Saturday Afternoon NHL Goalies: Luukkonen Projected at LA, Johansson Listed After Thursday's Pull

NHL.com published projected lineups on Friday for the six Saturday games that start before 5 p.m. ET. The goalie listed first is the projected starter. These are projections, not team announcements, so every goalie below is expected on the Oct. 31 board. Teams usually confirm after Saturday's morning skate.

Sabres at Kings (4 p.m. ET)

NHL.com's Sabres at Kings projection lists Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen first for Buffalo, with Colten Ellis second. Ellis started the last two games, including Thursday's 7-6 win at Anaheim. Luukkonen last played Oct. 24 against Washington, an overtime loss, and is 3-3-3 with a .866 save percentage in nine games, per his NHL.com player page.

For Los Angeles, Darcy Kuemper is listed first, ahead of Anton Forsberg. NHL.com says Kuemper did not practice Friday for maintenance but is expected to play.

Senators at Sharks (4 p.m. ET)

Jonas Johansson is listed first for Ottawa, with Samuel Ersson second, in the Senators at Sharks projection. Johansson started Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss at Los Angeles and was replaced after allowing four goals on 16 shots; Ersson made 20 saves in relief, the box score shows. San Jose lists Yaroslav Askarov first, ahead of Alex Nedeljkovic. NHL.com notes Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky did not reveal lineup decisions at Friday's optional practice.

The four early games

• Blackhawks at Bruins (1 p.m.): Spencer Knight (Chicago) and Jeremy Swayman (Boston) are listed first, per NHL.com. Both started in losses on Thursday.
• Blues at Red Wings (1 p.m.): Joel Hofer (St. Louis) and John Gibson (Detroit) are listed first, per NHL.com. Both won on Thursday.
• Lightning at Predators (2 p.m.): Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) and Juuse Saros (Nashville) are listed first, per NHL.com.
• Oilers at Islanders (2 p.m.): Tristan Jarry (Edmonton) and Ilya Sorokin (New York) are listed first, per NHL.com.

None of these teams plays on Friday, so no one in the afternoon games is on a back-to-back. The evening games, including Calgary's back-to-back at Colorado, are covered in our Saturday slate preview. Nothing here is betting advice.