Projected lineups, starting goalies for today
Latest line combinations, defense pairs, injury news from NHL.com writers
BLUE JACKETS (25-20-7) at BLACKHAWKS (21-24-9)
8:30 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, CHSN, NHLN, SN, TVAS
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Mason Marchment -- Adam Fantilli -- Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner -- Sean Monahan -- Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger -- Charlie Coyle -- Mathieu Olivier
Dimitri Voronkov -- Isac Lundestrom -- Miles Wood
Zach Werenski -- Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov -- Denton Mateychuk
Jake Christiansen -- Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
Scratched: Danton Heinen, Egor Zamula
Injured: Brendan Smith (knee surgery), Dante Fabro (lower body)
Blackhawks projected lineup
Frank Nazar -- Connor Bedard -- Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Greene -- Oliver Moore -- Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Jason Dickinson -- Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Donato -- Landon Slaggert -- Colton Dach
Alex Vlasic -- Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser -- Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk -- Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Sam Lafferty
Injured: Nick Foligno (undisclosed)
Status report
Christiansen will enter the lineup and replace Zamula, who will be a healthy scratch. ... The Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate following a 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday … Foligno, a forward and the Blackhawks’ captain, could be a game-time decision after playing 1:18 at Pittsburgh with an apparent injury.
SATURDAY
KINGS (22-17-13) at FLYERS (24-20-9)
12:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, NBCSP, SN1
Kings projected lineup
Corey Perry -- Alex Laferriere -- Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore -- Quinton Byfield -- Warren Foegele
Kevin Fiala -- Joel Armia -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Kenny Connors -- Samuel Helenius -- Taylor Ward
Mikey Anderson -- Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson -- Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin -- Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Jeff Malott, Jacob Moverare
Injured: Anze Kopitar (upper body), Alex Turcotte (upper body)
Flyers projected lineup
Nikita Grebenkin -- Christian Dvorak -- Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey -- Noah Cates -- Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov -- Trevor Zegras -- Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Sean Couturier -- Garnett Hathaway
Travis Sanheim -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York -- Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler -- Noah Juulsen
Dan Vladar
Samuel Ersson
Scratched: Lane Pederson, Emil Andrae, Carl Grundstrom
Injured: Tyson Foerster (arm), Rodrigo Abols (lower body)
Status report
The Kings did not practice Friday following a 4-1 loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. … Connors, a forward, could make his NHL debut Saturday or at the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. … The Flyers did not practice Friday following a 6-3 loss at the Boston Bruins on Thursday. … The status of Ersson is uncertain; the goalie left after the second period at Boston because of a lower-body injury.
AVALANCHE (35-8-9) at RED WINGS (32-17-6)
1 p.m. ET; ABC, SNP, SNO, SNE
Avalanche projected lineup
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas
Victor Olofsson -- Brock Nelson -- Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton -- Jack Drury -- Joel Kiviranta
Zakhar Bardakov -- Parker Kelly -- Gavin Brindley
Sam Malinski -- Cale Makar
Josh Manson -- Brent Burns
Keaton Middleton -- Samuel Girard
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: None
Injured: Gabriel Landeskog (upper body), Devon Toews (upper body), Logan O’Connor (hip surgery)
Red Wings projected lineup
Marco Kasper -- Dylan Larkin -- Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat -- Andrew Copp -- Patrick Kane
Emmitt Finnie -- J.T. Compher -- James van Riemsdyk
Elmer Soderblom -- Michael Rasmussen -- Mason Appleton
Albert Johansson -- Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot -- Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Travis Hamonic -- Jacob Bernard-Docker
John Gibson
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Erik Gustafsson
Injured: Simon Edvinsson (lower body)
Status report
Gibson will make his third straight start. ... The Red Wings may have some late lineup changes because of a flu bug going through the team.
RANGERS (22-27-6) at PENGUINS (27-14-11)
3:30 p.m. ET; ABC, SNO, SNE, SN1, TVAS
Rangers projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Mika Zibanejad -- Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere
Brennan Othmann -- Noah Laba -- Taylor Raddysh
Brett Berard -- Sam Carrick -- Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson -- Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen -- Scott Morrow
Jonathan Quick
Spencer Martin
Scratched: Jonny Brodzinski, Artemi Panarin, Connor Mackey
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (lower body), Adam Fox (lower body), Adam Edstrom (lower body), Conor Sheary (lower body)
Penguins projected lineup
Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Justin Brazeau
Egor Chinakhov -- Tommy Novak -- Kevin Hayes
Rutger McGroarty -- Ben Kindel -- Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak -- Connor Clifton
Ilya Solovyov -- Ryan Shea
Stuart Skinner
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: None
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (undisclosed), Kris Letang (undisclosed), Jack St. Ivany (hand surgery), Filip Hallander (blood clot), Ryan Graves (lower body), Caleb Jones (lower body)
Suspended: Bryan Rust
Status report
Panarin was a healthy scratch for a second straight game for a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday; the forward is being held out of the lineup for roster management purposes. ... Malkin, a forward, and Letang, a defenseman, did not practice Friday; an update on each is expected to be provided Saturday. ... Hayes was on the second line in place of Malkin on Friday; the defense rotated without Letang. ... Rust, usually right wing on Pittsburgh's first line, will serve the second of a three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser during a 3-2 win Sunday.
JETS (21-25-7) at PANTHERS (28-22-3)
4 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, TSN3
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Alex Iafallo
Cole Perfetti -- Adam Lowry -- Gabriel Vilardi
Nino Niederreiter -- Jonathan Toews -- Vladislav Namestnikov
Cole Koepke -- Morgan Barron -- Gustav Nyquist
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg -- Elias Salomonsson
Logan Stanley -- Luke Schenn
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Scratched: Danil Zhilkin, Isaak Phillips, Tanner Pearson
Injured: Haydn Fleury (bruised back), Colin Miller (knee), Neal Pionk (lower body)
Panthers projected lineup
Carter Verhaeghe -- Evan Rodrigues -- Sam Reinhart
Mackie Samoskevich -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen -- Cole Schwindt -- A.J. Greer
Sandis Vilmanis -- Luke Kunin -- Jesper Boqvist
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot -- Jeff Petry
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Donovan Sebrango
Injured: Anton Lundell (upper body), Brad Marchand (lower body), Seth Jones (upper body), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder)
Status report
Pionk, a defenseman, skated in a noncontact jersey during practice Friday but will miss his eighth straight game. ... Marchand left after the second period of a 5-4 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday; Panthers coach Paul Maurice did not have an update on the forward after the game. ... Lundell could return after the forward missed the game at St. Louis.
SHARKS (27-21-4) at FLAMES (21-26-6)
4 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSCA
Sharks projected lineup
Collin Graf -- Macklin Celebrini -- Will Smith
Pavol Regenda -- Alexander Wennberg -- Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund -- Michael Misa -- Adam Gaudette
Barclay Goodrow -- Zack Ostapchuk -- Ryan Reaves
Dmitry Orlov -- John Klingberg
Mario Ferraro -- Timothy Liljegren
Sam Dickinson -- Vincent Desharnais
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov
Scratched: Jeff Skinner
Injured: Ty Dellandrea (lower body), Phillip Kurashev (upper body), Shakir Mukhamadullin (undisclosed), Kiefer Sherwood (undisclosed)
Flames projected lineup
Yegor Sharangovich -- Mikael Backlund -- Matt Coronato
Connor Zary -- Nazem Kadri -- Martin Pospisil
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Morgan Frost -- Matvei Gridin
Joel Farabee -- Justin Kirkland -- Adam Klapka
Kevin Bahl -- Zach Whitecloud
Yan Kuznetsov -- Mackenzie Weegar
Joel Hanley -- Hunter Brzustewicz
Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley
Scratched: Brayden Pachal, Ryan Lomberg
Injured: Jake Bean (undisclosed), Samuel Honzek (upper body), John Beecher (upper body), Blake Coleman (upper body)
Status report
The Sharks held an optional practice Friday following a 4-3 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. … San Jose placed Vincent Iorio on waivers Friday; the defenseman had been a healthy scratch the past six games. ... The Flames did not practice Friday following a 4-1 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
HURRICANES (33-15-5) at CAPITALS (26-22-7)
5 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MNMT
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall -- Logan Stankoven -- Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Jordan Staal -- Jordan Martinook
William Carrier -- Mark Jankowski -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Jaccob Slavin -- Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller -- Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Alexander Nikishin
Brandon Bussi
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Mike Reilly, Joel Nystrom
Injured: Pyotr Kochetkov (lower body), William Carrier (undisclosed)
Capitals projected lineup
Connor McMichael -- Dylan Strome -- Ryan Leonard
Aliaksei Protas -- Justin Sourdif -- Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin -- Nic Dowd -- Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime -- Hendrix Lapierre -- Anthony Beauvillier
Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Rasmus Sandin -- Declan Chisholm
Logan Thompson
Clay Stevenson
Scratched: Sonny Milano, Dylan McIlrath
Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois (abdomen), Matt Roy (lower body), Charlie Lindgren (lower body)
Status report
The Capitals did not practice Friday. ... Lindgren was injured late in overtime of a 4-3 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, and the goalie had to be helped off the ice after the game. … Thompson missed the game Thursday and is day-to-day after he had his mask knocked off by a shot by Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn during the second period of a 5-1 loss Tuesday.
MAPLE LEAFS (24-21-9) at CANUCKS (18-31-5)
7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Bobby McMann -- Auston Matthews -- Max Domi
Matias Maccelli -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Matthew Knies -- Nicolas Roy -- Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Calle Jarnkrok
Morgan Rielly -- Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Marshall Rifai -- Troy Stecher
Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Jacob Quillan, Philippe Myers, Simon Benoit, Easton Cowan
Injured: Chris Tanev (groin), Dakota Mermis (lower body), Dakota Joshua (kidney)
Canucks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland
Filip Chytil -- David Kampf -- Linus Karlsson
Drew O’Connor -- Aatu Raty -- Jake DeBrusk
Liam Ohgren -- Teddy Blueger -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Marcus Pettersson -- Tyler Myers
Elias Pettersson -- Filip Hronek
P.O Joseph -- Tom Willander
Nikita Tolopilo
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Max Sasson, Victor Mancini
Injured: Nils Hoglander (lower body), Brock Boeser (concussion protocol), Zeev Buium (facial fracture), Thatcher Demko (hip surgery), Marco Rossi (lower body), Derek Forbort (undisclosed)
Status report
Nylander practiced in Vancouver on Friday and said he is good to return after missing seven games with a groin injury. Cowan, a forward, would come out of the lineup. … Rifai will make his season debut with the Maple Leafs after being called up from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, replacing Benoit. … Blueger and Hronek missed practice Friday but are expected to play. … The Canucks did not name a starting goalie, but with Lankinen staying out on the ice late after practice, it appears Tolopilo will get a second straight start. … Vancouver coach Adam Foote said Boeser, a forward who has missed the past two games, is unlikely to return before the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
