins - Cody Hodgson - Jannik Hansen
Manny Malhotra - Maxime Lapierre - Dale Weise
 
Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Bieksa
Alexander Edler - Sami Salo
Aaron Rome - Christopher Tanev
 
Cory Schneider (13-5-0, 2.25 goals-against average, .928 save percentage) is scheduled to make his first start in three games with Roberto Luongo serving as backup.

NEWARK, N.J. -- As if New Jersey Devils fans needed additional good news these days, on top of a successful climb up the Eastern Conference standings in recent weeks, the team is also regaining its health.
 
In the midst of a 9-1-1 run since the All-Star break, which has catapulted the team from eighth to fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Devils will have defenseman Kurtis Foster, who missed the last two games with back stiffness, and forward Ryan Carter (eight games, right hand fracture) back in the lineup against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at Prudential Center.
 
Coach Peter DeBoer, who confirmed the return of the players after his team's practice, also noted that defenseman Adam Larsson will miss his 10th straight game with a bruised lower back. Larsson skated with the team the last two practices, but DeBoer wants the rookie at 100 percent before re-inserting him in the lineup.
 
"[Larsson] has had one full contact practice with the team in three weeks, so we want to make sure we do the right thing," DeBoer said.
 
Both Foster, who will begin the game alongside Matt Taormina, and Carter, who opens on left wing with center Jacob Josefson and right wing Peter Harrold, are looking forward to their return.
 
"I'm ready to get back in there and play a big game against the Canucks, who play a well-rounded game; the Sedins are top players in the game," Foster said. "We have to make sure it's a difficult game for them."
 
Carter, notified by DeBoer that he'd be in the lineup on Friday morning, said you can only watch from the sideline for so long before getting that itch to return to the lineup.
 
"It's that time of the year that's crunch time," Carter said. "I just want to keep it simple. You don't want to go out and try to win it yourself, so I'll just work my way into it and go from there."
 
The timing is impeccable as the Canucks, the League's top team on the road, are coming off an emotional 4-3 shootout decision over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. The victory ended Detroit's NHL-record home winning streak at 23 games.
 
"This is a great test for us to see how we match," DeBoer said. "The Sedins seem to know where each is on the ice. They almost invite contact and say, 'Come on out here and try and hit us.' Then they expose areas behind you better than anyone in the League … they're fantastic at that. So while you want to take away their time and space, you have to be aware they are dangerous in those situations if you get a little bit reckless."
 
Henrik Sedin leads the team with 66 points, including 53 assists. He holds a three point lead on twin brother, Daniel, who owns a team-leading 28 goals.
 
Here is how the Devils will likely line up on Friday:
 
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - David Clarkson
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Dainius Zubrus - Steve Bernier
Ryan Carter - Jacob Josefson - Peter Harrold
 
Bryce Salvador - Anton Volchenkov
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Matt Taormina - Kurtis Foster
 
Martin Brodeur will make his fifth straight start and Johan Hedberg will serve as backup.