Ice Chips: Stecher to make Flames debut vs. Wild
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Calgary Flames
Forward Nick Ritchie and defenceman Troy Stecher participated in the Flames' morning skate on Saturday prior to their game against the Minnesota Wild, according to TSN's Salim Valji.
Stecher and Ritchie were acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenceman Connor MacKey and forward Brett Ritchie on Friday.
Stecher, 28, skated on a pairing with Nikita Zadorov and it appears he will make his Flames debut on Saturday.
The 5-foot-10 defenceman has seven assists in 61 games this season.
Ritchie, 27, was the extra forward during the morning skate and likely will have to wait a little longer to make his debut.
The 6-foot-3 winger has nine goals and 21 points in 58 games this season.
Jacob Markstrom is expected to be in net against the Wild on Saturday, according to Valji.
Markstrom, 33, has a 15-16-8 record with a .889 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average this season.
The Flames are projected to use these lines against the Wild, according to Valji:
Dube - Lindholm - Toffoli
Pelletier - Kadri - Huberdeau
Mangiapane - Backlund - Coleman
Lucic - Lewis - Duehr
Weegar - Andersson
Hanifin - Tanev
Zadorov - Stetcher
Markstrom
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets will be without Pierre Luc Dubois against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, according to head coach Rick Bowness.
Dubois, 24, has missed the team's last three games with a nagging lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-2 forward has 24 goals and 55 points in 60 game this season and is scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Forward Vladislav Namestnikov will make his Jets debut on Saturday, according to Bowness.
Namestnikov, 30, was acquired by the Jets on Friday from the San Jose Sharks for a draft pick.
The 6-foot-forward has six goals and 15 points in 57 games this season while playing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Florida Panthers
Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett will return to the lineup when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Barkov, 27, missed the Panthers' last four games due to a hand injury.
The Panthers captain has 16 goals and 50 points in 49 games this season.
Bennett, 26, missed the team's last seven games with a lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-1 forward has 14 goals and 35 points in 56 games this season.
Additionally, Sergei Bobrovsky will be in net against the Penguins on Saturday.
Bobrovsky, 34, has an 18-17-2 record this season with a .904 save percentage and 3.04 goals-against average.
The Panthers used these lines during their morning skate on Saturday, according to team reporter Jameson Olive:
Luostarinen - Barkov - Duclair
Verhaeghe - Bennett - Tkachuk
Lomberg - Lundell - Reinhart
Cousins - E. Staal - White
Forsling - Ekblad
M. Stall - Montour
Mahura - Gudas
Bobrovsky
Lyon
Tampa Bay Lightning
Defenceman Erik Cernak did not play during the Lightning's game against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday due to a lower-body injury.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman skated 13:31 on Thursday in the Lightning's 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Cernak has a goal and 11 points in 53 games this season.
The Lightning recalled defenceman Darren Raddysh from the AHL's Syracuse Crunch on Saturday.
Raddysh, 27, has only appeared in one game with the Lightning this season and did not record a point.
The 6-foot-1 defenceman has 13 goals and 50 points in 50 games with the Crunch this season.
Raddysh was acquired by the Lightning as an unrestricted free agent in July of 2021.
Washington Capitals
Defencemen Rasmus Sandin, Vincent Iorio, and Gabriel Carlsson will make their Capitals debut against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Sandin, 22, was acquired by the Capitals on Tuesday from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenceman Erik Gustafsson and the Boston Bruins' 2023 first-round draft pick.
The 5-foot-11 defenceman has four goals and 20 points in 52 games and is on the first year of a two-year, $2.8 million deal.
Drafted 29th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Draft, Sandin has 10 goals and 48 points in 140 games.
Iorio, 20, has two goals and 17 points in 51 games this season with the AHL's Hershey Bears.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman was drafted 55th overall by the Capitals in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Carlsson, 26, signed one-year, $750,000 deal with the Capitals in the offseason.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman has a goal and 13 points with the Bears this season.
Carlsson was drafted 29th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets and has three goals and 16 points in 75 career games, all in Columbus.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators used these lines during Saturday's morning skate prior to their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
Tkachuk - Stutzle - Giroux
DeBrincat - Pinto - Batherson
Joseph - Gambrell - Gauthier
Brassard - Kastelic - Watson
Brown
Chabot - Zub
Sanderson - Hamonic
Chychrun - Brannstrom
Holden
Garrioch also expects that goaltender Cam Talbot will start in net against the Blue Jackets.
Talbot, 35, has a 14-14-1 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.88 goals-against average this season.
Chicago Blackhawks
Defenceman Nikita Zaitsev and forward Anders Bjork are expected to make their Blackhawks debuts against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Zaitsev, 31, was acquired by the Blackhawks, along with two draft picks, from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22 in exchange for future considerations.
The 6-foot-2 defenceman has five assists in 28 games this season.
Bjork, 26, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday in exchange for future considerations.
The 6-foot winger only appeared in one game for the Sabres this season and did not record a point.
Bjork had eight goals and 25 points in 42 games with the AHL's Rochester Americans prior to the trade.
Minnesota Wild
Defenceman John Klingberg is expected to make his Wild debut against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.
Klingberg, 30, was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday in exchange for prospect Nikita Nesterenko, defenceman Andrej Sustr, and a draft pick.
The 6-foot-3 defenceman skated on the third pairing with Jon Merrill during Saturday's morning skate.
Klingberg has eight goals and 24 points in 50 games this season.
The Wild used these lines during Saturday's morning skate, according to Smith:
Kaprizov - Hartman - Zuccarello
Johansson - Eriksson Ek - Boldy
Foligno - Steel - Gaudreau
Shaw - Dewar - Reaves
Middleton - Spurgeon
Golligoski - Dumba
Merrill - Klingberg
Addison
Fillip Gustavsson will be in net against the Flames on Saturday, according to Smith.
Gustavsson, 24, has a 16-8-3 record with a .930 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average this season.
Colorado Avalanche
Forward Valeri Nichushkin will miss Saturday's game against the Dallas Stars due to an illness, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
Nichushkin, 28, has 11 goals and 27 points in 31 games this season.
Vegas Golden Knights
Goaltender Jonathan Quick will make his Golden Knights' debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy.
Quick, 37, was acquired by the Golden Knights through the Columbus Blue Jackets after he was traded away from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
Forward William Carrier is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Carrier, 28, was injured late in the first period during their 4-3 shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils after playing only 5:08.
The 6-foot-2 winger has 16 goals and 25 points in 56 games this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins recalled forward Drew O'Connor from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday.
O'Connor, 24, has appeared in 27 games with the Penguins this season where he registered five goals and eight points.
The 6-foot-3 winger has eight goals and 22 points in 20 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.
O'Connor was signed as an undrafted free agent in March of 2020 and has eight goals and 14 points in 59 games during his three seasons.
Dallas Stars
Forward Max Domi will make his Stars debut against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, according to head coach Pete DeBoer.
Domi, 28, was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, along with goaltender Dylan Wells, in exchange for goaltender Anton Khudobin and a draft pick.
The 5-foot-10 forward has 18 goals and 49 points in 60 games this season.
Domi skated between wingers Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment during Saturday's morning skate.
Additionally, Jake Oettinger will start against the Avalanche on Saturday.
Oettinger, 24, has a 25-8-10 record with a .923 save percentage and 2.29 goals-against average this season.
The Stars recalled forward Fredrik Olofsson and goaltender Matt Murray from the AHL's Texas Stars on Saturday.
Olofsson, 26, has appeared in 19 games with the Stars where he registered a goal and four points.
The 6-foot-2 winger has five goals and 14 points in 37 games in Texas this season.
Olofsson was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Stars in May of 2022.
Murray, 25, made his NHL debut on Thursday where he gave up two goals on 21 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 6-foot-1 netminder has a 9-5-8 record with a .909 save percentage and 2.36 goals-against average in the AHL this season.
Murray was signed to a one-year, entry-level contract on Oct. 31.
Nashville Predators
The Predators assigned forward Zach Sanford to the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday.
Sanford, 28, has a goal and two points in 11 games with the Predators this season.
The 6-foot-4 winger also has nine goals and 18 points in 32 games with the Admirals this season.
Sanford was signed to a one-year, $850,000 deal by the Predators in the offseason.
Drafted 61st overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Draft, Sanford has 48 goals and 97 points in 300 career games split between the Capitals, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, and Predators.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes assigned defencemen Vladislav Kolyachonok, Michael Kesselring, and forward Milos Kelemen to the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday.
Kolyachonok, 21, appeared in two games with the Coyotes but did not record a point.
The 6-foot-1 defenceman has two goals and 14 points in 54 games with the Roadrunners this season.
Kolyachonok was acquired by the Coyotes, along with defenceman Anton Stralman and a 2024 second-round pick from the Florida Panthers for a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft in July of 2021.
Kesselring, 23, was acquired by the Coyotes, along with a 2023 third-round pick, on Thursday from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Nick Bjugstad and defenceman Cam Dineen.
The 6-foot-4 defenceman made his NHL debut on Friday during the Coyotes 6-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Kesselring has 13 goals and 22 points in 49 games with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors this season.
The Manchester, N.H., native was drafted 164th overall by the Oilers in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Kelemen, 23, appeared in two games with the Coyotes this season and did not record a point.
The 6-foot-2 forward was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Coyotes in May of 2022.
Kelemen has 13 goals and 26 points in 52 games with the Roadrunners this season.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers used these lines during practice on Saturday, according to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Farabee - Frost - Tippett
Laughton - Cates - Lemieux
van Riemsdyk - Hayes - Allison
Deslauriers - Laczynski - Bellows
New Jersey Devils
The Devils used these lines during practice on Saturday, according to team reporter Sam Kasan:
Tatar - Hischier - Mercer
Meier - Hughes - Bratt
Palat - Haula - Boqvist
Wood - McLeod - Bastian
Siegenthaler - Hamilton
Graves - Marino
Bahl/Smith - Severson