With Alexander Edler out, Fantenberg will make his debut for the Vancouver Canucks. Fantenberg has only played in two AHL games this season and has just 13 points (4G / 9A) in 88 career NHL games with the Kings and Flames.
Markstrom allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Canucks win in Edmonton last night. Even in a back-to-back situation, the Canucks will go back to Markstrom in their home game vs. the Oilers. Markstrom is 1-1- with a 2.54 GAA and .904 SV% in two games vs. Edmonton and is 2-2-2 with a 2.76 GAA and .907 SV% on home-ice.
Skinner has gone 7-5-2 with a 3.23 GAA and .890 SV% in 15 AHL games this season. He is only coming up because Mike Smith is dealing with a leg injury, so he'll sit on the bench while Mikko Koskinen gets the nod.
Benning will play for the first time since November 19th. He was activated from IR on Friday but will replace Kris Russell, who is out with a personal matter. Benning has five assists in 23 games this season.
Smith probably wasn't going to play on Sunday anyways but Stuart Skinner was called up to backup Mikko Koskinen in Vancouver. There is no indication of how long the Oilers expect Smith to be sidelined.
Russell will not play in Vancouver because he is with his wife for the birth of their second child. Matt Benning will play for the first time since November 19th to replace Russell.
With Kassian dealing with a back issue, Alex Chiasson is expected to skate with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Joakim Nygard will dress after sitting as a healthy scratch for two games.
Koskinen allowed four goals on 50 shots in the Oilers loss in Colorado on Wednesday. With Mike Smith starting last night, Koskinen will get the nod in the second half of the Oilers' home-and-home with the Canucks. The 31-year-old has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .920 SV% on the road this season.
Stalock allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Wild's win over the Senators on Friday. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Stalock, who will likely make his 13th start of the season on Sunday. In his first start against the Stars, Stalock allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 6-3 loss in late-October.
Bishop allowed two goals on 39 shots in the Stars' loss to the Blues on Friday night. Bishop has won three of his lat four starts while stopping an impressive 118 of the 126 shots (.937 SV%) that he faced. Tonight he will face the Wild for the second time this season--he left the first game after allowing two goals on 10 shots in what ended up being a 6-3 win for Dallas.
Dowling returned from injury on Sunday but will come back out of the lineup in Minnesota. Dowling will be replaced by Mattias Janmark.
Janmark was a healthy scratch vs. the Blues on Friday but will replace Justin Dowling on Sunday. Janmark has nine points (3G / 6A) in 22 games this season.
Kulak sat as a healthy scratch on Saturday but will draw in for the injured Victor Mete on Sunday. Kulak will likely skate with Victor Olofsson on the third-pairing.
Stalock allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Wild's win over the Senators on Friday. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Stalock, who will likely make his 13th start of the season on Sunday. In his first start against the Stars, Stalock allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 6-3 loss in late-October.
Bishop allowed two goals on 39 shots in the Stars' loss to the Blues on Friday night. Bishop has won three of his lat four starts while stopping an impressive 118 of the 126 shots (.937 SV%) that he faced. Tonight he will face the Wild for the second time this season--he left the first game after allowing two goals on 10 shots in what ended up being a 6-3 win for Dallas.
Edler was forced to leave Saturday's win in Edmonton with an upper-body injury and is not expected to play in the second-half of their home-and-home on Sunday. With Edler out, look for Tyler Myers and Quinn Hughes to play a lot more on Sunday and for Troy Stecher to see some power-play time.
Dumoulin had multiple tendons in his ankle lacerated in Saturday's loss to St. Louis and is expected to miss at least two months after undergoing surgery on Sunday morning. Injuries have been a huge issue for the Penguins this season but they've managed to stay afloat and will likely take the Dumoulin injury in-stride as well. He logged big minutes on their blueline, so someone like Marcus Pettersson is likely going to be tasked with taking on a larger role moving forward.
Moore has not played yet this season but was recently medically cleared for contact, so he heads to the AHL to get back up to game-speed before making his season debut with Boston. Moore had 13 points (4G / 9A) in 61 games a season ago.
Studnicka has a solid showing during his first NHL call-up, picking up one assist in two games while playing 12:08 ATOI and carrying a 51.4 CorsiFor%. He heads back to the AHL, where he has 18 points (9G / 9A) in 21 games.
Backes has missed the last 13 games with an upper-body injury but will play Sunday vs. the Canadiens. Backes, who will skate with Sean Kuraly and Anders Bjork, has just one assist in eight games this season.
