Aston-Reese was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup despite taking part in the morning skate. Aston-Reese will miss an extended period of time, but that’s not a big hit to the Penguins lineup with Tom Kuhnhackl returning last night.
Green is surprisingly still on the Red Wings roster following the trade deadline and tonight he will miss his seventh consecutive game with a neck ailment. The injury is probably what scared some teams away from Green, which is a bit surprising considering he is already nearing a return.
Varlamov allowed a single goal on 32 shots in Colorado’s win over the Canucks on Monday. Varlamov has three wins his last seven appearances with a 2.81 GAA, .920 SV% and one shutout. With Jonathan Bernier and Andrew Hammond both hurt, Varlamov will continue to carry the torch for the Avalanche. He allowed five goals on 29 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Flames over the weekend.
Hutton allowed five goals on 25 shots after replacing Jake Allen in the Blues blowout loss in Minnesota last night. In his last three appearances, Hutton has surrendered 12 goals on 81 shots (.852 SV%) and the Blues come into Wednesday on a seven-game losing streak. Despite the rough stretch, Hutton has a solid matchup with Detroit in town—he is 9-5-0 with a 1.89 GAA and .937 SV% on home ice.
Howard allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Red Wings overtime win in New York on Sunday. Howard won both games of the Red Wings’ back-to-back over the weekend and continued his hot streak vs. the Rangers. Howard was pulled in his first start vs. the Blues, but St. Louis is struggling mightily right now and come in on the tail-end of back-to-back.
Okposo missed Tuesday’s practice to be with his wife and will be replaced by Seth Griffith tonight in Tampa Bay. Okposo will be back in the lineup on Friday.
Reimer allowed seven goals on 34 shots in the Panthers loss in Winnipeg on February 18th. Roberto Luongo started the last five games but Reimer will start the tail-end of the back-to-back tonight vs. the Sabres. Since returning to the Panthers crease, Reimer has gone 2-1-0 with a 5.01 GAA and .854 SV% in three starts. Despite some recent struggles, Reimer does have an intriguing matchup tonight.
Luongo allowed two goals on 39 shots in the Panthers overtime win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Luongo has been outstanding, winning three in a row and four of his last five with a 2.58 GAA and .926 SV%. In his first start against the Devils, Luongo stopped 23 of 25 shots in a 3-2 win in late-November.
Johnson allowed one goal on 35 shots in the Sabres win over the Bruins on Sunday. It was another strong performance from Johnson, who has gone 3-1-0 while posting a 1.88 GAA and .937 SV%. One of those wins came against the Lightning, who he’ll face again tonight—he stopped 26 of 29 shots in a 5-3 win on February 13th.
McDonagh was acquired in a blockbuster trade on Monday, but has been sidelined since February 7th and will miss at least the next three games. Monitor his status heading into next Tuesday’s game vs. the Panthers.
Miller was acquired from the Rangers in a blockbuster trade on Monday and will make his Tampa Bay debut tonight vs. Buffalo. Miller, who has 40 points (13G / 27A) in 63 games this season, will start on a line with Tyler Johnson and Chris Kunitz.
Johnson was banged up late in the Lightning shootout win over the Maple Leafs on Monday. Johnson took part in the morning skate and was on a line with J.T. Miller and Chris Kunitz and is expected to be in tonight. Johnson has two goals and one assist during a three-game point streak.
Kucherov was hurt in Monday’s game vs. the Maple Leafs and is unlikely to play tonight. Kucherov did not take part in the morning skate and head coach Jon Cooper said that Kucherov is “up in the air but leaning toward doubtful.” Expect the newly acquired J.T. Miller to replace Kucherov in the lineup.
Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on 30 shots in the Lightning’s win over the Maple Leafs on Monday. Vasilevskiy has won three in a row and four of his last five starts while posting a 2.54 GAA and .922 SV%. It’s surprising that Vasilevskiy will get the front-end of the back-to-back, but he’s a must-start vs. the visiting Sabres.
Aho has been in the lineup for the last four games and even picked up two assists, but will come out tonight in Montreal. Brandon Davidson will make his Islanders debut in Aho’s spot as he draws in against his former team.
Johnston has picked up three goals and two assists in 12 games with the Islanders. Following the acquisition of Chris Wagner, Johnston will take a seat tonight in Montreal.
Davidson is on his third team of the season and has picked up three goals and two assists in 36 games with the Oilers and Canadiens. He was acquired from Edmonton before the deadline and will replace Sebastian Aho in Montreal as he draws in vs. his former team.
Wagner, who picked up six goals and nine assists (15 points) in 64 games with the Ducks this season, was acquired for Jason Chimera on Monday. Wagner will replace Ross Johnston in the lineup tonight and will make his debut on a line with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck.
Halak allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Islanders loss in New Jersey on Saturday. Halak has lost three in a row (0-2-1) while posting a 3.31 GAA and .896 SV%. It has been a rough year for Halak, who has gone 7-10-3 with a 3.06 GAA and .907 SV% on the road this season. Tonight he gets a crack at the team that drafted him in 2003.
