Ice Chips: Oilers' Nurse to play against Rangers, Bouchard questionable
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Keep updated on all the injury news and roster updates from around the NHL with daily Ice Chips.
Edmonton Oilers
Defenceman Darnell Nurse is expected to play on Saturday against the New York Rangers while defenceman Evan Bouchard is questionable, according to head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Nurse, 29, missed the team's last three games after taking a hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs' forward Ryan Reaves during a 4-3 overtime loss.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman has two goals and nine points in 18 games this season.
Bouchard missed Saturday's morning skate with an undisclosed injury.
The 6-foot-3 right-shot defenceman skated 24:22 and had three shots during the Oilers' 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Bouchard has five goals and 13 points in 21 games this season.
Montreal Canadiens
Winger Patrik Laine participated in the Canadiens' morning skate in a non-contact sweater prior to their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Laine, 26, continues to work himself back from a knee injury he sustained during the preseason.
Montreal acquired Laine and a draft pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the off-season in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris.
The 6-foot-4 winger had six goals and nine points in 18 games in Columbus last season.
Samuel Montembeault will be in net when the Canadiens take on the Golden Knights,
Montembeault has a 6-8-1 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.85 goals-against average.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Captain Auston Matthews returned to Toronto and skated for the first time since Nov. 10 on Saturday, according to TSN's Mark Masters.
Matthews recently returned from Germany where he was getting treatment on an upper-body injury.
"[The injury flared up in pre-season, felt better and then started getting worse," Matthews told reporters on Saturday. "I just felt it was time to take a step back and re-evaluate. It hasn't neccesarily gotten worse, but wasn't getting better. I wanted to be pro-active."
Matthews hasn't played since Nov. 3 and isn't sure when he can get into game action, but considers Wednesday against the Florida Panthers as a possibility.
The 26-year-old centre has five goals and 11 points in 13 games this season.
Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned to practice after missing Friday's practice with an illness.
The 6-foot-2 defenceman has a goal and eight points in 20 games this season.
Ottawa Senators
Defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker is expected to be a healthy scratch when the Senators take on the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
Bernard-Docker, 24, recently returned to the line up during the team's 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday after being a healthy scratch for six straight games.
The 6-foot-1 right-shot defenceman had 8:32 of ice time with two shots and a minus-2 rating.
Bernard-Docker has two assists in 10 games this season.
Linus Ullmark is expected to be between the pipes against the Canucks on Saturday, according to Garrioch.
Ullmark has a 4-6-1 record with an .887 save percentage and 3.00 goals-against average this season.
The Senators rolled out these lines during their morning skate, according to Garrioch:
New York Rangers
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin took a high shot from teammate Reilly Smith and left Saturday's morning skate but returned shortly after, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.
Backup netminder Jonathan Quick was in the starters net for the morning skate and appears as though he will start against the Oilers.
Quick has a 4-0-0 record this season with a .970 save percentage and .091 goals-against average.
Shesterkin appeared in 14 gams this season, recording an 8-5-1 record with a .914 save percentage and 2.82 GAA.
Nashville Predators
The Predators recalled forward Fedor Svechkov from the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals and assigned defenceman Adam Wilsby to the Admirals on Saturday,
Svechkov, 21, was drafted 19th overall by the Predators in 2021 and has five goals and eight points in seven games in the AHL this season.
Wilsby has a goal and three points in 11 games with the Admirals this season.
Florida Panthers
Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net when the Panthers take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Bobrovsky has a 9-4-1 record this season with a .893 save percentage and 2.98 goals-against average.
Washington Capitals
Charlie Lindgren is expected to get the start in net when the Capitals face off against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, according to Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.
Lindgren, 30, has a 5-4-0 record with a .900 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start in net when the Lightning take on the Dallas Stars on Saturday, according to team reporter Benjamin Pierce.
Vasilevskiy has a 9-5-1 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.13 goals-against average this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Elvis Merzlikins will be in net against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, confirmed head coach Dean Evason.
Merzlikins has a 5-5-1 record this seaosn with an .895 save percentage and 3.02 goals-against average.
Additionally, forward James van Riemsdyk will be a healthy scratch while forward Kevin Labanc enters the lineup.
Van Riemsdyk has three goals and five points in 14 games this season while Labanc has a goal and 10 points in 14 games.
Dallas Stars
Defenceman Nils Lundkvist will not be in the lineup on Saturday when the Stars take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lundkvist only had 6:38 of ice time during Wednesday's 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks before leaving with a lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-1 right-shot defenceman has an assist in 15 games while averaging 13:58 of ice time.
Brendan Smith will come into the lineup in Lundkvist's place.
Jake Oettinger will get the start in net on Saturday against the Lightning.
He has a 10-3-0 record this season with a .917 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings recalled goaltender Pheonix Copley from the AHL's Ontario Reign and assigned goaltender Erik Portillo to the Reign on Saturday.
Copley has a 4-3-0 record in the AHL this season with a .879 save percentage and 3.34 goals-against average.
Philadelphia Flyers
Defenceman Cam York has been activated off of Injured Reserve and is eligible to return on Saturday when the Flyers take on the Chicago Blackhawks.
York has missed the team's last 13 games with an upper-body injury.
The 23-year-old defenceman has two goals and three points in seven games this season.
Goaltender Aleksei Kolosov is expected to start against the Blackhawks on Saturday.
The 6-foot-1 netminder is 0-4-0 this season with an .872 save percentage and 3.71 goals-against average.
Additionally, the Flyers assigned forward Anthony Richard to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday.
Richard, 27, has two goals and six points in seven games with the Flyers this season.