Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 24 shots in the Lightning’s loss in Washington last Friday. Despite a tough outing, the Lightning will go back to Vasilevskiy tonight vs. the Canadiens. Overall he is 2-3-0 with a 3.62 GAA and .878 SV% in December, but has gone 5-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .928 SV% on home-ice this season.
Dumoulin left Tuesday's game after being hit in the face by a slapshot. Dumoulin will undergo surgery to repair a broken jaw and is expected to miss at least one month. With Dumoulin not available for Wednesday's game, the Penguins are hoping that Olli Maatta (illness) will return this evening.
Luongo allowed three goals on 39 shots in the Panthers’ shootout loss to the Red Wings last Friday. Luongo has lost three of his last four starts while posting a 3.47 GA and .887 SV%. Bobby Lu has gone 3-3-3 across nine December starts and tonight he faces the Maple Leafs for the second time—he allowed three goals on 28 shots in a 3-2 loss in the first meeting.
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.
Peca, 23, was a seventh round pick (201st overall) in 2011 and is expected to make his NHL debut on Wednesday. Peca has registered 17 points (5G / 12A) in 28 games with Syracuse this season. Peca is skating with Michael Bournival and J.T. Brown at the Lightning morning skate.
Hansen missed the Canucks final game before the Christmas break and will miss at least one month with a knee injury that he suffered last Thursday. Hansen previously missed 16 games this season and the injury bug has bit the Canucks’ top-line winger yet again.
Johnston, 24, has picked up one goal and six assists (seven points) in 23 games with St. John’s this season. Andrei Markov will miss the Canadiens’ three-game road-trip before the New Year, so Johnston will travel with the team, but will likely serve as an extra defenseman.
Markov missed the final three games before the Christmas break and will miss the three games before the New Year. With Markov out, the Canadiens have recalled Ryan Johnston from St. John’s to serve as an extra defenseman during their road-trip.
Neuvirth has missed the last 20 games with a knee injury, but was back at practice on Tuesday. Neuvirth will likely need a few practice sessions before he returns in a backup role. Steve Mason has played very well since Neuvirth went down, which will likely limit Neuvirth’s fantasy value going forward.
Leier has just one goal and one assist in eight games since being called-up, but has averaged just 8:28 TOI per game. On Wednesday, it looks like he will get a bigger opportunity as he skated with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek during Tuesday’s practice.
Couturier has missed the last 16 games because of an MCL sprain, but it looks like he will be back in the lineup on Wednesday. The Flyers’ two-way centre is expected to slide back into his spot on the second line and comes into play with eight points (5G / 3A) in 20 games this season. Monitor Couturier’s status during the morning skate.
Miller allowed four goals on 25 shots in the Canucks’ loss to the Jets last Thursday. Miller has lost three of his last four starts while posting an ugly 4.24 GAA and .850 SV%. Jacob Markstrom has played much better as of late, but Miller is expected to go tonight vs. the Kings. The veteran is 5-4-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .908 SV% on home-ice.
Mason was pulled after he allowed two goals on eight shots in the Flyers’ loss in New Jersey last Thursday. Mason has dropped three of his last four starts despite posting a strong 2.01 GAA and .933 SV%. The losses can’t be pinned on Mason, who has had an excellent month, posting a 8-2-1 record, 2.27 GAA and .923 SV% in December.
Montoya allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Canadiens’ loss in Columbus last Friday. It was a better performance than his first start in Columbus, but still got stuck with the loss. He gets the nod in Florida tonight and if you take out that 10-goal game in Columbus, Montoya is 2-3-2 with a 2.41 GAA and .917 SV% on the road.
Price allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Canadiens’ loss to Minnesota last Thursday. He was given Friday night off, but will be back in goal tonight in Tampa Bay. Price has been OK in December, going 5-3-1 with a 2.34 GAA and .902 SV%. He faced the Lightning back in October and stopped 30 of 31 shots in a 3-1 win.
The Penguins have a quick one-game trip to New Jersey tonight and left Olli Maatta back in Pittsburgh because he is dealing with an illness. With Maatta out, Chad Ruhwedel will draw into the Penguins lineup vs. the Devils.
Smith left last Frida’s game vs. the Red Wings with a concussion and is expected to miss some time, starting with tomorrow’s game vs. the Maple Leafs. With Smith out, Nick Bjugstad will move up in to the top-6.
Auvutu has two goals and two assists in 23 games with the Devils this season. The 27-year-old French blueliner had one assist in five games with Albany before being called back up on Tuesday morning.
Chychrun missed last Friday’s game with an upper-body injury, but will get back in the Coyotes’ lineup tonight vs. the Stars. The rookie defenseman has one goal and five assists in 26 games sos far this season.
Brouwer left last Friday’s game with a hand injury and it will keep him out of the lineup tonight in Colorado. Brouwer is listed as day-to-day and will be replaced in the top06 by Michael Ferland.
