Here's how the lineups could look tonight when the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers face off in a Southeast Division battle at the BankAtlantic Center:

JETS
Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Kyle Wellwood
Evander Kane - Nik Antropov - Alexander Burmistrov
Tanner Glass - Jim Slater - Chris Thorburn
Kenndal McArdle - Tim Stapleton - Blake Wheeler

Mark Stuart - Zach Bogosian
Tobias Enstrom - Dustin Byfuglien
Johnny Oduya - Randy Jones

Ondrej Pavelec
Peter Mannino

Jets coach Claude Noel said he's hoping D Ron Hainsey (upper body) will be cleared to practice by the end of the week and could return to the lineup before the end of Winnipeg's seven-game road trip. Noel said goalie Chris Mason (groin), who was injured in the third period of Thursday's 9-8 victory at Philadelphia, is day-to-day,

PANTHERS
Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
Scottie Upshall - Marcel Goc - Tomas Kopecky
Marco Sturm - Mike Santorelli - Jack Skille
Shawn Matthias - Tim Kennedy - Matt Bradley

Jason Garrison - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver
Ed Jovanovski - Erik Gudbranson

Jose Theodore
Jacob Markstrom

Forward Sean Bergenheim (lower body) and goaltender Scott Clemmensen (knee) both took part in the morning skate, but coach Kevin Dineen said neither will be in uniform tonight and they're not likely to play against Chicago on Thursday, either.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Erik Gudbranson will be playing his third game at the BankAtlantic Center Saturday night when the Florida Panthers take on the New York Islanders. The third pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft is hoping it won't be his last this season.

The Panthers will have to decide after their ninth game whether to return Gudbranson to his Ontario Hockey League team in Kingston or keep him in the NHL, which would move him a year closer toward free agency.

Tonight will be Florida's seventh game, and its next two will be the road — Monday at Montreal and Thursday at Ottawa, which happens to be Gudbranson's hometown.

"I think you just go back to keeping it simple and looking at it as a team game," Gudbranson said after Saturday's morning skate. "For the next three games, this is my team and hopefully I get the 10th game in. That's obviously in the back of my mind, but never when I'm playing and never when I'm with the guys."

In his first six NHL games, Gudbranson has yet to record a point. He's averaging 12:39 of ice time and is tied for the worst plus-minus ratio among Panthers defensemen with Brian Campbell at minus-4.

Gudbranson has had 24 penalty minutes, which includes fights against Steve Downie and Ryan Malone in games against Tampa Bay Saturday and Monday, respectively.

Along with the physical aspect, Gudbranson has shown crisp passing from the back end as well as an impressive slap shot.

"I like his game, I like what he's brought," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "He still shows his youth at times. I think that doesn't surprise anybody that he can go out there and just bring so much enthusiasm that sometimes that youth gets him in positions he doesn't want to be in. But the overall picture is he's off to a good start to his NHL career."

After failing to reach agreement on an entry-level contract last summer, Gudbranson spent all of the 2010-11 season in the OHL. If he does go back to Kingston, Gudbranson again will get to play with his younger brother Alex, who is also a defenseman.

The Frontenacs sure could use Erik Gudbranson, considering a 4-0 loss to Brampton Friday night dropped them to 1-11 on the season.

But Gudbranson clearly wants to stay in the NHL, and he feels he belongs there.

"In my mind, I do, and that's not only just for the 10th-game mark," Gudbranson said. "You have to think that when you're playing on the ice. You have to believe that you're in the right place and that you're making a difference on the ice.

"I've been happy (with my performance). I've been trying to get better every single game. I think that's the biggest thing, working on your gaps, on your stick, really adjusting to the speed. I'm trying to pick up as much as I can, game in, game out, and be a better player the next day."

SUNRISE, Fla. — Veteran forward Brian Rolston will miss the Islanders' game at Florida Saturday night after he flew home to be with his wife as she prepared to give birth.

Rolston, an alternate captain in his first season with the Isles, had no goals and two assists in the team's first five games.

In Rolston's place, Matt Martin is expected to skate on the third line with Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau, who will be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last two games.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are likely to have veteran defenseman Ed Jovanovski back in the lineup after he missed Thursday night's game against Buffalo because of a hip injury.

Jovanovski took part in the morning skate, as did wing Shawn Matthias, who missed the Buffalo game because of flu symptoms. Matthias should be in the lineup Saturday night.

Forward Sean Bergenheim, however, will miss his third consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. Coach Kevin Dineen said it was even possible Bergenheim could be left behind when the Panthers go on a three-game trip that begins at Montreal on Monday.

Projected lineups

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Matt Moulson - John Tavares – PA Parenteau
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo
Blake Comeau - Josh Bailey - Matt Martin
Trevor Gillies-Marty Reasoner-Jay Pandolfo

Mark Streit - Steve Staios
Andrew MacDonald - Travis Hamonic
Mark Eaton - Mike Mottau

Evgeni Nabokov
Al Montoya

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
David Booth - Tomas Kopecky - Tim Kennedy
Scottie Upshall - Marcel Goc - Jack Skille
Shawn Matthias - Ryan Carter - Matt Bradley

Jason Garrison - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver
Ed Jovanovski - Erik Gudbranson

Jose Theodore
Jacob Markstrom

Florida Panthers center Mike Santorelli might make his season debut Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres.

Santorelli, who has been sidelined by a shoulder injury, took part in the Panthers' morning skate and coach Kevin Dineen said a decision on his status would be made after pre-game warmups.

Santorelli skated Thursday morning on a line with Ryan Carter and Matt Bradley. Shawn Matthias, who played on that line in Florida's first five games, missed the morning skate -- Dineen said Matthias was sick.

Sean Bergenheim, who missed Tuesday’s game at Washington with a lower-body injury, took part in the morning skate, although he left the ice early.

The Panthers announced they have recalled left wing Tim Kennedy and center Bracken Kearns from San Antonio of the AHL, a sign Matthias and Bergenheim might miss Thursday's game.

The Sabres, meanwhile, will be shuffling lines on Thursday night.

Tyler Ennis, who has yet to record a point this season, has been replaced on the line with Brad Boyes and Ville Leino by Cody McCormick. Ennis will join the line of Derek Roy and Drew Stafford. Nathan Gerbe, who had skated with Roy and Stafford, now will join Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta.

The only line that will remain unchanged is that of Thomas Vanek, Luke Adam and Jason Pominville.

SABRES
Thomas Vanek - Luke Adam - Jason Pominville
Tyler Ennis - Derek Roy - Drew Stafford
Nathan Gerbe - Paul Gaustad - Patrick Kaleta
Cody McCormick - Ville Leino - Brad Boyes

Robyn Regehr - Tyler Myers
Jordan Leopold - Christian Ehrhoff
Andrej Sekera - Marc-Andre Gragnani

Ryan Miller is expected to start in goal with Jhonas Enroth serving as backup.

PANTHERS
Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
David Booth - Tomas Kopecky - Scottie Upshall
Ryan Carter - Marcel Goc - Jack Skille
Tim Kennedy - Bracken Kearns - Matt Bradley

Jason Garrison - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver
Ed Jovanovski - Erik Gudbranson

Jose Theodore is expected to start in goal with Jacob Markstrom serving as backup.

Sean Bergenheim has fond memories of his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, particularly his impressive playoff performance last season.

But there won't be much time for nostalgia Saturday night when Bergenheim faces his former team in the regular season for the first time as a member of the Florida Panthers.

"There's good guys on that team," Bergenheim said after the Panthers' morning skate Saturday. "Even though I keep in contact with a few of them, on the ice there's definitely contact, but it's maybe not the good kind."

Bergenheim says he still keeps in touch with a few players on the Lightning, among them Victor Hedman, Dominic Moore and Mattias Ritola. There have been text messages exchanged in the last few days, but nothing about Saturday night's game.

The Panthers and Lightning faced each other twice in the exhibition season, and Bergenheim was in the lineup for one of those games.

"I kind of did feel different," Bergenheim said. "It was good to get that over with, the first game against them. Now, I actually feel pretty normal right now. I'm looking forward to playing against the system and these guys. I've got to set aside that there's some friends. They're not friends on the ice."

One of the many veterans acquired by the Panthers in July, Bergenheim signed with Florida after playing a major role in the Lightning's run to the Eastern Conference final, where Tampa Bay lost in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.

Bergenheim had 14 goals in 80 regular season games in 2010-11, but then erupted for nine goals in 16 playoff games.

He agreed to a four-year, $11 million deal with the Panthers on July 1 when it was 5 a.m. Finland time. Later that day, he got married in Helsinki.

In his first two games with the Panthers this season, Bergenheim has yet to collect a point but is averaging about 15 minutes a game on the third line with center Marcel Goc and right wing Jack Skille.

Bergenheim's Panthers debut came last Saturday against the Islanders, the team with which he began his NHL career.

Like that game, Bergenheim figures to have just a little bit of extra motivation against Tampa Bay, even if he tries to downplay it.

"When you play against a former team, there's always a little bit of extra," he said. "Right now, we're focusing on our game, getting our game going. There's a little bit of extra motivation, but I really don't see it as that big of a deal."

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher is making some lineup changes for Saturday night's game at Florida, and there are a couple of reasons.

Forwards Tom Pyatt and Blair Jones will be skating after being scratches for Tampa Bay's last two and three games, respectively. Matt Gilroy will suit up on defense after sitting out the last two games, while Mathieu Garon will make his second start of the season in net.

Forwards Ryan Shannon and Teddy Purcell will be out of the lineup for the first time this season, while defenseman Bruno Gervais will sit after playing the last two games.

Boucher said the lineup changes were made both to try to jumpstart his team, which has lost three in a row after winning its opener, and to keep his forwards sharp.

"Jones and Pyatt are guys who work extremely hard," Boucher said. "They're physical, they're in the other team's face, they're very reliable defensively, they block shots, they're great in penalty kills. It's something I hate to get rid of when I don't put them in the lineup, and that's our problem right now.

"It's a good problem to have: We have too many guys that can play as forwards. We've got a lot of depth with the forwards; right now we don't want to lose anybody, so we want to make sure that guys play games."

That said, Boucher is hoping the lineup changes can spark his team.

"If you look at the final four teams, San Jose really hasn't played yet, they've played one game, Boston is 1-3, Vancouver is 1-2 and not playing their best, and it's the same for us," Boucher said. "And I know why. It's because we're still there. We're still in the playoffs, We're still thinking that that's what we are, that's our team. But that's not true. We're a new team, it's a new year and everything is to do right now. We were there because we earned it. We earned it every day last year and right now I think [subconsciously], we talk about it, but [subconsciously] the players think, hey, we are that team. We're not. We have to become that team. That's difficult and it's going to take a lot of work."

Here’s a look at what the lineups might look like tonight when Florida plays host to Tampa Bay at BankAtlantic Center:

LIGHTNING

Martin St. Louis - Steven Stamkos - Brett Connolly
Ryan Malone - Vincent Lecavalier - Nate Thompson
Mattias Ritola - Dominic Moore - Steve Downie
Blair Jones - Tom Pyatt - Adam Hall

Eric Brewer - Victor Hedman
Pavel Kubina - Brett Clark
Marc-Andre Bergeron - Matt Gilroy

Mathieu Garon

PANTHERS

Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
David Booth - Tomas Kopecky - Scottie Upshall
Sean Bergenheim - Marcel Goc - Jack Skille
Shawn Matthias - Ryan Carter - Matt Bradley

Jason Garrison - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver
Ed Jovanovski - Erik Gudbranson

Jose Theodore