Galchenyuk last played Dec. 4 and has missed the past 18 games with a knee injury.
The Canadiens feared the worst with the injury, but have held their own in the meantime, posting a 9-5-4 record in Galchenyuk's absence.
Galchenyuk has been a key cog for the Canadiens this season, posting 23 points in 25 games, with his offensive game taking off since coach Michel Therrien elected to shift the young forward from wing to center.
Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw will also return to the lineup Saturday after missing the past 14 games with a concussion.
The Brandon Wheat Kings center - and projected top pick in the 2017 NHL Draft - returned to WHL action Friday after missing 35 games with a sports hernia.
Facing the Kootenay Ice, Patrick put up two goals and two assists, scoring his first of the game 12:04 into the opening frame. His performance powered the Wheat Kings to an 8-5 victory, after which Patrick was named the game's first star.
Patrick, who last played Oct. 11, has tallied 13 points in just seven games this season. He recorded 102 points in 72 games with Brandon last season.
Despite Patrick's time on the shelf - which also kept him sidelined during the recent World Junior Championship - he's still widely viewed as NHL's top pick in June.
The Coyotes - with the league's second-fewest points - are among a handful of teams with stronger odds at landing Patrick in the draft, while the Colorado Avalanche currently hold the best odds as the NHL's last-place team. In an added wrinkle, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights will have the same odds as the third-worst team. A lottery is held for each of the top three picks, and no team can fall more than three draft spots.
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Stats are as of Thursday, Jan. 12; advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey.
Don't leave Maroon stranded
Edmonton Oilers LW Patrick Maroon is still owned in under 50 percent of fantasy leagues. He has 17 goals and 24 points on the season, with just three of those points having come on the power play. He's been riding a high 17.2 shooting percentage, which has ballooned to 25.0 in January. He's atop the first line with the Oilers' two best players in Cs Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He'll continue to have good chances.
Leave Ryan Hartman for daily fantasy, for now
Hartman has broken out in January, scoring four goals and adding two assists to raise his season totals to 10 goals and nine assists. He has totaled 17 shots on goal in his past four games and has registered at least one SOG in all but one game this month. He's still playing on just the third line at 5v5 and doesn't see any power-play time. He hasn't topped 15:12 of ice time this month, which is unlikely to bring consistency to his game.
Toronto Maple Leafs LW James van Riemsdyk is on pace for his single-month high in points, having accumulated two goals and seven assists through just five January games. The production has been coming despite significantly less ice time than he has seen in any other month this year. The diminishing role will eventually curb his production totals. Move him before the Leafs do.
Artturi Lehkonen putting fantasy owners on notice
As injuries ravage the Montreal Canadiens, their 21-year-old rookie has been a primary beneficiary. He is locked in beside C Tomas Plekanec on the current second line. The pass-first center has helped the winger score three goals in six games this month, as he has multiple SOG in all but one game. His ice time is rather variable, but he's a strong low-cost daily fantasy option.
Get Wild
The Minnesota Wild have the league's most appealing schedule for Week 14, as they'll play four home games, against the New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, and Nashville Predators. The final two games of the week will be a double header. If debating between two free agents to add for the coming week, side with whichever one plays home games in Minnesota.
Start your daily lineups with John Gibson
January has been Gibson's best month of the season, as he has picked up two shutouts through six starts and stopped at least 30 shots in four of the six. The Ducks have a 5-1 record in his starts. They'll play road games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Wild with a home date against the Colorado Avalanche in the middle of the week. He'll be a top option each time out.
Cory Schneider's season's about to get back on track
Schneider has returned to his early-season form, after posting save percentages below .900 in both November and December. He has allowed 10 goals in six games this month, but has a record of just 2-2-2. He'll need more goal support but the strong save percentage is a good foundation for fantasy contributions.
Investigate Craig Anderson
Ottawa Senators G Craig Anderson is finally nearing a return from his personal leave. Given his personal situation, he'll remain at risk of missing further extended stretches for the remainder of the season, but he has been among the league's best when active this season.
Owners needing to make up ground in save percentage or goals against average in rotisserie leagues could take the risk and examine low-cost trade scenarios for the possibility of elite numbers..
The NHL hasn't been short on lengthy win streaks this season.
With Friday's 6-0 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Washington Capitals secured their eighth straight victory, pushing their season total to 61 points, one back of first overall in the NHL.
Washington last lost in regulation on Dec. 27 in a 4-3 defeat to the New York Islanders. Two nights later, the Capitals grabbed a single point in a shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils, and then began their eight-game win streak.
Most impressive during Washington's run has been the quality of its opponents. The Capitals have recorded their last five victories over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Blackhawks. All but the Senators rank in the league's top six, while Washington combined to outsource those teams 21-3.
The Capitals also snapped the Blue Jackets' 16-game win streak - one off the all-time record - with a 5-0 thumping on Thursday night.
Playing at an elite level isn't unfamiliar territory for Braden Holtby, but he's been particularly unbeatable lately, and that stellar play has been a major factor in the Washington Capitals' eight-game win streak.
Three of those clean sheets have come in his last five contests, and five of them have been recorded in his last 14 games.
The 2016 Vezina Trophy winner has long been in the conversation for the 2017 award, but beyond Sergei Bobrovsky's league-leading 26 wins, only Minnesota Wild netminder Devan Dubnyk has been better than Holtby in the other key categories.
Goaltender
W
GAA
SV%
SO
Dubnyk
22
1.77
.940
5
Holtby
21
1.85
.933
6
Bobrovsky
26
2.00
.931
3
The Capitals have allowed an NHL-best 1.95 goals against per game, which is a credit to their defense as well as the play of Holtby and backup goalie Philipp Grubauer, who's been excellent in his own right, going 7-1-1 with a 1.94 GAA and .929 save percentage in nine games.
Washington can obviously score goals, too, putting in six against one of the league's best teams Friday night and ranking seventh in the NHL with 2.98 goals per contest.
Still, they wouldn't be on this current roll without Holtby, who's picked up right where he left off last season, helping the Capitals continue to challenge the scrappy Columbus Blue Jackets for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
The seeds were planted back in 2011, when he stole the show and Hurricanes fans' hearts on home ice at the All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Sidney Crosby - months before winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's surprise rookie of the year.
While a string of concussions kept him from matching the production levels of his first season, questions were raised along the way about his long-term future with the team, with local reporters advocating for a trade.
But with the departure of Eric Staal last season amid a personal resurgence for a healthy Skinner, it became clear the faith demonstrated by the Hurricanes in the young forward was about to reap a rich harvest.
Case in point: Skinner's two goals in less than a minute against Buffalo on Friday en route to his second straight three-point performance and, more importantly, a Carolina win.
"He took the game over, in my opinion. He was just that dominant. He has the capability of doing that," goalie Cam Ward said after the game, per Michael Smith of the team's website. "He's been one of, if not our best player all season long.
"To see him get a couple goals and achieve a milestone on his part too is pretty impressive," Ward added, referring to the fact Skinner recorded his 300th career point in the win.
High praise from the team's longest-tenured player.
The win gave the Hurricanes a 13-1-1 record in the past 15 home games, and kept the team well within reach of a playoff berth. Carolina sits three points back of Philadelphia for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand.
And it's Skinner who leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and 35 points in 41 games, putting him on pace for 34 goals and 69 points - both of which would mark career highs. He's also on pace to smash his previous high in shots, averaging 3.6 per night.
Health permitting, he's one of the most consistent scorers in the game, and fun to watch as a bonus.
Skinner will represent Carolina at the All-Star Game once again this season, but leading the team to its first playoff appearance since 2009 would go a long way toward proving these Hurricanes should be taken seriously.
The game was one of 82 for a Blackhawks team that sits first in the Central Division, and Chicago had won four straight heading into Friday's supposed battle of two top teams.
The Minnesota Wild, however, sit two points back with five games in hand, meaning Toews' team's place atop the divisional standings is tenuous at best.
The loss was Chicago's worst of the season, topping a 5-0 decision at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers back in November.
The 500th point was recorded in his 550th career appearance. Tavares capped the hat trick with an empty-net goal, officially giving him a career point-per-game average of 0.91.
