Rod Brind'Amour did hold media availability and he opened it by saying he "hopes" Ethan Bear can return to the lineup tonight. The right-handed defenseman has been out of the lineup since Monday, November 22 due to COVID-19 Protocol. #25 will take warmup and then they'll make a decision from there.
Question marks also remain in regards to forward Jordan Martinook. The forward left Thursday's game with a lower-body injury and did not practice Friday.
In net, no starter was determined, however, given that the team has rotated between Raanta and Andersen over the last several games, and Raanta having played the team's most recent game, we've listed Andersen as the tentative starter for tonight.
The below forward lines and what the team practiced with on Friday and the defensive pairings are what the team began Thursday's game with:
Forwards
Niederreiter - Aho - Teravainen
Jarvis - Trocheck - Necas
Fast - Staal - Lorentz
Svechnikov - Kotkaniemi - Stepan
Defensemen
Slavin - Cole
Skjei - Chatfield
Smith - Lajoie
Goalies
Andersen
Raanta
Game-Time Decision:
Bear
To Be Determined:
Martinook
COVID-19 Protocol:
DeAngelo
Pesce
Note: Lineup subject to change prior to opening faceoff
