Lehtonen stopped all 12 shots that he faced after he replaced Antti Niemi in the Stars’ win over the Rangers on Tuesday. Lehtonen wasn’t awarded the win on Tuesday and is still 0-2-1 with a 3.73 GAA and .882 SV% in four starts and two relief appearances in January. Tonight he will face an Islanders team that is eighth in the NHL in scoring (2.83 GF/PG).
Lundqvist was pulled after he allowed seven goals on 27 shots in the Rangers’ loss to the Stars on Tuesday. Lundqvist has struggled mightily in January, going 2-4-0 with a 4.91 GAA and .841 SV% in five starts and one relief appearance. One of those losses came against the Maple Leafs, who he’ll face again tonight—that evening he allowed four goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 loss.
Ferland missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Predators. Ferland will replace Sam Bennett, who will be a healthy scratch. Ferland has five goals and six assists (11 points) in 44 games this season.
Hedman will miss his third straight game with an illness, which means that Luke Witkowski is expected to remain in the lineup in San Jose. Monitor his status prior to Saturday’s game in Arizona.
Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Lightning’s loss to Columbus last Friday. Ben Bishop started on Monday and Tuesday, so the Lightning will go to Vasilevskiy tonight so Bishop doesn’t play three times in four days. Vasilevskiy has gone 0-5-0 with a 4.56 GAA and .867 SV% in January, but last weeks’ performance was a big improvement on how he had been playing.
Howard has been sidelined since December 20th and was originally expected to miss 4-6 weeks. His move to LTIR provides the Red Wings with some cap relief, but he’s already missed the required 10 games and 24 days, so he is eligible to be activated whenever he is healthy.
Ott has not played in three games, but it was believed that he was a healthy scratch. Ott has reportedly been dealing with the injury since the Centennial Classic and has been moved to IR, presumably to make room for Darren Helm, who is expected to play on Friday.
Bobrovsky made 24 saves on 25 shots in the Blue Jackets’ win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. It was a nice return to the crease for Bobrovsky, who has won 16 of his last 17 starts entering play on Thursday. Bobrovsky will face a Senators team that has won three of their last four—Bob is 16-3-0 with a 1.79 GAA and .940 SV% on home ice.
Saros turned away 35 of 36 shots in the Predators’ win over the Bruins last Thursday. Saros has been excellent in his eight starts, going 4-3-1 with a 1.25 GAA, .957 SV% and one shutout. If he continues to play well, he’ll see more playing time and that starts tonight in Calgary—Saros is 2-2-0 with a 1.01 GAA and .963 SV% on the road.
Khaira left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated over the weekend. Khaira will not play on Friday, but could always draw in on Saturday if he is good-to-go. Khaira has one goal on four shots in three games since being called up.
Pedan, 23, never appeared in a game during his call-up and will swap places with Jordan Subban as he heads back to Utica. Pedan has two goals and one assist (three points) in 22 games with Utica.
Subban, 21, was a fourth round pick in 2013 (115th overall) and this is his first NHL call-up. The brother of PK and Malcolm has picked up nine goals and 13 assists (22 points) in 34 games with Utica this season and could make his NHL debut this weekend.
Bennett has not recorded a single point in 10 games and has just two goals in his last 16 games. The second-year forward has struggled to improve on last year’s pace and will come out of the lineup as a healthy scratch tonight. Michael Ferland (lower-body) will take his spot up-front.
Hanzal will miss his second straight game while he deals with a personal matter. The Coyotes’ centre won’t play tonight, but is expected to return on Saturday, so monitor his status leading up to that meeting with the Ducks.
Smith has missed the last seven games with a knee injury, but returned to the ice on Thursday. Despite his return, Smith is likely a few weeks away from returning to the lineup. Look for the Red Wing defenseman to return after the All-Star break.
Bailey has failed to record a point in four games with Ottawa this season. During his time in Binghamton, the 25-year-old has scored 10 goals with five assists (15 points) in 33 games.
Gibson allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Ducks’ win over the Lightning on Tuesday. The 23-year-old netminder has gone 6-1-1 with a 1.36 GAA ad .957 SV% in eight starts in January and tonight he faces the Avalanche for the second time this season. He stopped 33 of 34 shots in 4-1 win in Colorado just last Thursday.
Lundqvist was pulled after he allowed seven goals on 27 shots in the Rangers’ loss to the Stars on Tuesday. Lundqvist has struggled mightily in January, going 2-4-0 with a 4.91 GAA and .841 SV% in five starts and one relief appearance. One of those losses came against the Maple Leafs, who he’ll face again tonight—that evening he allowed four goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 loss.
Domingue stopped all four shots that he faced after replacing Mike Smith in the Coyotes’ loss in Winnipeg last night. Domingue has made two starts this month and has stopped 47 of 50 shots (.940 SV%). Despite a nice couple of games, Domingue has struggled on the road this season, going 2-7-1 with a 4.17 GAA and .873 SV%.
