Dellandrea will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Radek Faksa to draw back into the lineup. After being a healthy scratch in four straight games, Dellandrea played two straight, scoring zero points and registering one shot on goal.
Faksa will re-enter the lineup for the Stars in favour of Ty Dellandrea, who is expected to be a healthy scratch. Faksa has not played the last two games and has zero points and only two shots on goal in his last four contests.
Levi will start on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens, his first career game in his home province of Quebec. Levi last played on December 31st, allowing four goals on 30 shots (.867 SV%) in a one-sided 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. He has allowed three or more goals in each of his last four games (1-2-0), posting a disappointing .850 SV%, a significant decline from the .942 SV% he had in the four games prior (3-0-1). The Sabres are -142 road favourites against the Canadiens.
Allen will start for the first time since allowing three goals on 25 shots (.880 SV%) on December 30th in a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Allen will attempt to start 2024 better than he ended 2023, winning only one of his last nine contests (1-7-1), posting a subpar .887 SV%. The Canadiens are coming off an impressive 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday but are +128 home underdogs against the Buffalo Sabres, who have lost three of their last four (1-2-1), being outscored 15-8.
Binninngton saved 21 of 23 shots (.913 SV%) in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in his last outing and will look to rebound as the Blue's starter on Thursday. Binnington has a sub-.900 SV% in six of his last eight games (3-5-0), posting an ugly .867 SV%. The Blues will be hard-pressed to shut things down defensively as +134 home underdogs against the Vancouver Canucks are their league-best offence (3.84 GF / GP).
Mrazek did not play in Chicago's 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday after starting three straight games for the Blackhawks. Mrazek has put together a serviceable season for the bottom-dwelling Blackhawks but has allowed 11 goals on the last 66 shots he has faced (.833 SV%) in the last two games (0-1-1). The Blackhawks are huge +359 underdogs against the New York Rangers, who are coming off a disappointing 6-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Barrie has missed four games, last playing on December 23rd, but returned to practice for the Predators on Thursday. Before the Christmas break, Barrie had played five straight games for the Predators, scoring one point (1G / 0A), a -2 plus/minus, and averaged slightly over 17 minutes per night.
Shesterkin will start for the Rangers on Thursday and look to rebound after a terrible performance in his last outing. On Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Shesterkin allowed six goals on 27 shots (.778 SV%) in a 6-1 loss, his first loss in six games (5-1-0). Before that, Shesterkin allowed two goals or less in four of his last five games (5-0-0), posting a tremendous .946 SV%. The Rangers have an extremely favourable matchup on Thursday as -430 home favourites against a Chicago Blackhawks team that has lost three straight.
Dvorak will undergo surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle on Friday and will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Before his injury, Dvorak had two points (2G / 0A) in his last 10 games, playing predominantly alongside Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.
Andersen has been battling an undisclosed injury after playing 15:18 time-on-ice on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars but will not miss any game action as he is expected to play on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. Anderson only has six goals through 37 games this season but has six points (5G / 1A) in his last eight.
Shesterkin will likely start for the Rangers on Thursday and look to rebound after a terrible performance in his last outing. On Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Shesterkin allowed six goals on 27 shots (.778 SV%) in a 6-1 loss, his first loss in six games (5-1-0). Before that, Shesterkin allowed two goals or less in four of his last five games (5-0-0), posting a tremendous .946 SV%. The Rangers have an extremely favourable matchup on Thursday as -430 home favourites against a Chicago Blackhawks team that has lost three straight.
Zucker delivered a late hit from behind on Florida's Nick Cousins and received a 10-minute game misconduct on the play. Zucker had been held without a point in seven of his last eight games and will miss the next three contests serving his suspension.
Othmann is expected to skate on a line with Nick Bonino and Jonny Brodzinski in his NHL debut on Thursday. The 20-year-old Othmann was the 16th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has 23 points (9G / 14A) in 28 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL this season.
On Thursday, Carlile was recalled from the Syracuse Crunch, where has nine points (3G / 6A) in 31 games this season. The undrafted defenseman was recalled alongside Sean Day and will hope to make his NHL debut while Mikhail Sergachev remains out of the lineup for the next several games.
Day has been recalled and reassigned several times in the last month but has not cracked the Lightning lineup during his stints at the NHL level. The 25-year-old Day was the third-round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and has eight points (0G / 8A) in 17 games this season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.
Sergachev has not played since December 19th and will miss at least four more games after being placed on long-term injured reserve, with an earliest possible return date of January 13th. Sergachev has 19 points (2G / 17A) in 33 games and has been replaced by Darren Raddysh on the second powerplay unit.
Kakko has not played since November 27th, missing 16 games with a lower-body injury. There is still no timeline for his return to action, but he did participate in practice in a non-contact jersey. Before his injury, Kakko was having a difficult time establishing himself offensively, scoring only three points (1G / 2A) in 20 games.
Lacombe will draw in for Radko Gudas, who will miss Wednesday's game with an illness. Lacombe is yet to score a goal this season and has just four assists in 34 games. He is expected to skate alongside Cam Fowler on the Ducks' top pair on Wednesday.
Groulx will make his first appearance since December 17th as the Ducks deal with a mix of illnesses and injuries. He is yet to score a goal and has just one assist in 20 games this season.
Terry did not play against the Edmonton Oilers on New Year's Eve and will miss the first game of 2024, his second-straight contest, as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury. Before his injury, Terry was beginning to turn the corner on a disappointing season, scoring nine points (4G / 5A) in his last 10 games after scoring only two points (0G / 2A) in his previous 11. The team is yet to give a timetable for his return.
