Valiev was hurt in his second game with the Canadiens and will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. With Valiev out, Brett Lernout is expected to remain in the Canadiens’ lineup.
Johansson has been out since January 23rd and will not travel on the Devils’ upcoming five-game road-trip. The Devils added some wing depth at the deadline to help with Johansson’s absence, but his eventual return will make them an even deeper team.
Georgiev allowed one goal on 14 shots after replacing Henrik Lundqvist in the Rangers loss in Tampa Bay last Thursday. Georgiev has posted a 2.65 GAA and .930 SV% in four games since being recalled from Hartford (AHL) and tonight he will make his fourth start of the year. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has lost eight of their last 11 (3-6-2).
Lindgren allowed five goals on 32 shots in the Canadiens loss in Florida last Thursday. Lindgren struggled last week, allowing a combined 11 goals on 65 shots (.831 SV%). Tonight he will face a Blue Jackets team that is riding a four-game winning streak—averaging 4.00 goals for per game in that span.
Zacha missed the last two games with an upper-body injury and will miss at least a few more games. Zacha won’t travel during the start of the road-trip, but could join the team at some point during the trip. Brian Gibbons will likely remain at centre while Zacha is sidelined.
Zajac missed Saturday’s game in Nashville after suffering a lower-body vs. the Jets last Thursday. Travelling out west means there’s a chance that Zajac will play this week (Wed. in Vegas, Sat. in L.A. or Sun. in Anaheim). Monitor the centre’s status as the week progresses.
Luongo allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Panthers win over the Rangers on Saturday. Luongo has been unreal as of late, going 8-1-1 with a 2.36 GAA, .933 SV% and one shutout in his last 10 games. Luongo will look to stay red-hot against a bad Senators team at the BB&T Center—Bobby Lu is 10-2-1 with a 2.50 GAA and .934 SV% on home-ice this year.
Hutchinson allowed three goals on 36 shots in the Jets win in Dallas on February 24th. With Steve Mason out with 2-3 weeks with a knee injury, Hutchinson is back up with the Jets and is expected to start tonight in Nashville. The 28-year-old has gone 2-0-0 while stopping 56 of 60 shots (.933 SV%) in his only two NHL starts this season.
Hellebuyck allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Jets loss in Philadelphia on Saturday. Hellebuyck has gone 3-1-0 with a 2.27 GAA and .938 SV% in his last four starts and tonight he will face the Capitals for the second time this season. Hellebuyck stopped 24 of 27 shots in a 4-3 OT win in his first start vs. Washington.
Hellebuyck allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Jets loss in Philadelphia on Saturday. Hellebuyck has gone 3-1-0 with a 2.27 GAA and .938 SV% in his last four starts and tonight he will face the Capitals for the second time this season. Hellebuyck stopped 24 of 27 shots in a 4-3 OT win in his first start vs. Washington.
Mrazek allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Flyers win over the Jets on Saturday. Mrazek has either been really good or terrible in his first seven starts with the Flyers. Overall, he is 4-3-1 with a 2.82 GAA and .899 SV% with his new team, which are very similar numbers to what he had in Detroit before the trade. Tonight he faces a Vegas team that is 3-1-0 in their first four games of their current five-game road-trip.
Danault was back in the Canadiens lineup on Saturday but was hurt after taking a high-stick in the face. Danault has been ruled out for tonight’s game in Columbus and is not expected to play vs. the Stars either. Nikita Scherbak is expected to draw in and take his spot in the lineup.
Georgiev allowed one goal on 14 shots after replacing Henrik Lundqvist in the Rangers loss in Tampa Bay last Thursday. Georgiev has posted a 2.65 GAA and .930 SV% in four games since being recalled from Hartford (AHL) and tonight he will make his fourth start of the year. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has lost eight of their last 11 (3-6-2).
Budaj has been sidelined with a leg injury since December 29th, but just wrapped up a conditioning stint with Syracuse. Budaj was 0-1-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .887 SV% with the Crunch and returns to the Lightning where he was 3-3-1 with a 3.80 GAA and .878 SV% before getting hurt. Louis Domingue hasn’t been much better and the two of them will stay on the roster behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. With the trade deadline behind us, the Lightning can carry all three goalies without any issue.
Malgin missed the last seven games with an undisclosed injury, but will be back on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau tonight vs. the Senators. The 21-year-old has five goals and six assists (11 points) in his last 16 games.
Grubauer stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Capitals win in San Jose on Saturday. Grubauer is playing very well, so the Capitals will stick with Grubauer tonight vs. the Jets. Grubauer has not allowed more than two goals in nine straight games—stopping 206 of the last 216 shots (.954 SV%) that he has faced. The 26-year-old has a tough matchup but is 5-3-0 with a 1.90 GAA and .934 SV% at the Capital One Arena this season.
Mrazek allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Flyers win over the Jets on Saturday. Mrazek has either been really good or terrible in his first seven starts with the Flyers. Overall, he is 4-3-1 with a 2.82 GAA and .899 SV% with his new team, which are very similar numbers to what he had in Detroit before the trade. Tonight he faces a Vegas team that is 3-1-0 in their first four games of their current five-game road-trip.
Wagner has yet to pick up a point in five games with the Islanders and tonight he will take a seat with Ross Johnston drawing back into the lineup.
Johnston has been out of the lineup for the last three games, but he will replace Chris Wagner in the lineup tonight. Johnston has picked up three gaols and two assists (five points) in 13 games with the Islanders this season.
