News and Notes - Sat. 28

[Salo]

Florida Panthers (+125) at New York Islanders (-135)
With defenseman Mike Van Ryn and forwards Joe Nieuwendyk and Todd Bertuzzi injured and out of tonight's game against the Islanders, coach Jacques Martin has been forced to mix things up. Olli Jokinen will center Florida's top line as usual, but now he'll be flanked by Ville Peltonen and Nathan Horton. - (Miami Herald)

Pittsburgh Penguins (+122) at Philadelphia Flyers (-132)
Antero Niittymaki will start in net again tonight, and Robert Esche will play Monday against Chicago. - (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Los Angeles Kings (+260) at Dallas Stars (-280)
Stars coach Dave Tippett said tonight's game against Los Angeles could feature some new faces. The Stars haven't used Jon Klemm, Patrik Stefan or Mathias Tjarnqvist this season, but one or more could play tonight. - (Star-Telegram)

New York Rangers (-130) at Phoenix Coyotes (+120)
Shane Doan, who had not been out of the lineup since the 2003-04 finale, will miss his second straight game tonight because of a sore back. - (Arizona Republic)

Darius Kasparaitis, whom coach Tom Renney sat out of the first five games due to a lack of conditioning, will skate tonight with Sandis Ozolinsh. The Marek Malik-Michal Rozsival pair has been reunited, as has the Fedor Tyutin-Aaron Ward tandem. Karel Rachunek and Thomas Pock (fifth straight) will be the blue-line scratches. - (NY Post)

Toronto Maple Leafs (+145) at Montreal Canadiens (-155)
J.S. Aubin will be in nets tonight as the Leafs try to end a three-game losing streak when they meet David Aebischer and the Habs tonight at the Bell Centre.