Crawford allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Blackhawks’ loss in St. Louis on Monday. Crawford has gone 1-2-1 with a 2.56 GAA and .929 SV% in four games since returning from his appendectomy. Tonight he will face the Sabres, who have lost six of his last eight games (2-4-2). He has gone 7-2-3 with a 1.99 GAA and .938 SV% on home-ice this season.
Smith allowed five goals on 31 shots in the Coyotes’ loss to the Rangers on December 29th. Louis Domingue started last Saturday, so expect Smith to get back in net tonight in Vancouver. Smith was 3-9-2 with a 2.96 GAA and .916 SV% in 14 starts in December and is a risky start whenever he gets the nod.
Elliott allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Flames’ win over the Coyotes last Saturday. Elliott will start for the fourth time in five games and comes in on a four-game winning streak while posting a 2.00 GAA and .918 SV%. Tonight he will face the Avalanche for the second time in a week—he stopped 25 of 28 shots in a 6-3 win in Colorado last Tuesday.
Abbott hasn’t appeared in an NHL games since 2013-14, but it looks like he will get a chance on Thursday. The 28-year-old forward has eight goals and 13 assists (21 points) in 30 games with Rockford and he skated with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa in Wednesday’s practice.
A day after being re-claimed off of waivers from Nashville, the Devils placed Boucher on waivers again and now he’s found a job in western Canada with the Canucks. The former fourth round pick (2011) had 62 goals and 33 assists (95 points) in 68 games in his final year in the OHL and had 32 points (19G / 13A) in 34 AHL games last season, showcasing his offensive ability, but he now needs to find that game at the highest level.
Rattie has only appeared in four games with the Blues this season, failing to record a point while averaging just 7:20 TOI. The Blues were obviously hoping he’d fall to the AHL to get some playing time, but the Hurricanes had other ideas. Rattie was the No.32 pick in 2011, but has only managed to put up eight points (4G / 4A) in 30 career NHL games despite putting up excellent numbers in the WHL and the AHL after being drafted.
Roussel has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury and will be a game-time decision on Wednesday. He was a full participant in Monday’s practice, but didn’t take part in the morning skate. He was likely receiving treatment this morning and remains a game-time decision despite skipping the skate.
Sceviour will miss his second straight game with an "minor shoulder” injury. Sceviour is listed as day-to-day and could be ready for the Panthers’ back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.
Lehtonen stopped all 18 shots that he faced after replacing Antti Niemi in the Stars’ loss to the Panthers on New Year’s Eve. It was strange to see Niemi start anyways, seeing as how Lehtonen was riding a three-game winning streak. The Finnish netminder has now stopped 95 of the last 100 shots (.950 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he faces a Montreal team that played last night and has gone 2-2-2 in their last six.
Gourde, 25, failed to record a point in either game during his call-up, so he returns to Syracuse where he has 10 goals and 16 assists (26 points) in 29 games this season.
Daniel Altshuller was Cam Ward’s backup on Tuesday, but Leighton will take over that role until Eddie Lack is back from a concussion. Leighton has gone 8-5-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .923 SV% in 16 games with Charlotte and 2-1-0 with a 3.53 GAA and .875 SV% in three NHL games.
Altshuller, 22, served as Cam Ward’s backup last night, but returns to Charlotte, where he has gone 1-2-0 with a 3.44 GAA and .884 SV%. Michael Leighton has been recalled to serve as Ward’s backup.
McIlrath has been a healthy scratch for the last seven games and heads to Springfield to get some games in. The former 10th overall pick has one goal in four games with the Panthers and could spend as many as two weeks in the AHL before being recalled.
Pickard allowed three goals on 24 shots in Colorado’s loss in Vancouver on Monday. With Semyon Varlamov still out, Pickard will remain in net. The 24-year-old has lost four consecutive games while posting a 4.55 GAA and .856 SV%. One of those losses came against the Flames, who he will face tonight—he allowed six goals on 31 shots in a 6-3 loss on December 27th.
Rinne allowed three goals on 23 shots in the Predators’ loss to Chicago last Thursday. Rinne has lost three consecutive games while allowing a combined 10 goals on 88 shots (.886 SV%). Despite Juuse Saros posting a shutout the next night in St. Louis, it looks like Rinne will start tonight vs. the Canadiens. The 34-year-old is 9-4-3 with a 2.23 GAA and .917 SV% on home ice.
Puempel previously missed time with a concussion and is out indefinitely with another concussion. With the young winger sidelined, Nicklas Jensen will draw back into the lineup.
Lundqvist stopped 25 of 27 shots in the Rangers’ win in Colorado last Saturday. Lundqvist finished the month of December at 5-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .915 SV%. He has played fairly well this season and tonight he will be looking to avenge a loss in Buffalo in early December—that night he allowed four goals on 34 shots in a 4-3 defeat.
Schneider stopped all 22 shots that he faced in the Devils’ shutout win over the Bruins last night. This was a huge performance from Schneider, who had a very difficult month of December. Schneider has struggled mightily on the road this season, registering just one win in 15 games while posting a 3.25 GAA and .898 SV%.
albot allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Oilers’ shootout loss to the Canucks on Saturday. Talbot finished December with a 7-1-4 record, 2.26 GAA and .924 SV%. He has quietly gone about his business while other goalies grab the headlines, like the guy he faces tonight, Sergei Bobrovsky—who enters play on a personal 13-game winning streak.
