Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and is unavailable for Saturday's game against the Ottawa Senators, head coach Paul Maurice announced, according to Sportsnet's Ken Wiebe.
Dubois left Friday's practice early, but Maurice labeled him as probable for Saturday's contest at the time.
Jets forward Kristian Vesalainen will draw into the lineup with Dubois out. Winnipeg will continue to ice 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Dubois, 22, has played two games for the Jets since they acquired him for Patrik Laine. He's gone pointless with Winnipeg thus far while averaging over 15 minutes of ice time per contest.
Ottawa drafted Dzingel in 2011, and he racked up 126 points in 247 games for the franchise from 2015-19. The 28-year-old counts for $3.375 million against the cap and is set to become a free agent after this season.
Galchenyuk, 27, joined the Senators on a one-year, $1.05-million contract this past offseason. The third overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft has now been traded four times in his career and joins his sixth NHL team. He ends his brief stint in Canada's capital with one goal in eight games.
The Senators acquired Paquette from the Tampa Bay Lightning in December. The 27-year-old winger is known for his physical presence and has notched 86 points in 386 NHL contests.
All three players will be required to quarantine before they can suit up for their new squads due to travel restrictions between Canada and the U.S.
The move could be procedural to accommodate Edmonton's taxi-squad plans - a common occurrence this season due to expanded rosters - but the veteran winger is available for any team to claim over the next 24 hours.
Neal has appeared in nine games for the Oilers this season, registering two goals and one assist while averaging 13:15 of ice time per contest.
The 33-year-old's mediocre numbers and cumbersome contract may turn away any potential suitors, as Neal is owed $5.75 million in each of the next two seasons.
Marcus Foligno, who was the first Minnesota Wild player to test positive for COVID-19, says he couldn't help but feel responsiblefor the team's outbreak and subsequent lengthy shutdown.
"I felt really guilty. It's kind of like (I) brought it here," Foligno told The Athletic's Michael Russo. "You never want to be the first one or just, in general, get it. It's a guilty feeling, which is weird because you shouldn't feel guilty. But that's just how it is, and when you're the first one, everyone kind of sees your name pop up first and then the domino effect throughout the team after that."
Foligno last played Jan. 30 versus the Colorado Avalanche before landing on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. The Wild played two more games Jan. 31 and Feb. 2 before shutting their facilities down as the virus spread throughout the roster.
Minnesota has had six games postponed due to the outbreak while 14 players remain on the league's list. However, general manager Bill Guerin expects the Wild will resume play Feb. 16 versus the Los Angeles Kings, according to Russo.
Foligno believes he got the virus while playing Los Angeles in late January as the Kings dealt with COVID-19 issues. However, the veteran winger accepted his positive test as part of the reality of playing through a pandemic.
"I think there's a lot of protocols in place that make us feel safe," Foligno said. "It's just inevitable. It's tough to say how you can actually stop this thing. The one thing to do is stop the spread. ... You've got to remove the team and quarantine them and have them start back up when everything is safe again."
Foligno is in his 10th NHL season. He had three points through nine games in 2021 before being sidelined. The Wild currently sit sixth in the West Division with 12 points, though they have games in hand on most teams ahead of them.
The Buffalo Sabres haven't played since Jan. 31 due to COVID-19 concerns, and captain Jack Eichel is itching to hit the ground running once the team is in action again.
“I’m really excited to get the season going again," he said Wednesday, according to The Times Herald's Bill Hoppe. "I think I’m going to start to take off hopefully.”
The Sabres went nearly 10 months between their last game of the 2019-20 season and their first contest this campaign. Eichel also missed the opening five days of training camp in January. He says building momentum has been tough.
"It took a little bit of time for myself at least to get my legs under me during the season," Eichel said. "There’s no preseason games. Camp was quick."
Eichel potted a career-best 36 goals last season while leading the Sabres with 78 points over 68 games. He's amassed two goals and 11 points over 10 outings so far in 2020-21, but the forward believes he can offer much more.
"A little bit of a slow start for me," Eichel said. "Not really where I want to be. But I feel like I’ve definitely taken advantage of these two weeks in trying to prepare myself to have a successful next 46 games."
The Sabres own a 4-4-2 record and are slated to return to action against the New York Islanders on Feb. 15.
Stamkos, 31, didn't play against the Florida Panthers on Thursday due to a lower-body injury and missed practice Friday. He's the only Lightning player currently on the list.
The 6-foot-1 pivot leads the Lightning with seven goals and ranks second with 14 points through 11 games.
Tampa Bay is slated for a rematch with the Panthers on Saturday before the teams close out their three-game set Monday.
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Our perfect 8-0 run came to an end Thursday night as the Blackhawks blew a pair of third-period leads against the Blue Jackets, forcing us to settle for a 1-1 split.
Still, I'm feeling Jack Roslovic dangerous right now - we're both on some next-level heaters - so let's make it count this weekend:
The Hurricanes moved to 3-0-0 against the Stars this season with a 5-3 win in Dallas on Thursday night, but I'm looking the other way in Saturday's rematch. The Stars have been drastically better in the second leg of two-game sets this year. Whether it's a product of coaching or experience, their five-on-five splits are undeniable:
Opponent
xGF% (Game 1)
xGF% (Game 2)
Predators
33.00%
60.55%
Red Wings
49.14%
67.96%
Hurricanes
36.36%
55.56%
Blue Jackets
53.13%
67.44%
Blackhawks
50.00%
57.45%
Hurricanes
50.93%
TBD
Central Division teams have also struggled brutally on the road in the back halves of two-game series, with home teams going 20-3 straight up in those situations. All three of Carolina's losses this season have come in the second contests of two-game sets on the road; the Hurricanes are 0-3 in such situations, losing in Detroit, Chicago, and Columbus.
The Stars have held a slight edge over Carolina at five-on-five in the last two meetings, and they're due for a bit of positive regression after losing both. Factor in the rematch boost on home ice and Dallas is an excellent value play at plus-money.
There's no hiding the Canucks' miserable start to the season. They're completely out of sorts defensively, and the underlying numbers aren't pretty. That means the only way for this team to go is up. A brutally tough schedule to open the campaign has already seen Vancouver play a total of eight games against the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The Canucks are 5-4-0 against the rest of the North Division and due for positive regression overall.
Vancouver played really well in the first of four straight games against the Flames on Thursday, despite the loss. Jacob Markstrom was excellent against his former team, allowing just one goal despite the Canucks controlling 62.18% of the expected goal share; there are plenty of positives for this team to draw from the loss as it looks to end a six-game skid.
The Canucks have managed just over 50% of the expected goal share at five-on-five on home ice this year, with the Flames a hair below 50% on the road. Calgary is undeniably the better team, but this line presents good value on a Vancouver team due for an uptick in the luck department.
Pick: Canucks (+120)
Alex Moretto is theScore's supervising editor of sports betting. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, loves a juicy puck line, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.