DETROIT – He’s just 19 and is still listed at 6-foot-1, 196-pounds, but Anaheim Ducks second-year defenseman Cam Fowler says he’s bigger than listed and it’s paying off in terms of his improved defense this season.

The puck-moving, speedy Fowler also said his weight gain was the result of a hard off-season training program. He said he came into Anaheim’s camp weighing around 208 pounds this fall, but has since dropped about five to play at 203.

So far, it’s working out well.

“Battling in the corners and pushing off of guys is where I really notice is the most,” said Fowler, who has five assists and in 13 games. “The main thing is that I didn’t want it to slow me down at all, and it hasn’t. That’s a big part of my game. It’s just been a little added strength, which I needed.”

Fowler, an offensive-minded defenseman, had 10 goals and 30 assists as an 18-year old rookie last season. He also had an ugly minus-25 rating, which he targeted for improvement by bettering his defensive skills. It seems to be working, as he’s currently a minus-2 heading into Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings – the team located just across the Detroit River from his hometown of Windsor, Ont.

“It’s just kind of picking your spots out there (to be more offensive),” Fowler said. “A lot of it depends on who you’re matched up with and what line you’re playing against. Some lines you really have to pay attention, because there’s guys that can really hurt you. We played against (Alex Ovechkin) and (Marian Gaborik) and those guys are always on the offense. If you’re getting caught up ice in the play, it really puts you behind the eight ball. You need to know when to jump up in the rush and when to hang back.”

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – John Tavares knows he’d better get his legs going early tonight.
 
With the New York Islanders mired in a six-game losing streak and having scored a League-low 18 goals in 11 games, coach Jack Capuano reshuffled his lines for Saturday night against the Washington Capitals. For Tavares, who has scored seven of New York’s goals and assisted on four others, it means replacing right wing PA Parenteau with Michael Grabner.
 
Not only did Grabner score 34 goals as a rookie last season, but he also won the fastest skater competition at All-Star Weekend in January.
 
The third-year center is looking forward to playing with Grabner and regular linemate Matt Moulson in the reshuffled pairings.
 
“I think it will be good – a little bit of a different mindset,” Tavares said Saturday morning. “As much as we’ve been getting opportunities, we haven’t been getting results. Sometimes you just need a different look, a clean slate, a different mindset to breed some confidence and excitement into everybody.”
 
With the Isles having been blanked in two of their last three games and scoring just seven goals during the six-game slide, Tavares said the Islanders have to look at the shuffle in a positive light.
 
“You have to take it that way,” he said. “We’ve been playing pretty well – although it’s easy to say you’re playing well when you’re not winning. We’ve been creating a lot of opportunities; we just haven’t been able to find the net. Hopefully some new chemistry, some new looks will bring some of the success and results we’re looking for.”
 
Having Grabner instead of Parenteau will mean some changes for Tavares.
 
“It is a little bit [different],” he said. “You have guys who do things differently and play different styles. It’s not really going to change my game, but for sure it will be a little different.
 
“I’m looking forward to playing with [Grabner]. It should be fun.”
 
There hasn’t been a lot of fun on Long Island for the past three weeks – the Isles haven’t won since beating the Rangers 4-2 on Oct. 15. Tavares said the Islanders need to go back to what they were doing in the early stages of the season, which saw them win three in a row before the current slump.
 
“I think sometimes when you’re trying to make the perfect play or the perfect shot, that starts putting you in trouble,” he told NHL.com. “You’re not going to get those opportunities every night. A lot of the goals you see on the highlights come from just putting pucks on the net and maybe you get a loose rebound or it goes off a skate and in – and that can get you going.
 
“Then everything comes more easily. You play more simple and you do the right thing. People say ‘you’re working too hard,’ but I feel it’s more like you’re trying to complicate things more than you should. You need to keep it simple and do the little things that will start to build your confidence and breed success.”

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers had 14 forwards on the ice and didn't practice line rushes, so there's a bit of a question of how their lineup might shake out tonight when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

James van Riemsdyk and Matt Read skated for the full practice, but both are considered day-to-day -- van Riemsdyk with a lower-body injury that kept him out of Thursday's game against New Jersey, Read with an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for the last two contests.

Eric Wellwood was called up from Adirondack of the American Hockey League on Friday and also was on the ice this morning, meaning he's a possibility for tonight.

The only forward who didn't skate today was Andreas Nodl, who the team is listing as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

So what will the lineup look like tonight? Can't be 100-percent sure, but here's a possibility. Again, things could change drastically if van Riemsdyk and/or Read are able to play.

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Harry Zolnierczyk - Danny Briere - Jakub Voracek
Eric Wellwood - Maxime Talbot - Wayne Simmonds
Zac Rinaldo - Sean Couturier - Jody Shelley

Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn
Matt Carle - Erik Gustafsson
Andreas Lilja - Andrej Meszaros

Ilya Bryzgalov will start in goal, with Sergei Bobrovsky backing him up.

We'll have the Blue Jackets lineup in a bit, but like the Flyers, there's also some question marks on their side.

Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Here is the projected lineup for the Boston Bruins when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night:

Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron – Chris Kelly – Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara – Johnny Boychuk 
 Joe Corvo – Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference – Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

PHILADELPHIA -- Jakub Voracek said he had three great seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the ending certainly left a sour taste in his mouth. So the Flyers forward certainly has had this game circled on his calendar for quite a while.

"I'd be lying if I said no," he said. "I was pretty excited for this game since the season started. It's going to be a great game. Hope it's going to end for us well. … It's another NHL game for me and I'm going to try to do my best as always, hopefully help the team win, and show them (the Blue Jackets) they made a mistake."

The Jackets picked Voracek with the seventh pick of the 2007 Entry Draft, and in three seasons in Columbus he averaged 13 goals and 45 points per campaign.

Last season, though, he endured the worst stretch of his hockey life, picking up just one point in his final 16 games.

"It was the worst time in my life, in my NHL career," Voracek said. "Even if it's a tough stretch, in 16 games, if you're playing on the first or second line, you still got to be able to get more than one secondary assist, somehow. You've got to get it. It's impossible to not have it. It was a really bad time, nothing went in. We didn't play well as a team and I didn't play well as a player."

It got worst at his season-ending exit interview, when Voracek's conditioning was criticized publicly by coach Scott Arniel.

"The biggest thing that is holding him back is his conditioning," Arniel told the Columbus Dispatch that day. "I think this guy can be an elite player in this League if he gets himself in shape."

Voracek still is bothered by the comments, more because they were made publicly.

"I don't think it's right to talk about it in the papers," he said. "It is what it is, it's what he said. I disagree with him. I went to the World Championship last year and I felt great the whole tournament, which was almost the end of May. It was a long season for me as well, and physically I felt great. Sometimes it doesn't mean if you play bad that you're out of shape."

Voraceck now says he's moved beyond what was said, and spent time on the bench this morning talking to former teammates.

"It is what it is," he said. "It's behind me and I have totally new NHL life."

Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

The start of the season has been a dream for the League-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, but a nightmare for fourth-year defenseman Luke Schenn. The 22-year-old has slipped down the depth chart -- his normally strong defensive game plagued by a mix of poor decisions, turnovers, and bad breaks. 

He will watch from the press box Saturday night as a healthy scratch for the first time since Dec 9, 2009. The 5th selection in the 2008 Entry Draft has an even plus-minus rating this season, below par on a team with the third-best offense and second-best 5-on-5 ratio in the League.

Schenn’s slow start is in contrast to other Leafs blueliners led by captain Dion Phaneuf.  A resurgent Mike Komisarek has taken Schenn’s spot in the top four, while Schenn’s ice time has steadily decreased from 22:06 on opening night against Montreal to just 9:13 in Thursday’s 4-1 win against Columbus. Coach Ron Wilson addressed Schenn’s situation following that game.

“It’s a struggle for Luke right now, he’s got to fight through this and not get frustrated,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to figure out the best approach with Luke.”

For his part, Schenn has maintained a positive outlook, commenting on his slump earlier in the week,

"I know my opportunity will come.” Schenn said. “We've got four defensemen right now who are playing great – obviously ahead of me – and they're playing big minutes right now and obviously deservingly so.

"I'm not going to get too rattled or frustrated about it. It's part of the game. Every player goes through this, probably every year, and definitely throughout their career. You just learn how to deal with it and at the end of the day it's not a worry because I know that this isn't going to last forever."

Now banished to the press box, Schenn will need to maintain that positive attitude while Cody Franson, another promising young defenseman who has underachieved this season, enters the lineup against the Bruins. Franson, acquired in the off-season from Nashville, now has his chance to earn the trust of Wilson. Schenn meanwhile, can only sit and wait for an opportunity to get his game back on track and do the same.

NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Devils weren’t the only team to skate at Prudential Center this morning hit hard by the injury bug.
 
The Winnipeg Jets were forced to call up yet another defenseman Friday -- Paul Postma -- to replace injured Randy Jones in the lineup. The 22-year-old had played in 10 games with the St. John's IceCaps this season, producing two goals and eight points. Postma played in his first and only NHL game last season with the Atlanta Thrashers.
 
The Jets are without four regulars along the blueline in Tobias Enstrom (broken collarbone), Mark Stuart (upper body), Ron Hainsey (upper body) and Jones (foot contusion). The club actually placed Enstrom on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 31. Additionally, Derek Meech (lower-body) won't be ready until after the Jets return home Nov. 10. The club is currently playing the fifth of a seven-game road swing (3-1-0).
 
"We have guys banged up so Paul was added to the roster," Winnipeg coach Claude Noel said. "He'll play some power-play, but we just want him to defend, be responsible and move the puck … play simple. Sometimes it's easier to play at this level than the American League, and I've watched him on tape from last year. He looked OK. He was good in training camp and was disappointed to be sent back."
 
Postma, who will likely be paired with Johnny Oduya in his season debut Saturday against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center, is looking forward to making the most of this opportunity.
 
"I got the call (Friday) and it wasn't my first call up, so I've been there before so nerves aren't exactly what they used to be," Postma said. "But with all the injuries, I'm just glad I get a chance to play."
 
Noel will also go right back to Ondrej Pavelec between the pipes. Pavelec, fresh off a 34-save shutout in a 3-0 win Thursday against the New York Islanders, will be backed up by Peter Mannino.
 
"He's going to play, he's on a roll," Noel said of Pavelec. "I won't hesitate playing him back-to-back (Saturday and Sunday) either. It's not an issue. I'd ride him right now with the way he is performing."
 
When asked if his team will play any differently knowing Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk will be sidelined by injury, Noel admitted that wouldn't be the case.
 
"(Kovalchuk's) a guy who can really break a game open," Noel said. "He's a guy you need to be aware of on the power play. We'll have to manage our game intelligently with the defense we have and spend as little time as we can in our zone … find ways to exploit their game. This is a game we feel we can win."
 
Here's what the projected lineup looks like for the Jets following their morning skate:
 
Andrew Ladd – Bryan Little – Kyle Wellwood
Evander Kane – Nik Antropov – Alex Burmistrov
Tanner Glass – Jim Slater – Chris Thorburn
Kenndal McArdle – Tim Stapleton – Blake Wheeler
 
Dustin Byfuglien – Mark Flood
Zach Bogosian – Brett Festerling
Johnny Oduya – Paul Postma

Ondrej Pavelec
Peter Mannino

DETROIT – Forward Todd Bertuzzi will not play Saturday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the visiting Anaheim Ducks.

“(Bertuzzi’s) not feeling good,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s been sick for a few days and he’s just not feeling good.”

TheRed Wings (5-5-1) will also be without forward Patrick Eaves (lower back) for the second straight game after he injured himself against the Minnesota Wild earlier this week. Eaves has missed two practices, but skated with the Wings on Saturday morning before getting more treatment on his back.

Fabian Brunnstrom, who made the Red Wings roster on a tryout offer in training camp, has been recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to enter the lineup in place of Bertuzzi. Brunnstrom played in just one game with Detroit before he was sent down and has one goal in one game with the Griffins.

Where he will be placed in the lineup is to be determined because Detroit didn’t skate their forward lines Saturday morning, but Bertuzzi had skated at left wing on the top line with Pavel Datsyuk and Danny Cleary during practice Friday.

Forward Jiri Hudler will also be in the lineup after needing 26 stitches to sew up cuts above and below his left eye after he was pushed headfirst into the boards last game by Calgary’s Scott Hannan. Hudler’s eye is still swollen and the headaches he dealt with kept him awake most of the first night. However, he wasn’t going to ask out of the lineup – especially during Detroit’s current six-game winless skid.

“Pain?” Hudler said on Friday. “Haven’t got time for pain.”

PHILADELPHIA -- Chris Pronger took part in his first full morning skate since injuring his eye Oct. 24, and said the biggest issue for him is getting his conditioning back where it needs to be.

"It's a process," he said following practice this morning at Wells Fargo Center. "When you don't do anything for a week, you lose a little bit, your timing. Really you're just trying to do drills to get that back, get your conditioning back."

Pronger also is adjusting to wearing a visor for the first time in his NHL career. He said he did wear one in juniors, but he played his last junior game in May 1993.

He said he hadn't had too much of an issue with the visor so far, but said he really wouldn't know how it might affect him until he gets into a game.

"I haven't really done much out there, contact-wise, to really tell," Pronger said. "I haven't played in a game so I can't really tell you. I haven't done anything other than skate. It hasn't fogged up because I haven't been doing much.

"It is clear, so I can see through it. But there is that lip (at the bottom), and you're used to not really having to look, it's right there. It is a bit of an adjustment. Sometimes it's something you have to do and you just get used to it."

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Friday that the vision in Pronger's right eye has returned to pre-injury level. Pronger said he still is taking things slowly.

"I have to keep seeing how I do after each day," Pronger said. "I've been slowly doing more and more every day. See how my head responds."

Pronger isn't ready to circle a return date, but after tonight, the Flyers don't play again until Wednesday in Tampa Bay, which certainly works in his favor as far as limiting the number of games he misses.

"I'll get a couple good practices and try to crank it up and see how I feel," he said.

He's missed five games (it'll become six tonight), and Pronger said one of the things he's noticed is a lack of consistency and a missing killer instinct. He cited Thursday's loss to New Jersey, when the Flyers blew two leads en route to a 4-3 shootout loss, as an example.

"I think the biggest thing is consistency," he said. "We have to play 60 minutes of hockey to be successful. Taking periods off, shifts off, all the rest of that costs you games, and has in the past this year, and previous years I've been here. We have to figure out how to play 60 minutes and make sure when you get teams down like we did the other night, 2-0, you put on the gas and put our foot on the throat, closing games out. It's a learning process and something we need to learn early on in the season to make sure as the season goes on we get better at that."

Contact Adam Kimelman at akimelman@nhl.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

Here are the projected lineups for the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings for their game Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

ANAHEIM

Bobby Ryan – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano – Saku Koivu – Teemu Selanne
Matt Beleskey – Maxime Macenauer – Andrew Gordon
Devante Smith-Pelly – Brandon McMillan – Peter Holland

Cam Fowler – Francois Beauchemin
Lubomir Visnovsky – Toni Lydman
Luca Sbisa – Kurtis Foster

Jonas Hiller is starting and Dan Ellis will be his back-up. Holland could make his NHL debut in place of Nick Bonino, who is questionable because of a hyperextended knee.

DETROIT

Jiri Hudler – Pavel Datsyuk – Danny Cleary
Valtteri Filppula – Henrik Zetterberg – Johan Franzen
Fabian Brunnstrom – Justin Abdelkader – Darren Helm
Drew Miller – Cory Emmerton – Tomas Holmstrom

Nicklas Lidstrom – Ian White
Niklas Kronwall – Brad Stuart
Jonathan Ericsson – Mike Commodore

Jimmy Howard will make the start in goal, and Ty Conlkin will be his back-up. Todd Bertuzzi will not play because of illness.