Lehtonen allowed two goals on 20 shots in the Stars’ loss to the Flames on Tuesday. He has played well as of late, stopping 41 of the last 43 shots (.953 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he will take on a Nashville team that has dropped three of their last five games entering play on Thursday.
Grabner missed Tuesday’s game because he was back in Austria attending a funeral, but will be back in for Jimmy Vesey (upper-body) tonight. Grabner has picked up 13 goals and four assists (17 points) in 26 games this season.
Vesey was injured late in in Tuesday’s loss in Brooklyn and is listed as day-to-day. Tuesday was a rough night for the Rangers, who lost two other players in addition to Vesey. Michael Grabner will be back in the lineup for Vesey.
Del Zotto has two goals and two assists in his last six games, but will come out of the lineup tonight vs. the Oilers. Radko Gudas will get back in after missing three games with an illness.
Gudas has missed the last three games with an illness, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Oilers. Michael Del Zotto will come out as a healthy scratch. Gudas has one goal and six assists (seven points) in 19 games this season.
Khudobin allowed one goal on 30 shots in the Bruins win vs. the Hurricanes last Thursday. It was Khudobin’s first win of the season and he now has a 2.75 GAA and .902 SV% in four games. Tonight he will give Tuukka Rask a night off as he faces an Avalanche team that has lost six straight games entering tonight.
Mason allowed two goals on 44 shots in the Flyers’ win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Mason has turned his season around, winning his last five starts while posting a .947 SV%. Tonight he will face the Oilers on home ice, where he has gone 7-4-2 with a 2.52 GAA and .914 SV% in 12 starts and two relief appearances this season.
Bouma has been sidelined by an upper-body injury since November 5th, but will be back in the lineup in Arizona. Bouma will replace Kris Versteeg, who is dealing with his own upper-body ailment. The heavy-hitting winger has one assist in 13 games this season.
Versteeg will come out of the lineup on Thursday, which means that Michael Ferland will move up and play with Sean Monahan and Lance Bouma will draw into the lineup after being sidelined by and upper-body injury of his own. Consider Versteeg as day-to-day.
Johnson allowed one goal on 30 shots in the Flames’ win in Dallas on Tuesday. Johnson has been on fire, winning seven of his last eight while posting a 1.74 GAA, .947 SV% and one shutout. In his first start vs. the Coyotes, Johnson stopped 20 of 21 shots in a Flames’ 2-1 overtime victory.
Tyutin has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but it looks like he will be back in tonight in Boston. There’s no word on who he will replace, but Tyson Barrie missed the morning skate with an illness, so it could be Barrie, Cody Goloubef or Eric Gelinas.
Rinne surrendered three goals on 28 shots in the Predators’ win over the Avalanche on Tuesday. Rinne has won five of his last six starts (5-0-1) while posting a 2.47 GAA and .913 SV%. Tonight he will face Dallas for the third time this season—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .944 SV% in the first two meetings of the season.
Seabrook left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury and will miss tomorrow’s game vs. the Rangers. Expect Michal Rozsival to step in for Seabrook. Consider him day-to-day.
Darling stopped all 22 shots that he faced in the Blackhawks’ shutout win over the Arizona. In his past three starts, Darling has gone 1-2-0 with a 1.70 GAA, .940 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he will face a Rangers team on home-ice—Darling is 4-1-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .925 SV% in the previous five starts at the United Center.
Athanasiou has been out since November 10th, but will be back in vs. Columbus on Friday. Athanasiou has blazing speed and good hands, but has been limited to just 12:06 TOI/GM in 13 games this season. In limited playing time, Athanasiou has collected four goals and one assist.
Zatkoff allowed one goal on 26 shots in the Kings’ win in Arizona last Thursday. Peter Budaj started on Sunday, but they’ll come back to Zatkoff tonight vs. Carolina. His last game was the best performance of the season for Zatkoff, who lost his three previous starts and tonight he faces a Hurricanes team who lost in Anaheim last night.
Marchessault will miss his third consecutive game and is expected to miss a few more games before returning to the lineup. Monitor the Panthers’ leading goal scorer’s status heading into next week.
Niskanen left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury and did not return. Niskanen will not travel to Buffalo, but the Capitals are back on home-ice on Sunday, so monitor his status prior to that meeting with the Canucks.
Bobrovsky gave up one goal on 18 shots in the Blue Jackets’ win over the Coyotes on Monday. Bobrovsky has won three straight and four of his last five while posting a 1.58 GAA and .931 SV%. Bobrovsky is currently tied for second in the NHL in wins (14), eighth in GAA (2.03) and 10th in SV% (.930). Tonight he faces a Red Wings team that has gone 5-1-2 in their last eight.
