Cehlarik will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury but head coach Bruce Cassidy said that he is “close” to a return. Cehlarik should be back for Saturday’s game in St. Louis.
Gunnarsson has been out since February 5th and will miss his ninth straight game on Thursday. However, the Blues are playing extremely well right now so there is no reason to rush the veteran defenseman back into the lineup at this time.
Perron remains on IR with an upper-body injury that he suffered in mid-January. Perron will miss his 14th straight game on Thursday but with the Blues rolling like they are right now, there is no need for them to rush the veteran winger back into the lineup.
Comeau has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but is expected to play Thursday vs. the Blues. Comeau doesn’t bring a lot to the table offensively, scoring just six goals with four assists (10 points) in 55 games.
Bishop has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury but will serve as Anton Khudobin’s backup on Thursday. Following Thursday’s game, the Stars have a back-to-back on Saturday/Sunday so look for Bishop to start one of those games.
McDavid was a late scratch from the lineup on Tuesday and missed Wednesday's practice, but the Oilers remain hopeful that he will play Thursday vs. the Islanders. Monitor his status as the Oilers hit the ice for tomorrow's game-day skate.
Fleury gave up six goals on 43 shots in the Golden Knights loss to the Maple Leafs last Thursday. Malcolm Subban started the last two games but they will come back to Fleury tonight vs. the Bruins. Fleury has lost three in a row while allowing a combined 14 goals on 101 shots (.861 SV%). Tonight he faces a Bruins team that has won six in a row while averaging 4.33 goals for per game.
Greiss stopped all 31 shots that he faced in the Islanders shutout win in Columbus last Thursday. The win extended Greiss’ winning streak to three games, stopping 87 of the 89 shots (.978 SV%) that he has faced over that stretch. The Islanders are making life easy on their goalies but tonight he faces a Flames team that is second in the NHL in goal-scoring (3.68 GF/pg).
Holden has been a healthy scratch for the last 10 games but is expected to replace Collin Miller on Wednesday. Holden, who has 13 points (3G / 10A) in 51 games this season, played 18 games with the Bruins in 2017-18.
Miller played just 13:41 TOI on Monday and has just two assists in his last 10 games. Miller skated as an extra in Wednesday’s morning skate, so look for Nick Holden to replace him on the third pair.
Haley is a veteran fourth-line grinder, who has just one goal and two assists while averaging just 7:30 TOI/gm in 24 games this season. Haley had three goals, 10 assists (13 points) and 187 PIMS in 78 games from 2015-to-2017 while playing with the Sharks.
Howard allowed one goal on 12 shots after replacing an injured Jonathan Bernier in the Red Wings loss to the Flyers on Sunday. Detroit dropped both games of their home-and-home with Philadelphia, moving Howard to 3-3-0 with 3.02 GAA and .898 SV% in February. He has not faced the Blackhawks this season, but they come into play absolutely sizzling, especially on the power-play.
Smith allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Flames win over the Coyotes on Monday. Smith has played well as of late, earning himself a fourth consecutive start—he is 2-0-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .919 SV%. Tonight he faces an Islanders team that is 21st in the NHL in goal-scoring (2.86 GF/pg) but allow the fewest goals against (2.29 GF/pg).
Neal is set to miss his third straight game on Wednesday and is expected to miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury that he suffered in Florida last Thursday. Austin Czarnik has receded a goal in each game since replacing Neal in the lineup.
Brodie was a late-scratch vs. the Coyotes on Monday but is expected to play Wednesday vs. the Islanders. Brodie has been held pointless for the last four games but has 29 points (7G / 22A) in 58 games this season.
Varlamov stopped all 40 shots that he faced in Colorado’s shutout win over the Golden Knights on Monday. Varlamov has turned things around lately, winning two of his last three starts while stopping 94 of the 97 shots (.969 SV%) that he faced. Varlamov has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .896 SV% in two games vs. the Jets this season.
Smith allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Flames win over the Coyotes on Monday. Smith has played well as of late, earning himself a fourth consecutive start—he is 2-0-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .919 SV%. Tonight he faces an Islanders team that is 21st in the NHL in goal-scoring (2.86 GF/pg) but allow the fewest goals against (2.29 GF/pg).
