Hellebuyck allowed one goal on 32 shots in the Jets’ win in Florida on Wednesday. Hellebuyck has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .920 SV% in his last seven outings and tonight he will start his 29th game of the season. He will take on a Buffalo team that has lost seven of their last nine (2-4-3), but the 23-year-old is 6-7-0 with a 2.96 GAA and .899 SV% on the road this season.
Dubnyk allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Wild’s win in San Jose on Thursday. Thanks to the Wild’s offence, Dubnyk has gone 2-1-0 in his last three games despite allowing four goals in each contest. Tonight he will start the second game of a back-to-back in Anaheim—he is 9-3-3 with a 1.91 GAA and .943 SV% on the road this season.
Kuemper allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Wild’s win in New York back on December 23rd. His starts are few and far between, but he’s won more often than not. To this point in the season, Kuemper is 4-2-1 with a 3.11 GAA and .904 SV% in seven outings, but is an unreal 3-1-1 with a 2.04 GAA, .932 SV% and one shutout in his career vs. the Kings.
Elliott allowed one goal on 18 shots in the Flames’ win over the Avalanche on Wednesday. Elliott has now won five in a row while posting a 1.80 GAA and .922 SV%. One of those wins came against the Canucks two weeks ago—he stopped 13 of 14 shots in a 4-1 victory. He makes for a strong start tonight.
Miller stopped all 22 shots that he faced in the Canucks’ shutout win over the Coyotes on Wednesday. Ummm… the Canucks have won five in a row and Miller is on a personal four-game winning streak, having allowed just five goals on 111 shots (.955 SV%). Tonight he faces the Flames for the second time—he stopped all 25 shots he faced in a shootout win in the season opener.
Gibson stopped all 23 shots that he faced in the Ducks’ 2-0 shutout win over the Red Wings on Wednesday. Tonight will be Gibson’s seventh consecutive start—he has won three of the last six while posting a 1.94 GAA and .933 SV%. He has gone 9-4-1 on home ice and stopped 21 of 22 shots in a 5-1 win in his first start vs. the Coyotes.
Greiss turned aside 32 of 34 shots in the Islanders win in Winnipeg on New Year’s Eve. Greiss has won three in a row while allowing just five goals on 113 shots (.956 SV%). Greiss has also gone 3-2-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .938 SV% on the road this season and makes for a great option against a bad Avalanche team.
Beauchemin will come out of the lineup on Friday, which means that Eric Gelinas will be back in on the Avalanche blueline. Beauchemin is day-to-day and should be back in the lineup next week.
Andrighetto, 23, has appeared in eight games with the Canadiens this season, registering two assists. The 23-year-old has picked up 22 points (8G / 14A) with the IceCaps and he is expected to be in the lineup on Friday wit Brendan Gallagher sidelined.
Pickard allowed four goals on 37 shots in Colorado’s loss in Calgary on Wednesday. Semyon Varlamov will dress tonight, but Pickard will start despite losing five straight games while allowing a combined 22 goals on 162 shots (.864 SV%). It’s been a struggle for the Avalanche, so avoid Pickard even with an above average matchup.
Darling allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Blackhawks’ loss in Carolina on December 30th. Corey Crawford has started five of the last six games, but Darling will get the second game of the back-to-back tonight vs. the Hurricanes again. Darling is 6-2-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .933 SV% in nine starts on home ice.
Scherbak, 21, was the Canadiens’ first round pick (26th overall) in 2014 and has scored 10 goals with 10 assists (20 points) in 27 games with St. John’s this season. Scherbak could get an extended look with the Canadiens with Brendan Gallagher out for at least eight weeks with fractured left hand.
