Matthews has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury but skated on the top line in Friday’s practice and his status for Saturday’s game will be determined after their morning skate.
Falk has appeared in the last six games, but has failed to record a point while averaging 18:33 TOI/GM. With the Sabres blueline banged up, Falk skated on the top paring with Marco Scandella this morning.
Lehner allowed five goals on 45 shots in the Sabres’ overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Lehner has lost three of his last four starts and has an ugly 2-4-1 record, 4.61 GAA and .858 SV% on the road so far this season. However, in his first start against the Red Wings, Lehner stopped all 32 shots that he faced in a 1-0 shutout win.
DeKeyser has been sidelined since October 10th, but it looks like he will return on Sunday. There’s no word who DeKeyser will replace, but Trevor Daley (upper-body) is a question mark for Friday so there’s no guarantee he will be available for Sunday.
Helm missed Wednesday's game with an undisclosed injury, but took part in Friday's morning skate and it looks like he might return tonight vs. the Sabres. Helm skated on the fourth line this morning and comes in with just seven points (3G / 4A) in 18 games.
Daley left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury but took part in the morning skate today, so it looks like he will play tonight vs. the Sabres. The Red Wings have called him a game-time decision so monitor his status during pre-game warmups. Daley has just one assist in 19 games so far this season.
Howard stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Red Wings’ 8-2 win over the Flames on Wednesday. Howard has now gone 4-1-1 with a 1.96 GAA and.939 SV% in his last six starts and tonight he will get a second crack at the Sabres. In his first start vs. Buffalo, Howard allowed one goal on 32 shots in a 1-0 shutout loss.
Howard stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Red Wings’ 8-2 win over the Flames on Wednesday. Howard has now gone 4-1-1 with a 1.96 GAA and.939 SV% in his last six starts and tonight he will get a second crack at the Sabres. In his first start vs. Buffalo, Howard allowed one goal on 32 shots in a 1-0 shutout loss.
Atkinson’s extension include a no-trade or no-move clause in the first two years of the deal and a limited no-trade after that. Atkinson had a breakout campaign in 2016-17 but has struggled early-on in 2017-18, collecting just four goals and two assists (six points) in 15 games. Regardless of the slow start, Atkinson is locked into a large role in the Blue Jackets offence and is now signed there through the 2024-25 season.
This is a tough break for Kamenev, who was getting a chance in the NHL with the Avalanche after being acquired in the Matt Duchene trade. Kamenev has had a nice start to the year in the AHL, but he’ll have to wait a while before returning to the NHL after breaking his arm just four minutes into his Colorado debut.
After a brief one-game absence with an undisclosed injury, Helm is expected to play against the Sabres tonight. Helm will replace Luke Witkowski, who was suspended or 10 games on Thursday.
Lashoff has been recalled because Trevor Daley (upper-body) is questionable to play on Friday and Danny DeKeyser is still recovering from an ankle injury. The 6-foot-3, 221 lbs. defenseman has just one goal and one assist in 13 AHL games this season, so he doesn’t bring any daily fantasy appeal to tonight’s two-game slate.
Daley left Wednesday’s win after playing just 10:24 TOI and did not return. With Luke Witkowski suspended for 10 games and Danny DeKeyser still not ready to go, the Red Wings have recalled Brian Lashoff to take Daley’s spot if he can’t play on Friday.
Witkowski was sent off of the ice following a fight with Brett Kulak but came back off of the bench after some words were exchanged and Matthew Tkachuk “speared” him in the back of the leg and a brawl broke out. Witkowski has been in and out of the Red Wings lineup this season anyways, so this is not a big loss for the team and he carries zero fantasy appeal.
Kampfer has been in the lineup for the last seven games, but will be replaced by Brendan Smith for tonight’s game in Columbus. Kampfer has failed to record a point in nine games this season.
Smith has been a healthy scratch for the last six games, but will return to the Rangers blueline tonight in Columbus. Smith, who has two assists in 11 games this season, will replace Steve Kampfer tonight.
Lundqvist was pulled after allowing four goals on 34 shots in the Rangers’ loss in Chicago on Wednesday. The Rangers didn’t really show up and putting Ondrej Pavelec in was more of an effort to give the team a spark than a knock on Lundqvist, who allowed at least one softy. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Lundqvist, who are 4-3-1 in their last eight games.
