Pickard allowed six goals on 31 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Flames on Tuesday. With Semyon Varlamov out, Pickard will start again tonight in Dallas. Pickard is 2-5-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .886 SV% in December, but has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .923 SV% on the road this season. The Stars come in having won three of four.
Crawford allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Blackhawks’ loss to the Jets on Tuesday. In his first two starts since his appendectomy, Crawford has allowed a combine five goals on 68 shots (.927 SV%). Crawford has played well but has not recorded a win since returning. In his first start vs. the Predators, he allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 3-2 loss.
Subban has missed the last five games and will miss at least the next two games with an upper-body injury. Subban missed Wednesday’s practice and remains day-to-day. Subban could be back in the lineup vs. the Canadiens on January 3rd, a game you can imagine he doesn’t want to miss.
Megna will go from healthy scratch to tope line right winger. Megna has three goals in 18 games this season and will play with Daniel and Henrik Sedin tonight.
Edler has been sidelined since November 26th with a broken index finger, but it looks like he could return tonight vs. the Kings. His original timetable was 4-6 weeks and tonight would be exactly the one month mark. Edler is expected to skate with Troy Stecher and comes in with one goal and two assists (three points) in 21 games.
Lashoff has been a healthy scratch for the last six games, so he will return to Grand Rapids to get in some game action. Lashoff has one goal and two assists in 18 games with the Griffins.
Bertuzzi has been sidelined since November 26th, but recently resumed skating and will return to Grand Rapids to get some playing time. Bertuzzi has six points (3G / 3A) in 10 games with the Griffins this season.
The Panthers are still waiting for Huberdeau to make his season debut and he appears to be on track to play in mid-February. Expect Seth Griffith to continue to skate on the top-line, but Huberdeau should take that spot as soon as he is ready to go.
Ward allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Hurricanes’ win over the Bruins last Friday. Ward won his final three games before the Christmas break while posting a 1.28 GAA and .950 SV%. Ward has played very well in December, posting a .922 SV% across 10 starts, but he will be in tough tonight in Pittsburgh.
Fiddler left Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury and will miss at least three weeks. With Fiddler out, expect Sergey Kalinin to be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Hall is dealing with a lower-body injury, that is not related to his previous knee injury. Hall is listed as day-to-day, so monitor his status prior to Saturday’s game vs. the Capitals.
Tanev, 24, has two goals and two assists (four points) in 35 games with the Jets this season. With the Jets getting healthier, Tanev has been a healthy scratch of the last two games and will head down to Manitoba.
Copp, 22, has seven points (4G / 3A) in 25 games with the Jets since being recalled from Manitoba on November 2nd. The former fourth round pick (104th overall in 2013) returns to the Moose where he has five assists in eight games.
The Maple Leafs have sent Enroth back to the Marlies in order to activate Tyler Bozak (lower-body) from IR. Enroth allowed three goals on 27 shots in a win in his only start with the Marlies.
Bozak has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, but practiced on Tuesday and was activated from IR this afternoon and will be in the lineup in Florida. Bozak has had a solid year, registering six goals and 13 assists (19 points) in 30 games this season.
Smith scored one goal in 8:20 TOI before leaving the game with an upper-body injury. With Smith banged up, the Senators have recalled Casey Bailey from Binghamton (AHL), in case the 28-year-old can’t play on Thursday.
Bailey, 25, has no points in the two NHL games that he has appeared in this season. During his time with Binghamton, Bailey has 14 points (9G / 5A) in 28 games. Expect him to replace Zack Smith on Thursday if Smith is unable to go.
Andersen allowed one goal on 32 shots in the Maple Leafs’ win in Arizona before the break. Andersen will start the first game of a back-to-back tonight in Florida, but is expected to get tomorrow night off. Andersen has won three of his last four starts while posting a 1.26 GAA and .962 SV%. Andersen is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .948 SV% vs. the Panthers this season.
Palat has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury, but is expected to face the Canadiens tonight. Palat has had a tough season, posting just 13 points (4G / 9A) in 30 games. He will skate with some familiar linemates—Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who will also return to the lineup tonight.
Kucherov has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but returned to practice on Tuesday, was on the ice for Wednesday’s morning skate and is expected to play vs. the Canadiens. Kucherov is arguably the Lightning’s most important player, so his return is key. Kucherov returns with 30 points (13G / 17A) in 28 games this season.
