McElhinney stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Blue Jackets 7-1 win over the Blues last night. Despite the back-to-back, McElhinney will start again tonight in Ottawa. He has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .921 SV% since the All Star break ended last Tuesday. McElhinney has stopped 44 of 51 (.863 SV%) shots in two appearances vs. the Sens.
Reimer allowed four goals on 17 shots in the Leafs loss to the Devils last night. With Jonathan Bernier out with an illness, you have to think that it will be Reimer again tonight instead of Antoine Bibeau making his NHL in the middle of an 11 game losing streak. Montior Reimer’s status leading up to puck-drop.
Bernier was the scheduled starter for the Leafs, but got sick this afternoon and will not start tonight. With Bernier out, that leaves the Maple Leafs with either Reimer on back-to-back night’s or Antoine Bibeau to make his NHL debut.
Quick allowed three goals on 20 shots in the Kings loss in Florida on Thursday. Things just keep getting uglier for Quick, who has just one win since January 1st. Since the All Star break he has gone 1-3-0 with a 3.02 GAA and .889 SV%. He will be in tough this afternoon in Tampa Bay vs. the NHL’s highest scoring squad.
Niemi stopped 33 of 34 shots that he faced in the Sharks win over the Canucks on Thursday. He has won four of his last five while posting a 1.97 GAA and .938 SV%. He draws a beautiful matchup with the Hurricanes in town—Niemi is 11-5-4 with a 2.55 GAA and .905 SV% at home.
Murphy will not play tonight because of a lower-body injury that he suffered on Thursday. He will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury, but for now he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Despite all the trade rumours surrounding Kane, this shoulder surgery will likely slow the rumours down. However a team that is out of the playoff race that may be interested in him, might be wise to make a move for him now. His value will be slightly lower and hey, it will help them lose games and get Connor McDavid.
Crawford stopped 20 of 21 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Jets on Friday. He sits at 20-12-2 and ninth in the NHL with a 2.26 GAA and 14th with a .921 SV%. So far this season Crawford has gone 12-6-1 with a 2.03 GAA and .929 SV% on the road.
Ward made 28 saves on 29 shots in the Hurricanes win over the Coyotes on Thursday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Ward, who will make his 34th start of the season tonight. He has not faced the Sharks this season, but he has struggled mightily on the road this season—4-12-1 / 2.83 GAA / .905 SV%.
Franson was reportedly limping after last night’s loss to the Devils. The Maple Leafs recalled Petter Granberg this morning and he will play if Franson is unable to play.
Bernier is not taking part in the Maple Leafs optional morning skate, which suggests he will start tonight after James Reimer went last night. Bernier allowed four goals on 28 shots in a loss to Nashville in his last start. He enters play with a 1-8-1 record, 3.06 GAA and .892 SV% in the 2015 calendar year. It has been a disaster in Toronto.
Phaneuf has already been ruled out of tonight’s game for the sixth consecutive time, so placing him on IR creates an open roster spot until he can return.
This morning the Maple Leafs announced that Jonathan Bernier would start and James Reimer appeared to be fine in the morning skate, so something is up. Bibeau is likely here to serve as Bernier’s backup, but nothing is confirmed at this point. Bibeau is 8-7-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .917 SV% with the Marlies.
Getzlaf has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury that he suffered on Thursday in warmups. The Ducks likely won’t have a morning skate with the 5 p.m ET start, so monitor his status prior to warmups.
Murphy left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury and it will keep him out of tonight’s game against the Sharks. With Murphy sidelined, Brett Bellemore will be back in the lineup.
Stepan was listed as a game-time decision but there was less than a 50-50 chance that he would play. With Stepan out, that means that Lee Stempniak will play, he was originally expected to come out for J.T Miller.
Miller allowed five goals on 38 shots in a loss to the Sharks on Thursday. Despite Eddie Lack shutting out the Penguins in their last meeting, it will be Miller tonight. He has lost four of five with a 3.28 GAA and .874 SV% and the tough matchup will make it difficult for him to get back on track.
Rinne struggled in his return allowing four goals on 25 shots in the Predators loss to the Ducks on Thursday. Some rust was to be expected, but he should be better today vs. the Rangers. Rinne has gone 17-3-1 with a 1.94 GAA and .927 SV% at Bridgestone Arena this season.
Lindback returned to the Stars after a two-game conditioning stint yesterday. He went 1-1-0 with a 1.89 GAA and .946 SV% with Texas and will make his first NHL start since January 15th. He has struggled, going 2-7-0 with a 3.79 GAA and .875 SV%, but has a strong enough matchup coming off of a nice conditioning stint to consider spot-starting him.
Tanev missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury, but could be in the lineup tonight vs. the Penguins. If he re-enters the lineup, expect Yannick Weber to sit.
