NHL Projected Lineups, Starting Goalies, Injuries, Updates – The Hockey Writers – Projected Lineups

Check back each day between 3 and 4 p.m. (Eastern) to get the projected lineups, starting goalies, injury news, and roster updates for every game. On weekends, the lineups will be published prior to matinee games.

Sources: NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents and others.

7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSSUN

Lightning projected lineup

Anthony Duclair — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Steven Stamkos

Michael Eyssimont — Nicholas Paul — Mitchell Chaffee

Tanner Jeannot — Luke Glendening — Tyler Motte

Victor Hedman — Darren Raddysh

Haydn Fleury — Erik Cernak

Emil Lilleberg — Matt Dumba

Matt Tompkins

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Scratched: Calvin de Haan, Austin Watson, Conor Sheary, Nick Perbix

Injured: Mikhail Sergachev (leg), Jonas Johansson (lower body)

Status report

The Lightning did not hold a morning skate Thursday following a 4-1 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Tomkins could make his first start since Nov. 7 after Vasilevskiy made 28 saves Wednesday in his 14th start in 15 games.
Jeannot did not return Wednesday after he fought with Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves at 3:10 of the third period, but Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he was “fine” after the game.

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Canadiens projected lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky

Brendan Gallagher — Alex Newhook — Joel Armia

Josh Anderson — Jake Evans — Jesse Ylonen

Michael Pezzetta — Colin White — Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Mike Matheson — Kaiden Guhle

Arber Xhekaj — David Savard

Jayden Struble — Jordan Harris

Cayden Primeau

Sam Montembeault

Scratched: Johnathan Kovacevic, Tanner Pearson

Injured: Joshua Roy (upper body)

Status report

The Canadiens will dress the same 18 skaters they used in a 5-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Primeau will start after consecutive starts by Montembeault.

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7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MNMT, SNP, SNO, SNE

Penguins projected lineup

Reilly Smith — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting — Evgeni Malkin — Rickard Rakell

Drew O’Connor — Lars Eller — Valtteri Puustinen

Jesse Puljujarvi — Jeff Carter — Emil Bemstrom

Pierre-Olivier Joseph — Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson — Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea — Jack St. Ivany

Alex Nedeljkovic

Tristan Jarry

Scratched: Sam Poulin, Joel Blomqvist

Injured: Matt Nieto (knee surgery), Jansen Harkins (hand surgery), Noel Acciari (lower body), Ryan Graves (concussion), John Ludvig (illness)

Status report

Letang did not take part in the Penguins morning skate Thursday for maintenance but will play.
Poulin, a forward, was recalled from Wilkes Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
Jarry, who has missed two games because of an illness, participated in the morning skate and will back up Nedeljkovic.
Ludvig, a defenseman, skated but will miss his third straight game. …

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Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin — Connor McMichael — Tom Wilson

Aliaksei Protas — Dylan Strome — Ivan Miroshnichenko

Max Pacioretty — Hendrix Lapierre — Sonny Milano

Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Michael Sgarbossa

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen

Alexander Alexeyev — Trevor van Riemsdyk

Charlie Lindgren

Darcy Kuemper

Scratched: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Vincent Iorio

Injured: T.J. Oshie (upper body)

Status report

Oshie, a forward, did not skate and will miss his second straight game.
Wilson returns after serving a six-game suspension for high-sticking Toronto Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor during a 7-3 loss March 20.
Lindgren will make his 10th start in 11 games.
Kuemper skated Thursday after leaving practice early Wednesday and will dress as the backup.

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7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSOH

Islanders projected lineup

Casey Cizikas — Bo Horvat — Mathew Barzal

Pierre Engvall — Brock Nelson — Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Simon Holmstrom

Matt Martin — Kyle MacLean — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

Alexander Romanov — Noah Dobson

Mike Reilly — Robert Bortuzzo

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Scratched: Oliver Wahlstrom, Hudson Fasching, Sebastian Aho

Injured: None

Status report

Bortuzzo replaces Aho, a defenseman. …
Sorokin makes his second straight start after Varlamov started the previous three games. …

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Blue Jackets projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau — Dmitri Voronkov — Alex Nylander

Alexandre Texier — Cole Sillinger — Kirill Marchenko

James Malatesta — Justin Danforth — Carson Meyer

Mikael Pyyhtia — Brendan Gaunce — Mathieu Olivier

Zach Werenski — Damon Severson

Ivan Provorov — Erik Gudbranson

Jake Bean — David Jiricek

Daniil Tarasov

Jet Greaves

Scratched: Trey Fix-Wolansky

Injured: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration), Sean Kuraly (lower body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Adam Boqvist (upper body), Elvis Merzlikins (lower body), Boone Jenner (personal)

Status report

Jiricek was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Tuesday and will play his first game since Jan. 9. … Fix-Wolansky, a forward, is an emergency recall from Cleveland. …
Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said several players are ill and the lineup is not set; Danforth was one of those Wednesday and did not practice, but he took part in the Columbus morning skate Thursday. …
Jenner, a center, will miss his third straight game. …
Tarasov will make his second consecutive start and Merzlikins, a goalie, will miss his second in a row.

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7 p.m. ET; BSSO, NESN

Bruins projected lineup

Danton Heinen — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand — Charlie Coyle — Morgan Geekie

Jake DeBrusk — Jesper Boqvist — Trent Frederic

James van Riemsdyk — John Beecher — Jakub Lauko

Hampus Lindholm — Charlie McAvoy

Parker Wotherspoon — Brandon Carlo

Matt Grzelcyk — Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark

Scratched: Kevin Shattenkirk, Mason Lohrei

Injured: Justin Brazeau (upper body), Pat Maroon (back surgery)

Status report

Brazeau is week to week; the forward left in the first period of a 3-0 win at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and returned to Boston on Wednesday for a medical evaluation.

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Hurricanes projected lineup

Jake Guentzel — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Teuvo Teravainen

Jack Drury — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Stefan Noesen

Jaccob Slavin — Brent Burns

Brady Skjei — Brett Pesce

Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield

Frederik Andersen

Pyotr Kochetkov

Scratched: Spencer Martin, Brendan Lemieux, Tony DeAngelo, Scott Morrow

Injured: Jesper Fast (upper body)

Status report

The Hurricanes did not hold a morning skate Thursday.
Morrow, a former UMass defenseman, signed a three-year, entry-level contract Tuesday.

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7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, BSFL

Panthers projected lineup

Vladimir Tarasenko — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart

Nick Cousins — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Evan Rodrigues

Steven Lorentz — Kevin Stenlund — Ryan Lomberg

Gustav Forsling — Josh Mahura

Niko Mikkola — Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Dmitry Kulikov

Sergei Bobrovsky

Anthony Stolarz

Scratched: Kyle Okposo, Tobias Bjornfot, Jonah Gadjovich, Uvis Balinskis

Injured: Carter Verhaeghe (undisclosed), Aaron Ekblad (undisclosed)

Status report

Ekblad, a defenseman, likely will miss the rest of the regular season, but the Panthers are “quite confident that he’s 100 percent and ready to go by the first game” of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, coach Paul Maurice said. …
Mahura will dress in Ekblad’s absence. …
Balinskis, a defenseman, was recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and is expected to play down the stretch. …
Bobrovsky will make his ninth start in 12 games. …

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Senators projected lineup

Mathieu Joseph — Tim Stutzle — Claude Giroux

Brady Tkachuk — Shane Pinto — Drake Batherson

Jiri Smejkal — Ridly Greig — Dominik Kubalik

Boris Katchouk — Mark Kastelic — Parker Kelly

Jake Sanderson — Artem Zub

Jakob Chychrun — Jacob Bernard-Docker

Tyler Kleven — Erik Brannstrom

Joonas Korpisalo

Anton Forsberg

Scratched: None

Injured: Matthew Highmore (upper body), Zack MacEwen (lower body), Thomas Chabot (lower body), Angus Crookshank (lower body), Travis Hamonic (undisclosed)

Status report

Korpisalo will start for the sixth time in seven games. …
Chabot, a defenseman who will miss his fourth straight game, could return this weekend, Senators coach Jacques Martin said. …
Chychrun left the morning skate after being involved in a collision behind the net, but Martin said he was hopeful he could play. …
Crookshank, a forward, is out indefinitely. …
Hamonic, a defenseman, will not dress and is not skating.

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8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+

Blues projected lineup

Brandon Saad — Robert Thomas — Jake Neighbours

Alexey Toropchenko — Pavel Buchnevich — Jordan Kyrou

Brayden Schenn — Kevin Hayes — Kasperi Kapanen

Sammy Blais — Zach Dean — Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy — Colton Parayko

Torey Krug — Justin Faulk

Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel

Jordan Binnington

Joel Hofer

Scratched: Zack Bolduc, Scott Perunovich, Nikita Alexandrov, Marco Scandella

Injured: None

Status report

Binnington will make his eighth start in 11 games. …
The Blues did not take line rushes during their morning skate Thursday.

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Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg — Ryan O’Reilly — Gustav Nyquist

Jason Zucker– Colton Sissons — Anthony Beauvillier

Mark Jankowski — Tommy Novak — Luke Evangelista

Cole Smith — Michael McCarron — Kiefer Sherwood

Roman Josi — Ryan McDonagh

Spencer Stastney — Luke Schenn

Jeremy Lauzon — Alexandre Carrier

Juuse Saros

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Cody Glass, Tyson Barrie, Dante Fabbro

Injured: None

Status report

Saros will start for the ninth time in 11 games.
Beauvillier will enter the lineup in place of Glass, a forward.

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8 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, ALT

Avalanche projected lineup

Jonathan Drouin — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen

Brandon Duhaime — Casey Mittelstadt — Artturi Lehkonen

Miles Wood — Ross Colton — Zach Parise

Andrew Cogliano — Chris Wagner — Jean-Luc Foudy

Devon Toews — Cale Makar

Samuel Girard — Josh Manson

Jack Johnson — Sean Walker

Justus Annunen

Alexandar Georgiev

Scratched: Caleb Jones, Joel Kiviranta

Injured: Valeri Nichushkin (lower body) Yakov Trenin (lower body)

Status report

Trenin took part in the Avalanche morning skate Thursday in a regular jersey, but will miss his second straight game; the center could return at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Nichushkin skated in Denver, will join the team in Minnesota and could also play at Edmonton; the forward will miss his fourth consecutive game.
Annunen will make his third straight start.

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Wild projected lineup

Kirill Kaprizov — Joel Eriksson Ek — Matt Boldy

Marcus Johansson — Marco Rossi — Mats Zuccarello

Adam Beckman — Marat Khusnutdinov — Frederick Gaudreau

Mason Shaw — Jake Lucchini — Vinni Lettieri

Jake Middleton — Brock Faber

Jonas Brodin — Declan Chisholm

Jon Merrill — Dakota Mermis

Filip Gustavsson

Marc-Andre Fleury

Scratched: Alex Goligoski

Injured: Marcus Foligno (lower body), Zach Bogosian (undisclosed)

Suspended: Ryan Hartman

Status report

Bogosian will be a game-time decision after being injured late in a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday; Wild coach John Hynes said the defenseman’s injury is “nothing major.”
Gustavsson will start for the third time in four games.
Hartman, a forward, will serve the second of a three-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct following a 2-1 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

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FLAMES (34-35-5) at JETS (45-24-6)

8 p.m. ET; SNW, TSN3

Flames projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau — Mikael Backlund — Blake Coleman

Martin Pospisil — Nazem Kadri — Andrei Kuzmenko

Connor Zary — Yegor Sharangovich — Matt Coronato

A.J. Greer — Kevin Rooney — Dryden Hunt

MacKenzie Weegar — Daniil Miromanov

Oliver Kylington — Rasmus Andersson

Nikita Okhotiuk — Brayden Pachal

Dustin Wolf

Jacob Markstrom

Scratched: Walker Duehr, Dennis Gilbert

Injured: Andrew Mangiapane (upper body), Joel Hanley (undisclosed)

Status report

Hanley did not make the trip and is day to day after leaving in the first period of a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Mangiapane, a forward, could return after missing three games.
Wolf will start after Markstrom started the past two games.

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Jets projected lineup

Nikolaj Ehlers — Mark Scheifele — Gabriel Vilardi

Kyle Connor — Sean Monahan — Cole Perfetti

Tyler Toffoli — Adam Lowry — Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron — Vladislav Namestnikov — Alex Iafallo

Josh Morrissey — Neal Pionk

Brenden Dillon — Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg — Colin Miller

Connor Hellebuyck

Laurent Brossoit

Scratched: Rasmus Kupari, David Gustafsson, Logan Stanley, Nate Schmidt

Injured: Nino Niederreiter (leg laceration)

Status report

The Jets held an optional morning skate Thursday.
Toffoli, a forward, enters in place of Niederreiter after missing one game with an illness.
Niederreiter will be out about a week after sustaining a deep cut to his lower leg in the third period of a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Miller enters in place of Schmidt, a defenseman.
Hellebuyck will start for the sixth time in seven games.

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KINGS (39-25-11) at SHARKS (17-49-8)

10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, NBCSCA, SN

Kings projected lineup

Quinton Byfield — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Viktor Arvidsson

Kevin Fiala — Blake Lizotte — Trevor Lewis

Alex Laferriere — Arthur Kaliyev

Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov — Matt Roy

Andreas Englund — Jordan Spence

Jacob Moverare

David Rittich

Cam Talbot

Scratched: Akil Thomas

Injured: Phillip Danault (upper body), Alex Turcotte (upper body), Carl Grundstrom (lower body)

Status report

The Kings did not hold a morning skate after their 5-2 win against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
Rittich will start after Talbot made 21 saves against Seattle. … Danault, a forward, did not travel with the Kings.

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Sharks projected lineup

Klim Kostin — Mikael Granlund — Fabian Zetterlund

William Eklund — Luke Kunin — Justin Bailey

Thomas Bordeleau — Nico Sturm — Filip Zadina

Kevin Labanc — Jack Studnicka — Mike Hoffman

Mario Ferraro — Kyle Burroughs

Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Calen Addison

Henry Thrun — Jan Rutta

Mackenzie Blackwood

Devin Cooley

Scratched: Givani Smith, Jacob MacDonald, Ryan Carpenter