PITTSBURGH -- Injuries will require both the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins to make changes to their respective lineups when they meet Saturday at Consol Energy Center.

Pittsburgh will be without forward James Neal for the first time this season, as he will sit with an upper-body injury. Neal played in the Penguins' 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils Thursday night, but left after 3:49 of ice time.

He will be replaced on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Jussi Jokinen by 19-year-old forward Beau Bennett. Bennett competed against Jokinen for the spot alongside Malkin and Neal through training camp, but skated next to Brandon Sutter and Chuck Kobasew to begin the season.

Bennett didn't want Neal's injury to be the reason for his promotion from the third line, but he said he welcomes the opportunity to play next to Malkin.

"It's exciting," Bennett said. "I know we're going to be switching up the lines quite a bit. So, it will be awesome to start the game with [Malkin] and try to develop some chemistry and just hopefully everything goes well."

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars are still looking to get new head coach Lindy Ruff his first win behind their bench. And in Saturday's game with the Washington Capitals at American Airlines Center, the Stars will see Rich Peverley for the first time in a Dallas uniform.

Peverley, 31, was acquired in the July 4 trade with the Boston Bruins that sent Loui Eriksson and two others to Boston for Peverley, Tyler Seguin and defenseman Ryan Button. However, the veteran center was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat before the start of training camp and missed the entire preseason before returning to full practice for the first time Friday morning.

On Saturday, he will debut on the Stars' fourth line alongside Antoine Roussel and Ryan Garbutt, and he couldn't be happier to finally be back in the mix with his new club.

"It will be good to be a part of the gameday preparations, just kind of get in a routine again and be a part of this locker room,"Peverley said Saturday morning.

TORONTO -- The big news out of Toronto on Saturday concerns forward Nikolai Kulemin. Coach Randy Carlyle says the Russian winger has a chip in his ankle that will keep him out of action for at least two weeks. Rookie Spencer Abbott has been called up from the Toronto Marlies to take his place.

"To say it's not a significant injury would be incorrect," Carlyle said of Kulemin.

The Leafs will have to hope Abbott's high-scoring ways from his time at the University of Maine can translate to the NHL.

The news of Kulemin's injury managed to overshadow the news of 2012 first-round pick Morgan Rielly making his NHL debut tonight. With Mark Fraser on long-term injured reserve with a knee injury, it opens up the opportunity for Rielly to jump into action. He was paired up with Jake Gardiner during the morning skate.

James Reimer started in Toronto's season-opening victory over the Montreal Canadiens and is expected to start Saturday. He will bring a sterling 8-1-1 record against Ottawa into the game.

MONTREAL -- Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty will miss Saturday night's game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a left arm injury.

Pacioretty hurt his arm midway through the first period of Montreal's season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs when he was hit along the boards by Colton Orr. Pacioretty missed the rest of the first period and the first few shifts of the second before coming back to finish the game.

Pacioretty participated in Montreal's practice Friday, but said afterward that he couldn't guarantee he would be able to play in Saturday's game. Coach Michel Therrien said Saturday after the team's morning skate that he considered it "too risky" to put Pacioretty in the lineup.

Pacioretty's absence, coupled with that of George Parros (concussion), ensures that rookie Michael Bournival will make his NHL debut while Ryan White will make his season debut after both sat out Tuesday's game.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins searched for most of the season and the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs for third-line production and rarely got it.

This season, they're plan was to rectify that. Although an injury to Carl Soderberg changed the formation of the Bruins' third line prior to the Thursday's season opener, Jordan Caron joined center Chris Kelly and right wing Reilly Smith to form a group that was strong at both ends of the rink in the 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With Soderberg still out with an ankle injury, that trio figures to be together again against the Detroit Red Wings Saturday at TD Garden.

"They've got to be able to generate some stuff, some scoring opportunities, which is what we talked about last year about trying to find with our third line," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after his team's morning skate. "So right now, they've given us that. I thought last game they spent some time in the offensive zone. I thought they did a great job forechecking and creating some things."

With captain Ryan Callahan expected to return to the lineup Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers have sent forward J.T. Miller to their American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford.

The Rangers' first-round pick (No. 15) in the 2011 draft, Miller registered one shot and two penalty minutes in New York's season-opening 4-1 road loss to the Phoenix Coyotes Thursday night. The 20-year-old Ohio native had an eventful 2012-13 season. He made his NHL debut with the Rangers, posting two goals and two assists in 26 games, while also collecting nine points in seven games to lead Team USA to gold at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

In his first home game with the Rangers on Feb. 7, Miller wowed the Madison Square Garden crowd with two goals. But he has failed to score since that game.

According to Rule 78.5 "Apparent goals shall be disallowed by the referee when the net becomes displaced accidentally. The goal frame is considered to be displaced if either or both goal pegs are no longer in their respective holes in the ice, or the net has come completely off one or both pegs, prior to or as the puck enters the net".

After missing all of training camp and the New York Rangers' opening-night 4-1 loss Thursday to the Phoenix Coyotes, it appears captain Ryan Callahan will return to the lineup for the team's next game Monday.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, asked Friday about the right wing’s return, said he expected Callahan to play against the Los Angeles Kings.

Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne will sit out Saturday's game against the Minnesota Wild, coach Bruce Boudreau said Friday. Selanne will play the following night against the Winnipeg Jets, with whom he began his NHL career in 1992-93 by scoring a career-high 76 goals.

"Winnipeg might be a pretty big night for him," Boudreau said. "They love him there and rightfully so. They should love him."

NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer declared goalie Martin Brodeur "ready to go" in his season debut Friday against the New York Islanders at Prudential Center.

Brodeur sat out Thursday's season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, ending his NHL record streak of 18 consecutive opening starts with the same team. The 41-year-old Brodeur had a light skate Friday morning in preparation for his first start of the 2013-14 season before what is sure to be an electric atmosphere at The Rock.