Rodrigues was not on the ice for Friday's practice and is officially day-to-day with a lower-body ailment. With Rodrigues, Jack Eichel and Johan Larsson all dealing with injuries, the Sabres may need to recall a forward for Saturday.
Eichel was a late scratch on Thursday but was on the ice for Friday's practice. Eichel remains day-to-day and is questionable to play Saturday but the good news is that it clearly isn't a serious injury for the red-hot forward.
It looked Moore was going to play Tuesday but suffered a setback and will miss his 15th straight game on Friday. With Moore out, Dmytro Timashov will remain in Toronto's lineup for at least one more game.
Di Pauli was originally a fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2012 but signed with the Penguins in 2016 and has appeared in 127 AHL games since. The 25-year-old forward has four goals and five assists (nine points) inn 19 AHL games this season.
Czuczman is in his third year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has one goal and seven assists (eight points) in 21 games. He has not played in the NHL since 2013-14 when he had two assists in 13 games. He'll be the Penguins' seventh defenseman with Justin Schultz out week-to-week.
Smith allowed six goals on 26 shots in the Oilers 6-5 loss to Minnesota on December 12th. It has been a struggle for Smith recently, as he's gone 0-2-1 with a 4.63 GAA and .838 SV% in his last four appearances (three starts). Tonight he faces a red-hot Penguins team that has won six of their last seven (6-1-0) while scoring 3.00 goals per game.
Rosen was a healthy scratch for the last two games, so he goes back to the AHL with Anton Lindholm staying with the team. The 25-year-old has eight points (1G / 7A) in 13 AHL games this season.
Atkinson suffered a lower-body injury on Thursday and will be out through the Christmas break. That means Atkinson will not play Saturday or Monday, which makes him questionable in Washington coming out of the break.
Dano played in three games during his call-up but played just 5:52 TOI on Thursday. Even with Cam Atkinson getting hurt in the game, they've sent Dano back to the AHL, so expect them to give another Cleveland forward a look. Dano has three goals and nine assists (12 points) in 25 AHL games.
Kase played pretty well during his first career call-up, scoring one goal on five shots in five games while playing 10:44 ATOI. He returns to the Phantoms, who has three goals and three assists (six points) in 21 games this season.
Gibbons played in two games during his most recent call-up but returns to the AHL ahead of the Christmas break. His demotion also suggests that Erik Haula could be back Saturday vs. the Panthers.
Hainsey finished Thursday's game with 25:03 TOI and one assist but suffered and undisclosed injury and will not be available vs. the Flyers. Ottawa will be without Hainsey, Dylan DeMelo and Nikita Zaitsev on the blueline, which means Thomas Chabot will continue to play absolutely massive minutes.
Anderson has missed the last six games with a knee injury that he suffered in Philadelphia two weeks ago. Anderson returns right as Anders Nilsson goes on IR with a concussion, so Anderson will likely share the crease with Marcus Hogberg moving forward. The veteran has struggled to a 3.01 GAA and .901 SV% in 14 starts in 2019-20.
Nilsson was scheduled to start on Thursday but was scratched a few hours prior due to an "illness." Turns out he was dealing with a concussion and will miss at least one week. Luckily for the Senators, they don't have to make a roster move because Craig Anderson is set to return from a knee injury.
Blackwood allowed one goal on 27 shots in the Devils win over the Canucks on Wednesday. Blackwood has won two straight and has played particularly well in his last five games, posting a 1.10 GAA and .965 SV%. As good as he's been lately, he'll be in tough against a Capitals team that has won eight of their last 10 (8-2-0) while scoring 3.40 goals per game.
Reimer stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Hurricanes shutout win in Calgary last Saturday. Petr Mrazek started in Winnipeg on Tuesday but look for Reimer to start for the sixth time in the last 12 games. Reimer has been terrific in his previous five starts, going 4-1-0 while posting a 1.41 GAA, .956 SV% and two shutouts. He gets set to face a Colorado team that played last night but have won nine of their last 11 (9-1-1) while averaging 3.82 goals per game.
Hellebuyck surrendered five goals on 23 shots before being received by Laurent Brossoit in the Jets loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Hellebuyck has stumbled lately, going 2-2-1 with a 3.85 GAA and .889 SV% in his last six appearances (five starts). He stopped 27 of 29 shots in a win his first start vs. the Blackhawks and they come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back, making Hellebuyck a solid option on a busy Thursday.
