Chris Kreider is set to return from neck spasms tomorrow night against the St Louis Blues, but his return means that Oscar Lindberg will be a healthy scratch. Faced with the prospect of breaking up the line-up that took care of an out-of-sorts Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, coach Alain Vigneault went with the best option available.
Kreider’s return will see him re-join Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello, pushing Pavel Buchnevich down to the fourth line to play with Brandon Pirri and Jesper Fast. Buchnevich and Pirri will still see power play time, while Fast will continue to play on the penalty kill and in defensive situations.
Michael Grabner therefore will remain as part of the trio that accounted for four of Sunday’s six goals, along with JT Miller and Kevin Hayes.
NYR
WSH
CAR
PIT
CBJ
NYI
NJD
PHI