Maatta missed the last four games with an illness but will replace Calvin de Haan, who is on IR with a shoulder injury. Maatta has eight points (1G / 7A) while averaging 1.2 shots and 1.3 blocked shots in 27 games this season.
Maatta missed Wednesday's practice and is questionable to play Thursday in Boston. If Maatta can't play, look for Dennis Gilbert to draw into the Blackhawks lineup.
Kerfoot was suspended forces hit on Erik Johnson last Saturday but will replace Jason Spezza on the third line on Saturday. Kerfoot has be relatively quiet offensively for Toronto, scoring five goals with three assists (eight points) in 22 games this season.
Crouse has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will be a game-time decision against the Sharks. Crouse has five goals and three assists in 23 games this season.
Rooney has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury but will replace Jack Hughes (lower-body) in the lineup on Saturday. Rooney has just one assist in 13 games this season.
Kerfoot hit his former teammate from behind in Saturday's game and has been suspended for the last two games of the Maple Leafs road-trip. With Kerfoot out, Dmytro Timashov will likely draw back into the lineup on Wednesday.
Hayton has been a healthy scratch for the last six games but will replace Michael Grabner in the lineup on Thursday. Hayton has one goal and three assists in nine games so far this season.
Vanecek came up to serve as Braden Holtby's backup for a couple of games but will be replaced by Ilya Samsonov in New York. The 23-year-old returns to Hershey, where he has gone 4-2-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .894 SV% in eight games.
This is a salary cap related move. The Capitals need a forward because Nic Dowd and Carl Hagelin are out, so Vanecek comes up and the higher-paid Ilya Samsonov heads to the AHL for the game. The move opened up enough cap space for Travis Boyd to be called up. Samsonov will likely swap spots with Vanecek next week.
Kerfoot's injury originally occurred on November 5th vs.the Kings but played through it as long as he could. Kerfoot ultimately elected to undergo surgery and will miss some time. Jason Spezza is expected to replace him as the Maple Leafs' third-line centre and will also see the PP2 time while Kerfoot is sidelined.
Connauton, who has collected three assists in 11 AHL games this season and 76 points (27G / 49A) in 310 career NHL games will replace Mark Barberio on the Colorado blueline on Thursday.
Rooney was not on the ice for Thursday's practice and likely won't play in at least one of the two games over the weekend. Jesper Boqvist will draw back into the lineup vs. the Penguins.
Rooney played in eight straight games but will sit as a healthy scratch on Friday night. Rooney will be replaced by Jesper Bratt, who sat out of the last two games with an upper-body injury.
Both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nic Dowd are dealing with injuries and questionable for Friday's game, so O'Brien comes up and could make his season debut vs. Buffalo. The 25-year-old centre has just two points (1G / 1A) in 17 career NHL games and has registered three goals in his first nine AHL games this season.
Schmidt has been out since the season opener but will be back in the lineup vs. the Canadiens. Head coach Gerard Gallant did not disclose his D-pairs but Schmidt will likely be heavily utilized in his return. Schmidt had 30 points (9G / 21A) in 61 games last year.
Connauton did not appear in a game with the Avalanche during his call-up. With Ian Cole back from offseason hip surgery, Connauton was no longer needed as a reserve defenseman. He heads back to the Eagles, where he had no points, two PIMS and a minus-4 rating in two games.
Cole has missed the first four games of the regular season but will replace Mark Barberio in the lineup on Monday. Cole had 15 points (2G / 13A) in 71 games last season.
