Foligno kneed Lowry during a fight on Tuesday night and will miss Saturday's game vs. Carolina and Monday's game vs. Detroit. Foligno will be eligible to return next Wednesday in Winnipeg. Brandon Duhaime will move up to the third line while Foligno is out.
Gaunce and Trey Fix-Wolansky will make their Blue Jackets debuts on Tuesday with both Eric Robinson and Emil Bemstrom unavailable. Gaunce was a first-round pick of the Canucks in 2012 and has 16 points (6G / 10A) in 118 career NHL games with Vancouver and Boston. He leads Cleveland in goals (16) and points (28) in 39 AHL games this season.
Foligno missed the final two games before the All-Star break but is set to play Tuesday in Winnipeg. Foligno was back in a familiar spot with Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway in Monday's practice. Foligno has scored four goals with four assists (eight points) in his last nine games.
Merrill will likely replace Mathew Dumba, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Merrill has had a very productive season, scoring three goals with 10 assists and a plus-14 rating in 38 games.
Foligno will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury, so he'll be out until after the All-Star break. The next chance for him to return is next Tuesday in Winnipeg.
Middleton has been out since January 4th but will be back in the lineup on Tuesday. Middleton was playing well before getting hurt, scoring three goals with three assists (six points) in his last 16 games.
Merrill was added to the COVID-19 protocol on Wednesday and remains sidelined for Friday's game in New York. Luckily for the Wild, it looks like Jonas Brodin will be back in the lineup to replace him.
Brodin has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury but was back at practice this week and is expected to play Friday. Brodin has tallied three goals with 13 assists (16 points) in 29 games this season.
Bogosian has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and will miss at least three more according to the head coach Jon Cooper. With Bogosian, Jan Rutta and Erik Cernak all sidelined, Frederik Claesson and Andrej Sustr will remain with the Lightning.
Spurgeon will play for the first time since before the Christmas break. Spurgeon, who has three goals and eight assists in 21 games this season, will replace Calen Addison in the lineup on Saturday.
Spurgeon will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury but is expected to play in the second half of the back-to-back on Saturday.
Hartman is dealing with a non-COVID illness and missed Thursday's practice, but will play tonight in Chicago. Hartman comes in with nine points (3G / 6A) in his last 10 games.
