Fleury was pulled after he allowed four goals on 16 shots in the Penguins’ loss to the Senators on December 5th. Matt Murray started the last five games, including last night’s, so Fleury will go tonight in Toronto. Fleury has gone 1-3-2 with a 4.33 GAA and .872 SV% on the road this season.
Nilsson allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Sabres’ win over the Oilers on December 6th. Nilsson has won his last three starts despite allowing a combined nine goals on 91 shots (.901 SV%). Tonight he will start in Carolina—he has gone 1-1-1 with a 3.27 GAA and .912 SV% on the road this season.
Murphy missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, but will replace Michael Stone in the lineup this afternoon. Murphy has four assists in 26 games this season.
This marks the second time in five games that Stone has been a healthy scratch. He will come out of the lineup with Connor Murphy set to return from injury.
Niemi allowed one goal on 29 shots in the Stars’ shutout loss to the Rangers on Thursday. Niemi has turned in back-to-back great outings, stopping 62 of 65 shots (.954 SV%). This afternoon he has the unenviable task of trying to stop the Flyers’ 10-game winning steak. Niemi is 6-2-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .940 SV% on home-ice.
Lundqvist stopped all 27 shots that he faced in the Rangers’ shutout win in Dallas on Thursday. It was a great way for Lundqvist to reassert himself in the Rangers’ crease after sitting four four consecutive games. Tonight he will take on a Nashville team that has struggled in December, making him a great option again.
Talbot allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Oilers’ loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Talbot has gone 3-1-2 with a 2.62 GAA and .912 SV% in six starts this month and is 7-7-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .917 SV% on home-ice this season. He will take on a Lightning team that has lost eight of their last 10 games.
Bishop allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Lightning’s win in Calgary on Wednesday. Andrei Vasilevskiy got the nod last night in a loss to the Canucks, so expect Bishop to start tonight in Edmonton. The 30-year-old netminder has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.28 GAA and .915 SV% in five appearances in the month of December.
Nash will be held out of Sunday’s game due to personal reasons, so look for Jimmy Hayes to get back into the lineup. Consider Nash as day-to-day.
Pastrnak will undergo the same procedure that David Backes had done earlier in the year. Backes missed five games or two weeks, so expect Pastrnak to have the same timetable. It is a good time to undergo the procedure as the Bruins will have e few days off for Christmas.
Saros surrendered three goals on 27 shots in the Predators loss to the Flyers on December 4th. Saros has gone 1-2-0 with a 1.70 GAA and .940 SV% in three NHL starts this season and has dominated the AHL, going 11-2-0 with a 1.76 AA and .938 SV% with Milwaukee. Saros will give Pekka Rinne the night off vs. the Rangers, who have won four of their last five.
Condon allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Senators loss to San Jose on Wednesday. Condon has struggled recently, losing his last three starts while posting a 4.14 GAA and .836 SV%. Despite the rough stretch, he should be a solid start against a Devils team that has lost four in a row and sit 4-10-4 on the road this season.
Bernier allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Ducks win in Boston on Thursday. Bernier has won his last two starts while turning aside 53 of 58 shots (.914 SV%). Bernier has struggled on the road this season—going 3-2-0 with a 3.43 GAA and .888 SV%, but he makes for a great start against the NHL’s lowest-scoring team.
Kinkaid allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Devils’ loss to St. Louis last Friday. Kinkaid will start the first game of the Devils’ back-to-back tonight in Ottawa, which leaves Cory Schneider for Sunday. Kinkaid has gone 3-1-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .932 SV% on the road this season and the Senators come in having lost three in a row.
Vanek was listed as questionable after missing Friday's practice, but he will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Ducks. Vanek will skate with Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist and comes in with 15 points (5G / 10A) in 20 games this season.
Andersen allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Maple Leafs’ shootout loss to the Coyotes on Thursday. Andersen has lost back-to-back shootouts and has now lost four of his last five starts while posting a 1.92 GAA and .933 SV%. He’ll be making his second start vs. the Penguins and was beat for four goals on a whopping 49 shots in a 4-1 loss in their first meeting.
Bailey has registered nine goals and five assists (14 points) in 25 games with Binghamton this season. He has one career NHL goal in six games, all with the Maple Leafs two seasons ago. He should be in the Senators lineup for at least two games while Mike Hoffman is suspended.
Sanford, 22, registered just one assist in 19 games with the Capitals this season, but picked up seven points (4G / 3A) in six games with Hershey after being sent down. He returns to the Capitals and could draw into the lineup tonight vs. the Canadiens.
Holtby allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Capitals’ win in Brooklyn on Tuesday. With Philipp Grubauer starting last night, Holtby will start tonight vs. the Canadiens. Holtby has won his last four starts while posting a 1.72 GAA, .939 SV% and one shutout. He’ll face Montreal on home-ice, where he has gone 9-4-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .921 SV% this season.
