NEWARK, N.J. -- With Anton Volchenkov (hand) and Andy Greene (toe) sidelined, the Devils will go with two recent call-ups as their third defensive pair for their game this afternoon against Montreal at Prudential Center.
Matt Taormina and Alex Urbom were both recalled from Albany of the AHL on Friday and will be making their season debuts against the Canadiens. They were paired together in Albany and Devils coach Pete DeBoer said that played into his decision to keep them together today.
"I think the reports out of Albany have been very good on both guys," DeBoer said. "They've both played (NHL) games before so it's not their first time in the NHL."
Taormina has four goals, eight assists and a plus-two rating in 23 games with Albany this season. He also played 17 games with the Devils last season and had three goals and two assists before missing time with a left ankle injury in mid-November. He needed surgery to repair two non-displaced fractures and was out for the rest of the season.
Urbom, who is still only 20 years old, played in eight games with the Devils last season and had a goal. He had one goal and five assists along with a plus-six rating in 21 games with Albany this season.
"They've been in this situation before and they've handled it well before," DeBoer said. "We're excited to stick them in."
DeBoer could have gone with Mark Fraser, who has played in four games this season without a point, but he wanted to go with a faster lineup to match the Canadiens speed.
"They come at you in waves and they can all skate," he said. "We felt this was our best lineup for who we're playing."
While Greene is on injured reserve and could be out a month, Volchenkov is listed as day-to-day. He has not been ruled out for the game Monday in Tampa Bay.
"Too early to tell," He said. "We classify him as day to day. We'll see how he is tomorrow."
Here are the Devils lines and defense pairings:
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Ryan Carter - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Tim Sestito - Nick Palmieri
Henrik Tallinder - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Matt Taormina - Alex Urbom
Martin Brodeur is starting in net.
Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl