Koivu has missed the last three games with a knee injury that he suffered on December 6th in Calgary. The Wild play in the afternoon on Saturday, so monitor his status when they hit the ice for warmups at 1:00 pm.
With Erik Gustafsson back from an illness, Manning will be a healthy scratch on Friday. With Connor Murphy also healthy again, Manning could be a healthy scratch more often than not moving forward.
Gustafsson has missed the last two games with an illness but will replace Brandon Manning in the lineup on Friday. Gustafsson has scored five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 30 games this season.
Crawford allowed three goals on 43 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Penguins on Wednesday. The win snapped an eight-game personal losing streak for Crawford, who will make his 22nd appearance tonight vs. the Jets. Crawford is 5-5-1 with a 2.45 GAA, .926 SV% and one shutout in 11 games on home-ice.
Stolarz surrendered six goals on 41 shots in the Flyers overtime loss in Calgary on Wednesday. Stolarz has been given an extended run as the Flyers’ No.1 but has gone 2-1-2 with a 3.80 GAA and .889 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances. Stolarz has made some big saves but he hasn’t been great, so look elsewhere on Friday night.
With Paul Stastny coming back into the Golden Knights lineup on Friday, Pacioretty may sit as the healthy scratch. “We’ve got to scratch somebody tonight and we’ll decide tonight. ... We’ll know before warmups,” head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters.
Fleury allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Golden Knights win against the Islanders on Wednesday. Since November 18th, Fleury is tied for the NHL-lead in wins (10) and shutouts (2) while ranking seventh in GAA (2.33) and 11th in SV% (.919). Fleury is showing that his first year in Vegas was not a fluke and is a must-start against Cory Schneider, who hasn’t won a game yet this season.
Stastny will be back in the Golden Knights lineup for the first time since October 8th. Stastny will centre Alex Tuch and Oscar Lindberg in his return. Stastny had no points in his first three games with Vegas but had 16 goals and 37 assists (53 points) in 82 games last season.
Wilson has missed the last three games with a concussion but is expected to play in Carolina on Friday. Wilson, who will skate on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov, has eight goals and six assists (14 points) in 11 games this season.
Ryan has missed the last three games with a concussion but will play Friday in Detroit. Ryan has seen his game take a downward turn this season, picking up just 18 points (6G / 12A) in 29 games.
McKenna was impressive, stopping 42 of 44 shots in the Senators loss to the Bruins last Sunday. McKenna struggled mightily when he was first called-up but has stopped 76 of the last 81 shots (.938 SV%) in his last two outings. Tonight he takes on a Canadiens squad that has won five of their last seven while scoring 3.71 goals for per game.
Joseph was a late scratch from Thursday’s game vs. the Maple Leafs and missed Friday’s practice. Joseph is listed as day-to-day, which makes him questionable for Sunday’s game in Winnipeg.
Edmundson missed Tuesday’s game vs. the Panthers and will be a game-time decision Friday vs. the Avalanche. Edmundson would replace Jordan Schmaltz if he plays. He has one goal and six assists (seven points) in 26 games this season.
Anderson allowed three goals on 36 shots in the Senators loss in Nashville on Tuesday. Anderson is second in the NHL in games started (28) this season and has gone 3-3-0 with a 2.51 GAA, .932 SV% and one shutout in his last six games. Tonight he faces a Red Wings team without Mike Green—they are 1-6-2 in nine games without Green this season.
Halak allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Bruins win over the Maple Leafs last Saturday. With Tuukka Rask playing better, Halak has started fewer games as of late but is still playing well. The veteran netminder comes into Friday’s game ranked third in the NHL in SV% (.930) and fifth in GAA (2.30).
Lomberg has not drawn back into the Flames lineup after being suspended and returns to the AHL with Jon Gillies coming up from Stockton. Lomberg has six points (2G / 4A) and 12 PIMS in 18 AHL games this season.
Simon will miss his fifth straight game with a lower-body on Friday and is expected to miss a couple more weeks. Tanner Pearson will skate on Sidney Crosby’s wing on Friday and could find himself there for a few more weeks.
Hornqvist will miss his fourth straight game on Friday but remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Zach Aston-Reese will be the latest forward to skate in the Penguins’ top-6 while Patric Hornqvist and Dominik Simon are out with injuries.
Smith was forced to leave Wednesday’s game vs. the Flyers with an undisclosed injury and is officially listed as day-to-day. Jon Gillies comes up from Stockton (AHL) to serve as David Rittich’s backup while Smith is out.
Gillies has gone 5-8-0 with a 3.96 GAA and .861 SV% in 18 games with Stockton this season. Gillies comes up to serve as David Rittich’s backup while Mike Smith is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
