Rinne allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Predators 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Rinne, who gave up six against the Kings. Rinne has gone 7-0-1 with a 2.81 GAA and .906 SV% in his last eight starts. He will make his third start of the season vs. Dallas—he is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .943 SV% in the first two.
Thornton took part in the Sharks morning skate, but will miss his fourth consecutive game. The Sharks power-play has been awful without Thornton, going 1-for-17 (5.8%) in the last three games.
Niemi allowed two goals on 19 shots in the Sharks win over the Jets on Monday. He was given Tuesday night off, but it looks like he will be back in tonight in St. Louis. He faced the Blues on Saturday and was shelled for six goals on 27 shots in a 7-2 loss, so tread with caution here.
Varlamov stopped all 54 shots that he faced in the Avs’ 2-0 shutout win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday. It was a ridiculous performance from Varly,who has been exceptional since returning to the crease. He has won four of six starts with a 1.79 GAA and .942 SV%. Tonight he faces a Sens team who have lost five of seven.
Crawford gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Blackhawks 2-0 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov was outstanding and a pair of early goals was all Colorado needed in this one. Crawford has won three of seven with a 3.13 GAA and .895 SV% since returning from his foot injury.
Lehtonen allowed five goals on 28 shots in Sunday’s OT loss to Chicago. The loss snapped a four game winning streak for Lehtonen, who was given Tuesday night off, but should be back in goal tonight. Lehtonen has gone 8-3-1 on the road this year, despite posting a less than stellar 2.95 GAA and .910 SV%.
Smith surrendered six goals on 39 shots in the Coyotes 6-0 loss to the Blues on Tuesday. The Coyotes rewarded him for Saturday’s win with another start, but Smith did not deliver. Despite another awful outing, it sure looks like Arizona will go back with Smith tonight vs. Winnipeg. He is 6-16-2 with a 3.57 GAA and .882 SV% this year, so yeah…stay away.
Head coach Mike Yeo said that Kuemper re-aggregated a lower-body injury and will miss a week or so. That leaves the Wild with veteran Niklas Backstrom and John Curry as their goaltending tandem with three games in four days.
Crawford gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Blackhawks 2-0 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov was outstanding and a pair of early goals was all Colorado needed in this one. Crawford has won three of seven with a 3.13 GAA and .895 SV% since returning from his foot injury.
Ortio, 23, has gone 17-8-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .916 SV% in 27 games with Adirondack this season. He has been recalled to serve as Jonas Hiller’s backup with Karri Ramo on IR.
Granlund was demoted yesterday, but with Josh Jooris placed on IR, he has been recalled again today. He has five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 29 games with the Flames this season.
Jooris finished Wednesday’s game, but he is reportedly battling a number of nagging issues. Expect a more detailed injury update in the next 24 hours. Markus Granlund has been recalled to replace Jooris.
Ramo was forced from Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury after a collision with teammate Raphael Diaz. There is no word on the nature or severity of the injury, but a more detailed injury report should be released in the next 24 hours. Joni Ortio has been recalled to replace Ramo for the time being.
Nestrasil, 23, has been out since December 8th with an upeer-body injury. The young forward has one goal and two assists in eight games since being claimed off of waivers from the Red Wings.
Boychuk, 25, had three goals and three assists in 31 games with the Hurricanes. He heads back to the AHL where he led the Checkers with 74 points (36G / 38A) in 69 games last season.
Jordan, 24, had no points in 16 games with the Hurricanes. He heads back to Charlotte where he has registered seven points (2G / 5A) in 15 games.
Havlat missed Tuesday’s game with an illness, but he will be back in the lineup tonight in Boston. He is out of the lineup as frequently as he is in it, so he is a difficult player to trust in fantasy circles.
Stafford missed Tuesday’s game to be with his wife for the birth of their child. His absence this morning doesn’t necessarily rule him out for tonight, but it isn’t a good sign.
Enroth allowed three goals on 27 shots in the Sabres loss to the Devils on Tuesday. Enroth has gone 1-4-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .882 SV% in his last six starts and one relief appearance. He will make his second start of the year vs. Carolina—he made 22 saves in a 4-3 shootout win vs. the Canes in October.
Elliott stopped all 23 shots that he faced in the Blues blowout 6-0 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. Since returning from his knee injury, he is 2-1-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .944 SV%. The 29-year-old will face the Sharks for the second time in under a week—he made 18 saves in a 7-2 win on Saturday.
