Merzlikins will tend the twine for the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, his third start in their last four games. The Latvian netminder has won two of his last three outings (2-1-0) and saved 28 of 31 shots (.903 SV%) on Saturday in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. That said, the Blue Jackets are sizeable +215 road underdogs on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Harris has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury but will likely return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres. He was limited to only 1:34 time-on-ice before exiting the Canadiens' February 11th matchup against the St. Louis Blues.
Chinakhov missed the Blue Jackets' previous game due to an upper-body injury but will draw back into the lineup Saturday as they take on San Jose. The 23-year-old third-year player is in the midst of a breakout campaign, with 14 goals, 10 assists, 82 SOG, six PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 40 games before his injury.
Tarasov will return to the crease on Tuesday after serving as the backup netminder for the past two games. In his last outing, Tarasov allowed three goals on 25 shots (.880 SV%) in a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken. The Blue Jackets are +154 road underdogs against a rolling Ottawa Senators club that has collected points in eight of their last nine games (6-1-2).
Arber Xhekaj will draw into the Canadiens' lineup on Tuesday, replacing Harris, who suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Harris was limited to only 1:34 time-on-ice before exiting Sunday's contest.
Chinakhov played only 8:40 time-on-ice before exiting Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury. He will not play on Tuesday but could return on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. The 23-year-old Chinakhov is enjoying his best season, scoring 24 points (14G / 10A) in 40 games thus far.
Johnson will take the place of Sam Malinski, who is listed as a healthy scratch. Johnson has two goals and seven assists in 49 games this season.
Johnson will get the night off as the Avalanche are set to play their second game in as many nights. Sam Malinski will draw into the lineup in his place.
Monahan will center a second line for the Jets with Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers and is expected to be on the top powerplay unit as well. The 29-year-old centre had 13 goals and 22 assists (35 points) in 49 games with the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to Winnipeg last week.
Arber Xhekaj will draw back into the lineup on Tuesday, prompting the Canadiens to make Harris a healthy scratch. Harris played 16:20 time-on-ice in his last outing and recorded two penalty minutes and one hit.
The Canadiens will receive a 2027 third-round pick if the Winnipeg Jets win the Stanley Cup. Monahan has a $1.985M cap-hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2023-24. The 29-year-old centre had 13 goals and 22 assists (35 points) in 49 games with Montreal prior to the trade. He should settle in as the Jets' No.2 centre.
Fantilli was limited to only 7:30 time-on-ice on Monday before exiting the game with a calf laceration. The 19-year-old rookie will miss approximately eight weeks, a devastating blow for a Blue Jackets team that has struggled all season. In 49 games this season, Fantilli had 27 points (12G / 15A), 115 shots, and 46 hits, one of the few bright spots on the Blue Jackets' season.
Columbus will continue to swap their goalies game by game as Merzlikins takes the crease for the second time in three games Tuesday in St. Louis. The 29-year-old made it public knowledge earlier in the season that he would like to be traded but has remained with Columbus and carries a 8-10-7 record, 3.35 GAA and .901 SV%. He takes on the red-hot St. Louis Blues, who have surprisingly won four straight games by the score of 4-3 and are currently on a five game winning streak.
Olivier has been a healthy scratch for the last seven games but will replace Emil Bemstrom in the bottom-6 on Tuesday. Olivier has just five points (1G / 4A) in 22 games this season but has delivered 53 hits (2.4 per game).
