SUNRISE, Fla. -- Goalie Roberto Luongo will play each end of back-to-back games for the first time this season when the Florida Panthers try to end the Tampa Bay Lightning's seven-game winning streak in a key Atlantic Division game at BB&T Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-F).

Luongo is coming off a 27-save shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday when the Panthers ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory.

"It's a change-up from what we've done in the past, but sometimes you look at the schedule and you look at the way you played last night with the shutout, you say, 'Well, maybe let's talk about that,'" coach Gerard Gallant said after the Panthers' optional morning skate. "Usually we switch the two goalies playing back-to-back games, but he was so sharp last night and we had a lot of rest, so give him a chance."

TORONTO – The focus will be on the goaltenders when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens at Air Canada Centre on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NHLN, TVA Sports).

That is often the case when the NHL’s two oldest franchises hook up.

However, with the Canadiens’ Carey Price sidelined with a lower-body injury, the spotlight will be more on Toronto goalie James Reimer, who leads the NHL with a .937 save percentage and ranks third with a 1.98 goals-against average.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz was a late scratch Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks at Consol Energy Center (12:30 p.m. ET; SN, ROOT).

Kunitz had been questionable with a lower-body injury, but the Penguins announced Saturday morning he would be in the lineup. He had played in all 46 games for the Penguins this season, scoring eight goals and 18 points.

Forward Conor Sheary will play in place of Kunitz.

DENVER -- The St. Louis Blues will take a three-game winning streak into their game Friday against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center with a chance to move within three points of the Central Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks (9 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ALT).

The Blues (28-15-7) have won five of their past six games following a stretch in which they lost three consecutive games in overtime or a shootout. That included a 4-3 overtime loss to the Avalanche (24-21-3) on Jan. 6 when they squandered a late lead.

Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon scored with 1:29 left in regulation to tie the game in a 6-on-5 skating situation and Gabriel Landeskog won it with 16.5 seconds remaining in the extra period.

"That still stings a bit, but we had a stretch there where that was kind of a script to the game, where we had a lead and would give it up and tried to scrounge an extra point in overtime or in a shootout," Blues center David Backes said. "We learned a lesson from those games. In the last 5-10 minutes of games lately we've buckled down and secured the win when we've had the lead."

OTTAWA -- Defenseman Travis Hamonic will return to the New York Islanders lineup Friday when they play the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG+, RDS, TSN5).

Hamonic missed the past four games with a lower-body injury. He will be reunited with Calvin de Haan. They played together for the first 15 games of the season before coach Jack Capuano shuffled his pairings.

"It's only been four games, but it certainly feels a lot longer than that," Hamonic said.

"I'm excited to play (with de Haan) again. He's one of those guys that certainly each and every game he's getting better and better and I think we're starting to see that right now. People are talking about it now, but in our organization, certainly in our locker room, he's someone that we rely on a lot. He plays a lot of tough minutes."

BUFFALO -- The Buffalo Sabres will be missing forward Sam Reinhart and defenseman Josh Gorges on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-D, MSG-B, BELL TV).

Reinhart was injured during the second period of a 2-1 loss Wednesday to the Colorado Avalanche when he collided with Avalanche forward John Mitchell. He did not return to the game.

"He's got an upper-body injury and it looks approximately about a week right now [until he returns]," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "We'll know a little bit more as he gets evaluated the next day or two. But it looks about a week right now."

The Sabres (19-24-4) recalled forward Cal O'Reilly from Rochester of the American Hockey League and placed forward Zemgus Girgensons on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury. O'Reilly had one assist in two games earlier this season for the Sabres. He is the older brother of Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will return to the lineup Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, FS-F).

Ekblad had missed the previous four games because of a concussion sustained Jan. 10 against the Edmonton Oilers. He has nine goals, 19 points and a Panthers-best plus-17 in 42 games. He averages 20:42 of ice time per game, second on the Panthers.

"I feel great," Ekblad said after morning skate. "I'm really, really, really happy to be back in the lineup. Sitting and watching games has got to be the worst thing for a hockey player. I absolutely hate it, especially when the team is losing there. I'm really happy to be back in the lineup and hopefully create something.

"It was tough to be out. Obviously I wanted to be in and help ride that winning streak, but it's the way it is. You obviously are going to lose games and it's all about bouncing back here today. That past winning streak means nothing to us anymore and what happens in the future is what matters."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will play as scheduled Friday night (7 p.m. ET, MSG2, FS-CR), despite a winter storm expected to dump freezing rain across the region. The Rangers arrived in Raleigh on Thursday, ahead of the storm.

Recently-signed forward Daniel Paille took part in the Rangers' optional morning skate on Friday, along with Chris Kreider, who missed the team's Thursday practice with neck spasms. The Rangers believe Kreider, who skated on his own on Thursday, injured his neck in a collision with Radim Vrbata in New York's 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Paille, a veteran of 570 games with the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins, had played 31 games this season with Rockford of the American Hockey League before signing with the Rangers on Thursday.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins activated center David Krejci from injured reserve Thursday for their game against the Vancouver Canucks at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; SN360, NESN).

Coach Claude Julien classified Krejci as a game-day decision while Krejci took part in an optional morning skate. Krejci has missed 10 games, during which the Bruins have gone 5-4-1. Center Ryan Spooner has two goals and nine assists in those games, and when Krejci returns the Bruins lineup will become much deeper now that Spooner has hit his stride in the NHL.

Minnesota Wild center Jarret Stoll will have mixed emotions when he returns to Staples Center for the first time Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; SN, FS-N, FS-WI, FS-W) since he left the Los Angeles Kings last season.

"It will be fun. It will be weird," Stoll said. "Seeing the other side of it, going into the visitor's dressing room, going to the visiting bench, or warm-ups on the other side. Stuff like that was so routine, ritual kind of stuff. Everything will be different."

The Kings (29-13-3) plan to recognize Stoll, an integral depth player on their 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championship teams. He helped them advance to the Western Conference Final three straight seasons, win 10 Stanley Cup Playoff series, and scored the series-clinching overtime goal in the 2012 Western Conference First Round against the Vancouver Canucks.