With the Canadiens shipping Nick Cousins to the Golden Knights on Monday, Evans is back in the NHL after a brief return to the AHL. The 23-year-old has one goal in six games with the Canadiens but has really been strong in the AHL, leading Laval with 38 points (14G / 24A) in 51 games.
Montembeault stopped nine of 10 shots after replacing Sergei Bobrovsky in the Panthers loss to the Golden Knights last Thursday. With Bobrovsky starting last night, Montembeault will go tonight in New Jersey. He has gone 4-2-1 with a 3.40 GAA and .889 SV% in nine games (five starts) this season, so look elsewhere for a goalie option on tonight's 11-game slate.
Byron has been out since mid-November but it looks like he could get back into the lineup at some point this week. He will travel to Boston and Pittsburgh and could make his return either Tuesday or Thursday.
Evans was a seventh-round pick in 2014 and has scored 12 goals with 22 assists (34 points) in 48 AHL games this season. With Ryan Poehling and Jordan Weal both sick, the 23-year-old will make his NHL debut on the third line with Max Domi and Ilya Kovalchuk.
Gallagher missed four games before returning from a concussion on January 9th but suffered a setback and missed the next six games. Gallagher was back on the top line in the last two practices and is set to play Thursday in Buffalo. He has scored 15 goals with 17 assists (32 points) in 41 games this season.
Blais has missed the last 28 games with an wrist injury but is set to replace Oskar Sundqvist tonight in Calgary. Blais had eight points (5G / 3A) in 20 games before getting hurt.
Blais has not played since November 19th and underwent surgery on his right wrist on the 21st. Activating him from IR suggests that the winger will make his return to the lineup on Tuesday. He had five goals and three assists (eight points) in 20 games before getting hurt.
Carrier played in two games during his call-up but heads back to the AHL now that Dante Fabbro is back in the lineup. Carrier has four goals and 21 assists (25 points) in 34 AHL games this season.
Sergei Bobrovsky was hurt in Saturday's practice and Montembeault's promotion suggests that he won't be available against Toronto. Montembeault is expected to serve as Chris Driedger's backup.
Carrier was a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace Matt Irwin in Winnipeg. Carrier did not record a point in 8:49 TOI in his season debut in Anaheim last Sunday.
Gallagher returned from a concussion on Thursday but missed Friday's practice with headaches. Gallagher was scheduled to undergo testing to determine whether or not the headaches were concussion-related or something else, but that hasn't been determined yet. The team elected to leave him back in Montreal for precautionary reasons as they travelled to Ottawa.
