MacKinnon will miss his fourth consecutive game on Thursday but head coach Jared Bednar says he's on track to play Sunday vs. Dallas. Mikko Rantanen will continue as the No.1 centre while MacKinnon is sidelined.
Helm will play for the first time since January 10th, drawing in on the Avalanche fourth line to replace Mikhail Maltsev. Helm has scored four goals with two assists (six points) in 32 games this season.
Kiviranta missed the last game before the All-Star break due to a lower-body injury but is expected to be back in the lineup on Wednesday. Kiviranta, who will skate in the Stars' bottom-6 has just four points (1G / 3A) in 35 games this season.
MacKinnon skated briefly on Tuesday but will miss Thursday's game against the Lightning. According to head coach Jared Bednar, "everything is going to have to go smoothly" for MacKinnon to play Saturday.
Mittelstadt returned for three games but re-aggravated his upper-body injury on Sunday and will come out of the lineup on Tuesday. Tage Thompson is set to return to the lineup to replace Mittelstadt.
With Kiviranta out, Riley Damiani was recalled from Texas (AHL) and will draw into the lineup on the fourth line. Kiviranta is considered day-to-day.
Manson suffered an upper-body injury in Ottawa on Saturday and will not be available for Monday's game in Detroit. Josh Mahura will draw into the lineup to replace him.
Merkley will replace Mario Ferraro, who was hit in the face by a puck on Saturday. Merkley, who has one goal and one assist in 14 games, will skate with Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the second pairing and should quarterback the second power-play unit.
It's unclear if MacKinnon will be ready for the All-Star game but he'll miss Colorado's last three games before the break. Mikko Rantanen will move to centre with MacKinnon out.
Manson has missed the last four games while in COVID-19 protocol but will return to the lineup on Thursday. It's unclear who Manson will replace on the blueline or if the Ducks will go with seven defensemen. He has scored three goals with three assists in 41 games this season.
Drouin missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and on Wednesday the Canadiens announced that he is out indefinitely. Don't expect to see Drouin until after the All-Star game at the very least.
Mittelstadt will play for the first time since December 7th and is expected to centre the second line with Peyton Krebs and Anders Bjork. Mittelstadt has scored one goal on seven shots in four games this season.
Entering COVID-19 protocol means that Manson will miss at least the next two games. He'll most likely be back in the Ducks' lineup next Monday in Boston.
