Projected lineups, starting goalies for today
Latest line combinations, defense pairs, injury news from NHL.com writers

MAPLE LEAFS (12-11-3) at HURRICANES (16-7-2)
7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, TSN4
Maple Leafs projected lineups
Matthew Knies -- Auston Matthews -- Max Domi
Easton Cowan -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Dakota Joshua -- Nicolas Roy -- Bobby McMann
Steven Lorentz -- Scott Laughton -- Nicholas Robertson
Morgan Rielly -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe -- Troy Stetcher
Simon Benoit -- Phillippe Myers
Joseph Woll
Dennis Hildeby
Scratched: Calle Jarnkrok, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Mermis
Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body)
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Logan Stankoven -- Jackson Blake
William Carrier -- Jordan Staal -- Jordan Martinook
Taylor Hall -- Mark Jankowski -- Eric Robinson
K'Andre Miller -- Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin -- Joel Nystrom
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Scratched: Mike Reilly
Injured: Jaccob Slavin (lower body), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (lower body), Pyotr Kochetkov (undisclosed)
Status report
The Hurricanes did not hold a morning skate. … The Maple Leafs held an optional morning skate and will use the same lineup from a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
PREDATORS (9-13-4) at PANTHERS (12-12-1)
7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, SCRIPPS
Predators projected lineup
Steven Stamkos -- Ryan O’Reilly -- Luke Evangelista
Filip Forsberg -- Erik Haula -- Jonathan Marchessault
Reid Schaefer -- Fedor Svechkov -- Matthew Wood
Michael Bunting -- Michael McCarron -- Ozzy Wiesblatt
Spencer Stastney -- Roman Josi
Brady Skjei -- Nick Blankenburg
Nicolas Hague -- Adam Wilsby
Juuse Saros
Justus Annunen
Scratched: Tyson Jost
Injured: Cole Smith (lower body), Michael McCarron (lower body), Justin Barron (lower body), Nick Perbix (upper body)
Panthers projected lineup
Brad Marchand -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- A.J. Greer
Jesper Boqvist -- Evan Rodrigues -- Mackie Samoskevich
Noah Gregor -- Jack Studnicka -- Luke Kunin
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones
Donovan Sebrango -- Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Jeff Petry, Jack Devine
Injured: Aleksander Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Eetu Luostarinen (lower body), Cole Schwindt (broken arm)
Status report
McCarron missed a 5-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday with a lower-body injury but will play, coach Andrew Brunette said. … Perbix is day to day; the defenseman did not play in a 5-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. ... Sebrango will return to the Florida lineup for the first time since Nov. 22 in place of Petry. … Verhaeghe will return after missing a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday for the birth of his son.
AVALANCHE (19-1-6) at ISLANDERS (14-10-3)
7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, KTVD, ALT
Avalanche projected lineup
Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog -- Brock Nelson -- Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton -- Jack Drury -- Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly -- Zakhar Bardakov -- Joel Kiviranta
Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
Josh Manson -- Brent Burns
Samuel Girard -- Sam Malinski
Mackenzie Blackwood
Trent Miner
Scratched: Ilya Solovyov
Injured: Scott Wedgewood (back), Gavin Brindley (lower body), Logan O’Connor (hip surgery)
Islanders projected lineup
Emil Heineman -- Bo Horvat -- Maxim Shabanov
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jonathan Drouin
Anthony Duclair -- Calum Ritchie -- Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean -- Casey Cizikas -- Maxim Tsyplakov
Matthew Schaefer -- Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech -- Tony DeAngelo
Travis Mitchell -- Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich
Scratched: Marc Gatcomb, Adam Boqvist
Injured: Kyle Palmieri (ACL), Alexander Romanov (upper body), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body), Semyon Varlamov (knee), Ethan Bear (upper body)
Status report
Wedgewood left during the second period of a 3-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday due to back tightness; the goalie did travel with the Avalanche and could play at some point during their four-game road trip. ... Miner was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and will back up Blackwood. ... Nelson will play at the Islanders for the first time; he played 12 seasons with New York before being traded to Colorado on March 6, 2025.
RANGERS (14-12-2) at SENATORS (13-9-4)
7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, MSG
Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin -- Mika Zibanejad -- Alexis Lafreniere
J.T. Miller -- Vincent Trocheck -- Jonny Brodzinski
Will Cuylle -- Noah Laba -- Brett Berard
Conor Sheary -- Sam Carrick -- Taylor Raddysh
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy -- Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson -- Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin
Spencer Martin
Scratched: Urho Vaakanainen, Brennan Othmann
Injured: Adam Fox (upper body), Jonathan Quick (lower body), Matt Rempe (upper body), Adam Edstrom (lower body)
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Fabian Zetterlund
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson
Michael Amadio -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux
Nick Cousins -- Stephen Halliday -- Ridly Greig
Jake Sanderson -- Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Dennis Gilbert -- Nick Jensen
Leevi Merilainen
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid
Injured: Thomas Chabot (upper body), Lars Eller (undisclosed), Artem Zub (lower body)
Status report
The Rangers held an optional morning skate Thursday with 10 skaters and two goalies. … Quick, a goalie who hasn’t played since Nov. 22, skated Thursday but will not dress. … Merilainen will start. … Zub, a defenseman, is day to day; Spence will take his spot on the first pair alongside Sanderson. … Eller, a forward, is day to day. … Halliday was recalled from Belleville of the American Hockey League on Thursday. … Gilbert will make his season debut. … Chabot, a defenseman who his injury in a 3-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 22, is “probably another, hoping, 10 days” from making a return, Senators coach Travis Green said.
BLUES (9-11-7) at BRUINS (15-13-0)
7 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, NESN
Blues projected lineup
Brayden Schenn -- Robert Thomas -- Jake Neighbours
Dylan Holloway -- Pius Suter -- Jordan Kyrou
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki -- Dalibor Dvorsky -- Pavel Buchnevich
Mathieu Joseph -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Nick Bjugstad
Philip Broberg -- Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker -- Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler -- Logan Mailloux
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Scratched: Matthew Kessel, Matt Luff
Injured: Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Alexey Toropchenko (leg burns), Nathan Walker (upper body)
Bruins projected lineup
Alex Steeves -- Elias Lindholm -- Morgan Geekie
Casey Mittelstadt -- Pavel Zacha -- Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot -- Fraser Minten -- Mark Kastelic
Marat Khusnutdinov -- Sean Kuraly -- Michael Eyssimont
Hampus Lindholm -- Andrew Peeke
Nikita Zadorov -- Jonathan Aspirot
Mason Lohrei – Victor Soderstrom
Joonas Korpisalo
Jeremy Swayman
Scratched: Jeffrey Viel
Injured: David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Jordan Harris (ankle), Matej Blumel (lower body), Henri Jokiharju (undisclosed), Michael Callahan (lower body)
Status report
Suter will return after missing two games with a lower-body injury. ... Walker, a forward, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will be reevaluated in eight weeks. ... Kaskimaki will make his NHL debut; the third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Monday and was supposed to debut in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks that night but flight delays due to bad weather prevented him from arriving on time. ... Luff, a forward, was recalled from Springfield on Wednesday. … Pastrnak, a forward, will miss his fourth straight game. … Callahan, a defenseman, was placed on injured reserve after leaving in the second period of a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Soderstrom was recalled from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis Thursday to replace Callahan. … McAvoy, a defenseman, participated in the morning skate in a noncontact jersey. He has not played since he was struck in the face with the puck against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 15 and had facial surgery a few days later.
PENGUINS (13-7-5) at LIGHTNING (16-8-2)
7 p.m. ET; The Spot, SN-PIT, TVAS
Penguins projected lineup
Kevin Hayes -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak -- Evgeni Malkin -- Anthony Mantha
Rutger McGroarty -- Ben Kindel -- Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Bokondji Imama
Ryan Shea -- Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves -- Connor Clifton
Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: Joona Koppanen, Mathew Dumba
Injured: Rickard Rakell (hand), Caleb Jones (lower body), Justin Brazeau (upper body), Noel Acciari (upper body), Filip Hallander (blood clot)
Lightning projected lineup
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Nikita Kucherov
Jake Guentzel -- Nick Paul -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zemgus Girgensons -- Yanni Gourde -- Pontus Holmberg
Dominic James -- Curtis Douglas -- Gage Goncalves
J.J. Moser -- Darren Raddysh
Charle-Edouard D'Astous -- Emil Lilleberg
Declan Carlile -- Max Crozier
Jonas Johansson
Brandon Halverson
Scratched: Jack Finley, Steven Santini
Injured: Brayden Point (undisclosed), Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed), Victor Hedman (undisclosed), Erik Cernak (undisclosed), Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed)
Status report
The Penguins held an optional morning skate Thursday. ..Rakell, a forward, will be out for at least three more weeks. ... Vasilevskiy will not dress; Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he expects the goalie to play against the New York Islanders on Saturday. ... Halverson was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday and will back up Johansson. ... Crozier will enter the lineup for the first time since Nov. 16.
RED WINGS (14-11-2) at BLUE JACKETS (12-9-5)
7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+
Red Wings projected lineup
Emmett Finnie -- Dylan Larkin -- Lucas Raymond
Alex Debrincat -- Andrew Copp -- Patrick Kane
Elmer Soderblom -- Nate Danielson -- Marco Kasper
James van Riemsdyk -- J.T. Computer-- Michael Rasmussen
Simon Edvinsson -- Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot -- Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Travis Hamonic -- Albert Johansson
John Gibson
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Jonathan Berggren, Jacob Bernard-Docker
Injured: Mason Appleton (lower body)
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Dimitri Voronkov -- Adam Fantilli -- Kent Johnson
Kirill Marchenko -- Sean Monahan -- Cole Sillinger
Luca Del Bel Belluz -- Charlie Coyle -- Isac Lundestrom
Miles Wood -- Brendan Gaunce-- Yegor Chinakhov
Zach Werenski -- Ivan Provorov
Denton Mateychuk -- Damon Severson
Brendan Smith -- Dante Fabbro
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
Scratched: Jake Christiansen, Zach Aston-Reese
Injured: Erik Gudbranson (hip), Boone Jenner (upper body), Mathieu Oliver (upper body)
Status report
Rasmussen is expected to play after leaving in the third period of a 5-4 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday because of an undisclosed injury. ... Marchenko returns after missing four games with a lower-body injury. ... He will replace forward Luca Pinelli, who was loaned to Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Thursday. ... Del Bel Belluz, recalled from Cleveland on Tuesday, replaces Aston-Reese, a forward.
KRAKEN (11-7-6) at OILERS (11-11-5)
9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, KONG, KHN/Prime
Kraken projected lineup
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Jani Nyman -- Shane Wright -- Kaapo Kakko
Berkly Catton -- Chandler Stephenson -- Eeli Tolvanen
Tye Kartye -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Ryan Winterton
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren -- Brandon Montour
Jamie Oleksiak -- Ryker Evans
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: Cale Fleury, Josh Mahura
Injured: Mason Marchment (undisclosed), Matt Murray (lower body), Jaden Schwartz (lower body)
Oilers projected lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Matthew Savoie
Mattias Janmark -- Adam Henrique -- Andrew Mangiapane
Trent Frederic -- Curtis Lazar -- Connor Clattenburg
Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse -- Alec Regula
Brett Kulak -- Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: David Tomasek
Injured: Kasperi Kapanen (knee), Noah Philp (undisclosed), Jack Roslovic (undisclosed), Jake Walman (lower body)
Status report
Each team had an optional morning skate. ... Marchment did not make the trip to Edmonton and will miss his second straight game. Nyman will enter the lineup in his spot after being a healthy scratch for the past two games. ... Montour had been listed as day to day with an undisclosed injury, but will play ... Nugent-Hopkins moves up from the third line to the top line, where he and Hyman will start a game on the top line for the first time this season. Savoie will move down to the second line, while Henrique slides over from left wing on the third line. ... Walman is expected to miss at least another week.
WILD (15-7-5) at FLAMES (9-15-4)
9 p.m. ET; SN1, FDSNNOX, FDSNWI
Stars projected lineup
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Yakov Trenin -- Nico Sturm -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Liam Ohgren -- Ben Jones -- Tyler Pitlick
Jacob Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Brock Faber
Zeev Buium -- Zach Bogosian
Filip Gustavsson
Jesper Wallstedt
Scratched: Daemon Hunt, Hunter Haight
Injured: Marcus Foligno (lower body), Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body), Marco Rossi (lower body), Danila Yurov (undisclosed)
Flames projected lineup
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Morgan Frost -- Matt Coronato
Yegor Sharangovich -- Nazem Kadri -- Joel Farabee
Connor Zary -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg -- John Beecher -- Adam Klapka
Kevin Bahl -- Rasmus Andersson
Yan Kuznetsov -- MacKenzie Weegar
Joel Hanley -- Jake Bean
Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley
Scratched: Brayden Pachal, Dryden Hunt
Injured: Martin Pospisil (undisclosed), Zayne Parekh (upper body), Samuel Honzek (upper body)
Status report
The Wild are expected to dress the same 18 skaters from a 1-0 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. … Yurov practiced on Thursday, but the forward will miss his second straight game and is day to day. "He looks like he's imminent, but not for today," Wild coach John Hynes said. … Lomberg will return after being a healthy scratch the past two games. … Bean will also return after he was scratched in a 5-1 loss at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
BLACKHAWKS (11-9-6) at KINGS (12-7-7)
10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+
Blackhawks projected lineup
Ryan Greene -- Connor Bedard -- Andre Burakovsky
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Frank Nazar -- Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teravainen -- Jason Dickinson -- Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach -- Ryan Donato
Alex Vlasic -- Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser -- Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk -- Connor Murphy
Sam Rinzel
Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Sam Lafferty, Landon Slaggert
Injured: Nick Foligno (left hand)
Kings projected lineup
Trevor Moore -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala -- Quinton Byfield -- Joel Armia
Alex Laferriere -- Phillip Danault -- Andrei Kuzmenko
Warren Foegele -- Alex Turcotte -- Corey Perry
Mikey Anderson -- Joel Edmundson
Brandt Clarke -- Drew Doughty
Brian Dumoulin -- Cody Ceci
Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Jeff Malott, Samuel Helenius, Jacob Moverare
Injured: None
Status report
Rinzel will remain in the lineup after playing one shift in the third period of a 4-3 shootout loss at the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. … Doughty will play for the first time since Nov. 15 when he sustained a lower-body injury after being struck in the foot by a shot against the Ottawa Senators. … Foegele is expected to return to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.

















