With Andreas Athanasiou and Brendan Lemieux expected to be back in the Kings lineup on Saturday, Vilardi and Quinton Byfield will be healthy scratches.

Namestnikov suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's win over the Lightning and is expected to miss some time. Alexander Radulov will return to the lineup on Thursday to replace Namestnikov in the bottom-6.

The Jets selected Nikkanen in the fourth-round (No.113 overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft. Nikkanen spent 2022 with the Pelicans (Liiga), where he had 12 points (7G / 5A) in 60 games. He represented Finland in the 2021 World Juniors, scoring two goals with one assist in seven games.

Pearson missed Saturday's game vs. the Sharks and likely will not play this week. Vasily Podkolzin will likely remain in the Canucks' top-6 while Pearson is out.

Scheifele left Sunday's game with an upper-body injury and did not return. Post-game, interim head coach Dave Lowry said that he will not play Monday and will be evaluated when the team returns to Winnipeg. The fact that he was ruled out right away likely isn't a good sign for his availability in the immediate future.

Clague returned from injury on Thursday and scored one goal with two assists in 18:49 TOI. This move is likely to get young Jordan Harris back in the lineup while also managing Clague's injury.

Pearson left Thursday's game in Arizona with an upper-body injury and did not return. Post-game, head coach Bruce Boudreau said "hopefully just day-to-day," and hopes he'll be able to play Saturday.

Stanley is reportedly dealing with some "minor" bumps and bruises, so he'll come out of the lineup vs. the Avalanche. Stanley will be replaced by Dylan Samberg in the lineup.

Connor missed three games last week while in COVID-19 protocol but was back at practice on Monday and should be in the lineup on Wednesday. Connor has been red-hot for the last few months, posting 40 points (18G / 22A) in his last 27 games.