DETROIT -- Jimmy Howard will start in net for the 16th straight game and 20th time in 23 games when the Red Wings face the Lightning tonight (7:30 p.m., Versus, TSN2).

Backup Ty Conklin hasn’t started since Oct. 25, when the Wings lost on the road to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the second loss of what turned out to be a six-game winless skid. Babcock doesn't seem all that concerned about Howard getting burned out with so much action so soon in the season, though.

In fact, when asked about it after Wednesday's skate at Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings coach sounded just a little sarcastic about his decision.

"What I did is, I kind of went through the League's stats and I saw all these goalies playing around 19 games (total) and I noticed Howie had played 19, so I thought he was playing good so … keep playing him," Babcock said. "Eventually, Conks is going to get an opportunity to play. Howie's going good. We like what he's doing. We think he's a young guy and he can play a lot."

Aside from letting in four goals in 39 minutes in a loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 17, Howard has been solid-to-great through his streak of starts.

"He's earned the right over time to be a good goaltender in the League," Babcock said. "He spent a lot of time in the minors, he's worked on his fitness, the mental side of his game seems to have really come and he just seems to be a good goaltender in the League. We get excellent goaltending right now -- as good as we've had since I've been here, for sure."

DETROIT -- Fabian Brunnstrom is getting pretty familiar with the two-hour drive that separates Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich.

That’s because the 26-year old Detroit Red Wings forward already has shuttled back and forth between the NHL and AHL Griffins three times in November while trying to find a regular spot with the Wings.

Tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:30 p.m., Versus, TSN2), Brunnstrom will get another crack at playing in Detroit when he fills in at left wing on the third line, with center Darren Helm and Danny Cleary at right wing.

"It's going to be fun to play and I'm looking forward to the game," said Brunnstrom, who has 1 assist and a minus-2 rating in four NHL games this season. "I knew I probably picked the hardest forward lineup to break into (as a free agent), so I knew it was going to be hard. At the same time, I'm right where I want to be on this team. Now it's just taking the next step to get into the lineup (more often)."

Someone who will be watching eagerly is Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, who would like to see Brunnstrom tap into the skill set that made him a highly sought after free agent from Sweden in 2008.

After becoming just the third player in NHL history to record a hat trick in his NHL debut, Brunnstrom went on to have a solid first season in Dallas before seeing his production slide to the point where he played most of last season in the minors.

 Now Brunnstrom has another opportunity to show what he can do in the NHL.

"If you make good on that opportunity, you keep getting it and if you don't … eventually it slips away on you," Babcock said. "He's been in the League before. Actually he was a YouTube sensation or something like that. We were all recruiting him. Now he's back and he's earned his way to play on a team -- and now he's got to find a way to play every day on the team."

It also sounds like Brunnstrom might be at a crossroads moment in his career, according to Babcock.

"He's at the stage of his life where he's got to grab hold and find a way to not just have the puck, but get it to the net and get it to the scoring areas, to be hard out there," he said of Brunnstrom. "If he does that, then he has a chance to be a real good player. The ball's in his court. I'm looking forward to watching."

Making the situation even more interesting is that Brunnstrom's wife is pregnant and could go into labor at any moment.

"I would think that it doesn't affect me, but maybe it does some anyway,” Brunnstrom said after Detroit’s morning skate on Wednesday, prior to playing the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena Wednesday night. “It’s a big thing in life, so I don’t know. I’m just trying to focus on the game when I’m here and when I go home I’ll focus on that.”

As for shuttling back and forth between Grand Rapids and Detroit so often – he’s been sent down and recalled three times each in just the month of November – Brunnstrom said he understands that it’s all just part of what he signed on for with the talent-laden Red Wings.

“It’s a tough lineup to get into (in Detroit), but it’s good to play some games (in Grand Rapids),” Brunnstrom said. “It’s a lot of miles on the car, though, driving back and forth.”

VANCOUVER -- Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has been loathe to tinker with a winning lineup, but after watching his team get outshot 48-34 in Tuesday's win, he's willing to make changes.

They won't include the goaltender. Not after Vigneault labeled Cory Schneider the best player on the ice in a 4-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. But while Schneider makes his seventh-straight start -- and fifth ahead of a healthy Roberto Luongo -- Thursday against visiting Nashville, but the forward lines get a significant addition.

Mason Raymond will play his first since breaking vertebrae on an awkward hit by Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Raymond, who was cleared for contact more than a week ago and told the coaches he was ready to return Saturday, will debut on the third line, alongside Cody Hodgson and Jannik Hansen. The speedy winger spent most of the past two seasons on the second line, scoring 25 goals in 82 games two seasons ago and 15 in 70 last season.

The defense also may change, with Sami Salo skipping practice after tweaking his groin Tuesday and leaving the win in the third period. He will be re-evaluated Thursday.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Here's what the lineups likely will look like when the Canadiens and Ducks hit the ice in the Honda Center tonight.

The Ducks will have a new top line trio, with Matt Beleskey sliding into Bobby Ryan's spot.

The big news for the Canadiens will be the NHL debut of 2009 first-round pick Louis Leblanc, who will start on the third line.

CANADIENS
Andrei Kostitsyn - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta
Michael Cammalleri - David Desharnais - Erik Cole
Travis Moen - Louis Leblanc - Lars Eller
Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Yannick Weber

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban
Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz
Alexei Emelin - Frederic St-Denis

Peter Budaj will start in goal, with Carey Price spending the night as the backup.

DUCKS
Matt Beleskey - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano - Saku Koivu - Teemu Selanne
Bobby Ryan - Ben Maxwell - Niklas Hagman
Andrew Gordon - Maxime Macenauer - Devante Smith-Pelly

Cam Fowler - Toni Lydman
Francois Beauchemin - Luca Sbisa
Sheldon Brookbank - Nate Guenin

Jonas Hiller will start in goal, with Jeff Deslauriers serving as the backup. Regular backup Dan Ellis will miss about a week, according to coach Randy Carlyle, due to a sore groin.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It's not too surprising that Anaheim broke up its top line of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry given its offensive struggles.

Matt Beleskey takes Ryan's place at left wing, as Ryan drops to the third line, with Ben Maxwell and Niklas Hagman.

Coach Randy Carlyle indicated that it's just an experiment for now.

"We still think that (Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry) group is going to have to play together for an extended period of time," Carlyle said. "Because you make a change for one game or two games, there's nothing etched in stone. We're trying to stimulate, spark, kick, coddle, pat on the back, whatever you have to do to get your hockey club to play to a higher level."

Beleskey played with Getzlaf and Perry a couple of seasons ago and the group had chemistry.

"With those two guys, it makes the game a little easier," Beleskey said. "For me, I've just got to create space for them. Go to the net and get in the way of people to open up lanes for them. Hopefully that helps them have a little more time with the puck."

In other Ducks news, Ryan told the Orange County Register he wouldn't be surprised if he was traded.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There will be one new face and a different overall look for the Montreal Canadiens tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

Rookie Louis Leblanc will make his NHL debut, centering the Habs' third line, flanked by Travis Moen and Lars Eller. Yannick Weber will move back to the fourth line, with Petteri Nokelainen and Mathieu Darche, while Frederic St-Denis goes in on defense.

Andrei Markov did not participate in practice because it was a "therapy day," Montreal coach Jacques Martin said.

Peter Budaj will get the start in goal tonight, with Carey Price expected to start at San Jose on Thursday.

Leblanc, who didn't arrive in time for practice Tuesday, was given jersey No. 71 and skated with his new teammates for the first time Wednesday.

He didn't have time to be nervous -- yet.

"I'll try the pre-game nap," Leblanc said. "The emotions are starting to kick in now. I'm just going to go in there and have fun."

Asked if it might be easier making his debut on the road, where the spotlight isn't as intense, Leblanc said, "Maybe it's a good thing, but it's a hockey game and I'm just going to go out there and have fun tonight."

Moen said he was excited to play with the 20-year-old Leblanc.

"We'll try to calm him down a bit," Moen said. "Playing with me and (Eller), just make the simple play. We're the type of players where you chip the pucks deep, we'll go get them. We'll try and get him his first goal."

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche's lack of offense has become such a problem that it doesn't matter much which goalie the team is facing, especially at home.

"Unfortunately when we're playing, the opposition's goaltender has been the No. 1 star for a lot of nights," coach Joe Sacco said after this morning's skate. "We have to make it harder on the opposition's goalie, very simple."

The Avalanche have scored just 24 goals in 13 games at the Pepsi Center, so it should come as no surprise that the club has lost nine of them heading into tonight's contest with the New Jersey Devils and goalie Martin Brodeur, whose 630 wins are the most in NHL history.

The Avalanche are averaging over 30 shots per game and have registered between 40 and 51 shots five times, but too often the shots have been taken from the perimeter. Forwards haven't been doing a very good job of getting to the front of the net for deflections and tip-ins, or to hunt down rebounds.

"We've obviously had our troubles scoring at home," Sacco said. "We've been in a little bit of a slump. We're a young team right now that's having trouble scoring, having trouble finding the back of the net. We have to find ways, we have to come up with a solution to get scoring opportunities and to bury our chances when they're there."

More line changes are in store for tonight.

David Jones will move to right wing on a line with Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny, and Milan Hejduk will skate at right wing with Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O'Reilly. Daniel Winnik will be at left wing with Jay McClement and Chuck Kobasew. Sacco was still tinkering with the fourth line.

"We're playing very well defensively, we just have to find ways to score," Duchene said. "If we can get on a track where were scoring three and five goals a game, which we're capable of doing, I think we'll be able to win some games. We just have to find that offense."

Defenseman Erik Johnson (groin) skated this morning but will miss his fourth game in a row. Left wing Peter Mueller (head, groin) also skated and will sit for the 22nd consecutive game.

The Devils are beginning a four-game road trip that includes stops in Minnesota, Winnipeg and Toronto. They've won three of their past four road games and are 7-5-0 on the road overall.

Left wing Eric Boulton is expected to return to the Devils' lineup after recovering from a broken right hand. Boulton hasn't played since getting injured Oct. 21 against San Jose.

Defenseman Andy Greene, who was hit with a shot Saturday in the Devils' 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders, has a sore foot and won't play. He's expected to return at some point on the trip.

DENVER -- These are the projected lineups for tonight's game between the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center:

DEVILS
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Tim Sestito - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Ryan Carter - Cam Janssen

Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Mark Fraser - Anton Volchenkov
Henrik Tallinder - Mark Fayne

Martin Brodeur will start in goal with Johan Hedberg as the backup.

AVALANCHE
Matt Duchene - Paul Stastny - David Jones
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Milan Hejduk
Daniel Winnik - Jay McClement - Chuck Kobasew
Kevin Porter - TJ Galiardi - Brandon Yip

Kyle Quincey - Shane O'Brien
Ryan Wilson - Stefan Elliott
Jan Hejda - Ryan O'Byrne

Semyon Varlamov will start in goal with Jean-Sebastien Giguere as the backup.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have made it official, announcing they've signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a five-year contract extension today.

Terms of the deal were not released, but TSN earlier reported the value at $4 million a season.

"We are extremely pleased to announce that we have agreed to a five-year contract with Victor," said Lightning GM Steve Yzerman.  "He has shown tremendous growth as a player in just more than two seasons in the NHL while also becoming a key member of our team. We look forward to his continued development in a Lightning uniform."

The second pick of the 2009 Entry Draft, Hedman has 2 goals and a minus-5 rating in 20 games, and he's second on the team in average ice time per game at 22:55.

Hedman's numbers might be down a bit this season, but the 6-foot-6, 229-pound 20-year-old posted a career-best 26 points last season, and had 6 points in 18 playoff games while playing more than 22 minutes per game and emerging as a top-pairing defense.

"I'd like to thank our owner, Mr. (Jeff) Vinik, and of course GM Steve Yzerman for helping me move forward in my career," said Hedman. "I love it in Tampa Bay with the Lightning and I will do all I can to help this organization be successful on and off the ice."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Here are what the lineups could look like when the Wild and Oilers take the ice tonight in Rexall Place in Edmonton:

WILD
Dany Heatley - Mikko Koivu - Cal Clutterbuck 

Devin Setoguchi - Matt Cullen - Pierre-Marc Bouchard

Darroll Powe - Kyle Brodziak - Nick Johnson

Brad Staubitz - David McIntyre - Casey Wellman

Nick Schultz - Mike Lundin

Jared Spurgeon - Marco Scandella

Clayton Stoner - Greg Zanon

Niklas Backstrom will start in goal, with Josh Harding the backup.

OILERS
Ryan Smyth - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle
Magnus Paajarvi - Shawn Horcoff - Ales Hemsky
Ryan Jones - Eric Belanger - Sam Gagner
Darcy Hordichuk - Anton Lander - Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid - Tom Gilbert
Ryan Whitney - Jeff Petry
Theo Peckham - Colten Teubert

Nikolai Khabibulin will start in goal, with Devan Dubnyk the backup.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.