Elliott stopped all 28 shots that he faced in the Blues 1-0 shootout win over the Flyers on Thursday. He comes into play on Saturday having won three in a row while posting a 1.62 GAA and .926 SV%. This will be his first start against Minnesota, but his 21st at home—Elliott has gone 12-5-1 with a 2.20 GAA and .918 SV% on home ice.
Brennan, 25, had an enormous season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) last season (25G / 47 A = 72P) but never players for the big club. This season he has tallied nine goals and 28 assists (37 points) in 54 games between Rockford and the Marlies. He was reacquired at the trade deadline and is finally expected to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight.
Johnson has been out for just over seven weeks and he won’t play tomorrow, but next Thursday the Avalanche start a five-game road-trip and they are expected to get Johnson back at some point during that roady. Johnson had 23 points (12G / 11A) in 47 games before getting injured.
Kadri will serve the final game of his three-game suspension that was handed down by his coaches. He will play Saturday in Vancouver.
Talbot stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Rangers win in Washington on Wednesday. He has won three in a row while posting a 0.66 GAA, .977 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he takes on the Panthers at Madison Square Garden—Talbot has not lost in regulation at home, going 7-0-3 with a 1.73 GAA and .936 SV% this season.
Skapski stopped 24 of 25 shots in the Rangers 3-1 win over the Sabres back on February 20th. Tonight will be his second NHL start and he will get another go at the lowly Sabres. The 20-year-old was having a great year in the AHL before being called-up, so there is no reason to think he can’t duplicate that performance.
It was believed that it would be Bernier tonight, but it will be Reimer. He allowed three goals on 27 shots after replacing Jonathan Bernier in the Maple Leafs loss to the Blues last Saturday. He has not registered a win since February 7th. It has been a terrible season for Reimer, who is 7-14-0 with a 3.18 GAA and .905 SV% on the year.
Ellis stopped 18 of 20 shots in the Panthers win over the Jets on Thursday. He has filled in admirably in Roberto Luongo’s absence, going 2-0-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .900 SV%. Tonight he gets the call for fourth straight game, against a Hurricanes tea who have lost four of their last five.
With Tyler Myers getting injured on Thursday, the Jets have recalled Ellerby, who will likely be in the lineup on Saturday. The 26-year-old blue liner has 16 points (3G / 13A) in 41 games with St. John’s (AHL) this season.
Klingberg will miss his second straight game because of an upper-body injury. Monitor his status leading up to Sunday’s game against the Blues.
Gibson surrendered six goals on 23 shots in the Ducks, 6-3 loss to the Flames on Wednesday. Despite the terrible outing, the Ducks will go back to Gibson tonight in Minnesota. Gibson has gone 7-4-0 with a 2.76 GAA and .912 SV% in 11 starts since being recalled in early February. He has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.70 GAA and .917 SV% on the road.
Smid has been out since January 19th and will join Mark Giordano as Flames defensemen who are out for the remainder of the season.
Maroon has zero points and a minus-3 rating in his last 10 games and with Matt Beleskey likely returning tonight, it looks like Maroon will take a seat.
Beleskey missed nearly one month with a shoulder injury, but it looks like he will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Wild. Beleskey will start on the Ducks top-line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. He has 21 goals and nine assists (30 points) in 56 games.
Bernier did not take part in the Maple Leafs optional morning skate which usually indicates that he will start. Bernier stopped 30 of 33 shots in the Leafs 4-3 shootout win over the Sabres on Wednesday. Bernier is 2-2-1 with a 3.59 GAA and .904 SV% in his last five outings. He made 32 saves in a 4-1 win in his only start against the Flames this season.
Price allowed an uncharacteristic five goals on 28 shots in the Canadiens 5-2 loss to the Senators on Thursday. Despite the rough night, they will not hesitate to go back to him tonight vs. the Islanders. Price has gone 1-3-1 with a 2.41 GAA and .925 SV% in his last five outings. He will look to duplicate his first start vs. the Isles—he stopped 37 shots in a 3-1 win back in December.
Luongo will travel with the Panthers on their two-game road-trip, but is not expected to be in net on Saturday. He just be getting an extra day of rest and could start Sunday in New York. Monitor his status over the weekend.
Jurco left Friday’s practice early and will not be available on Saturday. There is no word on the nature or severity of the injury. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock did not say whether Dan Cleary or Stephen Weiss will replace Jurco.
Helm ruled himself out for a sixth consecutive game on Saturday but did not say whether he expects to be in the lineup on Sunday vs. the Penguins. The Red Wings are 2-3-0 since Helm got hurt.
Howard allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Red Wings 3-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday. He will start the first game of the Wings’ Pennsylvania back-to-back. He has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.61 GAA and .918 SV% in four starts and one relief appearance in March. In Howie’s first meeting with the Flyers, he stopped 22 shots in a 5-2 win.
