Matthews has missed the last six games with a concussion but will be back on the Maple Leafs top-line tonight. He will skate with Zach Hyman and William Nylander in New York and comes in with 26 points (13G / 13A) in 26 games this season.
Halak surrendered five goals on 40 shots in the Islanders loss to the Ducks on Thursday. December has been tough for Halak, who has gone 2-3-2 with a 3.45 GAA and .902 SV% in six starts and one relief appearance. The Islanders will host a Jets team that has lost six of their last nine games.
Andersen allowed one goal on 33 shots in the Maple Leafs win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Curtis McElhinney started on Wednesday so they’ll obviously come back to Andersen tonight in New York. Andersen gave up five goals on 35 shots in an 8-5 win over the Rangers in their first meeting—Andersen comes in at 3-3-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .942 SV% in December.
Vasilevskiy surrendered three goals on 21 shots in the Lightning’s win over the Senators on Thursday. Vasilevskiy has gone 6-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .925 SV% in seven December starts and is a ridiculous 13-1-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .918 SV% on home ice this season. He is a must-start regardless of his matchup.
Ward allowed one goal on 29 shots in the Hurricanes win in Nashville on Thursday. Ward is riding a three-game winning streak, posting a 2.24 GAA and .926 SV% in the process. One of those wins came against the Sabres, who he will face again tongiht—he allowed four goals on 41 shots in a 5-4 OT win in Buffalo last Friday.
Taylor returned to North America after four years overseas and has gone 3-9-1 with a 3.79 GAA and .880 SV% in 13 games with Belleville this season. He has been recalled to serve as Mike Condon’s backup tonight because Craig Anderson is dealing with an illness.
Condon allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Senators loss in Buffalo on December 12th. With Craig Anderson sick, Condon is expected to start tonight in Florida. Condon has lost his last three starts while allowing a combined 12 goals on 85 shots (.859 SV%). He comes into tonight at 2-3-2 with a 3.20 GAA and .903 SV% on the road this season.
Johnson missed Monday’s game vs. the Penguins and Thursday’s game in Los Angeles after being suspended for boarding Vladislav Namestnikov last Saturday. Johnson is expected to be paired with Nikita Zadorov tonight and returns to the lineup with 12 points (4G / 8A) and leads all Colorado defensemen with 92 shots and 68 blocked shots in 32 games.
Varlamov allowed two goals on 27 shots in Colorado’s loss in Los Angeles on Thursday. Varlamov has won three of his last five starts while posting a 2.40 GAA and .925 SV%. He has been solid this season but sub-par on the road, going 4-6-1 with a 3.35 GAA and .893 SV% in 11 starts.
Glendening was hurt blocking a shot against the Flyers on Wednesday and will be out until at least late-January. With Glendening sidelined, the Red Wings recalled Tyler Bertuzzi, who will likely get a long look.
Bishop stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Stars’ shutout win over the Blackhawks on Thursday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Bishop who struggled throughout the majority of December. Tonight he will face the Predators for the third time this season—he is 0-2-0 with a 4.37 GAA and .867 SV% in the first two meetings.
Mason allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Jets loss in St. Louis last Saturday. It was a nice return to the crease for Mason, who has played much better lately after a terrible start to his Jets career. In his last six appearances Mason has gone 2-2-1 with a 1.71 GAA and .948 SV%.
Smith allowed one goal on 22 shots in the Flames win over the Blues on Wednesday. The win ended a three-game losing streak for Smith, who sits at 2-3-2 with a 2.58 GAA and .901 SV% in December. Tonight the Flames will host a Canadiens team that has lost four of their last six games (2-3-1).
Holtby allowed three goals on 36 shots in the Capitals win in Dallas on Tuesday. Holtby is on a four-game winning streak and has been steady in December, going 7-1-0 with a 2.70 GAA and .917 SV% in eight starts. He has the tough task of starting in Vegas tonight—the Golden Knights are 14-2-1 while averaging 3.76 GF/PG and 2.47 GA/PG on home ice this season.
Grubauer stopped all 17 shots that he faced in relief of Braden Holtby in the Capitals loss to the Islanders on December 11th. The Capitals have a back-to-back on Friday/Saturday so it looks like Grubauer will go tonight in Arizona. He had a terrible start to the season, but has stopped 66 of the last 68 shots (.971 SV%) that he has faced.
DiDomenico went form the Senators organization to the Lightning and back to the Senators. Overall, he has collected five goals and five assists (10 points0 in 13 AHL games. Earlier this year he had six points (3G / 3A) in 12 games with the Senators. He will likely play Saturday with both Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith hurt.
Anderson missed Friday’s practice with an illness and may not be available for tomorrow’s game. If he can’t play, Mike Condon will start and a goalie will be recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Smith came into the game as a game-time decision and suffered a shoulder injury in the contest. He will be out until early-January, so Chris DiDomenico has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Ryan sustained another finger injury in Thursday’s game in Tampa Bay and will miss tomorrow’s game. Ryan had been heating up, picking up four goals and three assists (seven points) in his last 10 games. Chris DiDomenico has been recalled from Belleville (AHL) to take his spot.
Archibald had no points in three games with the Penguins prior to being acquired via trade earlier this week. There’s no word on who Archibald will replace in the lineup tonight.
