OTTAWA -- San Jose Sharks backup goalie Alex Stalock will make his first NHL start against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday as Antti Niemi finally gets a rest.

Niemi stopped 22 shots Saturday in San Jose's 2-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre for his second shutout in three games. He has started all 11 games as the Sharks have gotten off to a league-leading 9-1-1 start.

Stalock's three previous games with the Sharks were all relief appearances, including two last season. He missed nearly a year after having surgery to repair a nerve behind his knee that was severed in a minor league game on February 4, 2011, just three days after he won his NHL debut.

San Jose coach Todd McLellan felt that starting Stalock might spur his teammates to summon some extra effort for a strong finish to their eastern swing.

"Time to get him in and this is a great opportunity for him," McLellan said prior to the game Sunday at Canadian Tire Centre. "I'd like to think that our guys will play really hard for him. It might be a good thing for us playing Alex tonight. Back end of a long road trip, back to back, maybe guys will dig in a little bit more and we'll empty the tanks."

DENVER -- Off to the best start in franchise history, the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche close out a two-game homestand Sunday evening against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center.

The Avalanche have posted a 9-1-0 record to tie the 1994-95 Quebec Nordiques, who also won nine of their first 10 games and went 12-1-0 in their first 13 games. The Avalanche also registered 18 points in their first 10 games in the 2000-01 Stanley Cup championship season when they went 8-0-2 and improved to 9-0-2 before losing in regulation for the first time.

Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avalanche, who have won three games in a row. Varlamov has won six of seven starts with a 1.73 goals-against average and .948 save percentage.

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks enter their game Sunday at Nationwide Arena banged up from victories on Friday.

While the Ducks won 2-1 in Ottawa, they lost forward Jakob Silfverberg for four-to-six weeks because of a broken right hand, the result of a slash by the Senators' Jared Cowen. Anaheim will also be without center Mathieu Perreault (wrist) on Sunday.

Peter Holland was recalled from Norfolk of the American Hockey League and will play on the fourth line. Kyle Palmieri returns to the lineup and Nick Bonino will move to the second line from the fourth.

"We've got depth," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "That's one great thing this organization has. A guy like Kyle Palmieri hasn't played as many minutes as he likes gets a chance now to step in.

"You can't dwell on injuries. Somebody has to do his job. Now this is Peter Holland's chance. He had a couple before. This might be his best chance to stick with the team forever."

At 11:03 of the second period in the Wild/Blackhawks game, video review determined that Andrew Shaw's stick was above the height of the crossbar when he deflected Jeremy Morin's shot. The puck then deflected off Minnesota defenseman Clayton Stoner and into the net. According to Rule 80.3 "When an attacking player causes the puck to enter the opponent's goal by contacting the puck above the height of the crossbar, either directly or deflected off any player or official, the goal shall not be allowed". No goal Chicago.

At 19:32 of the second period in the Devils/Bruins game, video review supported the referee's call on the ice that Damien Brunner's shot completely crossed the goal line. Good goal New Jersey.

MONTREAL - San Jose Sharks forward Tommy Wingels was in the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Wingels left the Sharks' 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday in the first period after taking a hit in the corner from Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Tyler Bozak when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

The Maple Leafs announced Bozak will not be in the lineup Saturday due to a lower-body injury. Bozak will be evaluated in the next day or two.

Bozak suffered his injury during a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. He did not play the final 8:17 of the third period.

At 0:47 of the second period in the Oilers/Coyotes game, video review supported the referee's call on the ice that Oliver Ekman-Larsson's shot deflected off Martin Hanzal's skate and into the net in a legal fashion. According to Rule 49.2 "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal." Good Goal Phoenix.

CALGARY -- Lee Stempniak and Mark Giordano will not be in the lineup for the Calgary Flames as they return to Scotiabank Saddledome to host the Washington Capitals after coming off their five-game road trip with just one win.

Stempniak and Giordano, who rank second and third in Flames scoring respectively, will both miss the game on Saturday with lower-body injuries.

"Both of them, they're great leaders in here," said forward Sven Baertschi, who is expected to dress in Stempniak's place. "They're a huge help for our team. With both of them out, there has to be other guys that have to step up and I think we have enough offensive power in here to score goals and we have enough defensemen that can play very well.

"Everyone has to just chip in a little bit of leadership and then problem solved."

Stempniak played 16:57 and scored the Flames' lone goal in Calgary's 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday to wrap up Calgary's 1-4-0 road trip. But he will be unavailable for the Flames. He has recorded a point in all but one game for the Flames this season and has four goals and nine points on the year.

There will be a number of compelling returns Saturday night as the New York Islanders play host to the Philadelphia Flyers at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The most obvious will be defenseman Mark Streit, who served as the Islanders' captain for three seasons before signing this past summer with the Flyers. This will mark Streit's first game back on Long Island and he should figure prominently after being promoted this past week to the top unit on a power play that ranks 29th in the League with an 8.1 percent success rate.

"He was an integral part of our team. He was our captain. He moved on," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said after practice Saturday. "We wish him luck but we have a job to do tonight and that is focus on the Flyers."

The Flyers spent plenty of time practicing their power play Saturday and should benefit greatly from the return of forward Scott Hartnell, who missed four games with a reported rib injury. In order to make room for Hartnell in the lineup, the Flyers sent forward Tye McGinn down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. Hartnell will skate on a line with Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek.

The Islanders will also have a welcome return to their lineup, as forward Michael Grabner will be back after serving his two-game suspension for a hit on Nathan Gerbe of the Carolina Hurricanes. With the speedy Austrian back in the lineup, Brock Nelson will be a healthy scratch for the Islanders.