Thornton skated on Tuesday morning, but only with the team’s scratched players. Coach Todd McLellan is unsure whether or not Thornton will be available on Thursday. The Sharks have off on Wednesday, so it may not be known until Thursday morning if Thornton will be ready.
Giroux had a brief chat with trainers at the bench after a few laps and is now taking line rushes in warmups, that is a good sign that he will be back in tonight. With Giroux coming back, Zac Rinaldo will go from first line winger to healthy scratch.
Hertl had to leave the game about two minutes into the third period after Logan Couture inadvertently fired a puck into his own team’s bench. The 21-year-old immediately left the ice while holding a towel to his face, and received 16-to-18 stitches. He will wear a full cage against the Wild. Hertl has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 40 games, but just one goal in his last 13.
McCormick has been held out of practice since Saturday’s game in New York, but he feels good enough to give it a go in warmups tonight. If he is unable to go, the Sabres will dress seven defensemen.
Stafford will not be in the lineup tonight in New Jersey because he has returned to Buffalo to be with his wife for the birth of his child. With Stafford out, the Sabres may dress Tyson Strachan and go with seven defensemen.
Bailey missed the Islanders morning skate and is now listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. With Bailey out, Michael Grabner will skate on the Islanders top line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo.
Stalock allowed one goal on six shots after replacing Antti Niemi on Saturday vs. St. Louis. After sitting last night, Stalock will go tonight in Minnesota. Stalock is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and tonight will be his first start in his hometown. He starts vs. the Wild on December 11th—he allowed one goal on 19 shots in a 2-1 win that night.
Falk, 26, has one goal and three assists in 21 games with Iowa this season. He is expected to replace Nate Prosser in the lineup, who is out with an illness.
Prosser is the latest Wild player to get ill. Justin Falk has been recalled and is expected to replace Prosser in the lineup.
Halak allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Islanders loss to the Oilers on Sunday. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Halak, who will start his fifth straight game in Vancouver. Halak is 9-4-0 with a 2.30 GAA and .918 SV% on the road.
Price stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Canadiens win over the Penguins on Saturday. Price has won five consecutive starts while posting a 1.20 GAA and .959 SV%. Tonight he look to get revenge vs. the Lightning; they scored four goals on 23 shots in the first two periods of a 7-1 Tampa win in October.
Lack allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Canucks 2-0 loss to the Stars on December 17th. He served as Ryan Miller’s backup for the last six games, but will start tonight vs. the Islanders. Lack is searching for his first win of the year at Rogers Arena; he is 0-3-1 with a 2.75 GAA and .901 SV% at home.
Grabner has been out since December 13th, but it looks like he will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Canucks. It has been an injury plagued season for the Grabner, but he has scored twice in just five games.
Visnovsky must have been injured in the Islanders game vs. the Oilers on Sunday. There is no word on how long he will be out of the lineup, but Matt Donovan or Brian Strait will fill his spot on the blue line.
Lazar, who was on a loan with Team Canada, dominated the World Juniors, posting five goals and four assists (9 points) in seven games en route to a Gold Medal. He returns to the Sens where he has one goal and six assists in 27 games.
Rinne allowed six goals on 30 shots in the Predators crazy 7-6 overtime win over the Kings on Saturday. It was not his best performance, but Rinne was spotted a 5-1 lead and was able to hold on. Tonight he draws a nice matchup at home, where he is 14-2-1 with a 1.84 GAA and .931 SV% on the year.
Smith allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Coyotes win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. It was Smith’s first win since December 1st, snapping a five-game losing streak for the 32-year-old. Tonight he has a terrible matchup against a Blues team who lit him up for six goals in October.
Ward stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Hurricanes win over the Flyers on Friday. He was given Sunday off, but will be back in goal tonight in Nashville. The Predators have been great all year, but in Ward’s first start vs. Nashville, he stopped 33 shots in a 2-1 win.
Fasth was pulled after surrendering three goals on six shots in a loss to the Flames on December 27th. Ben Scirvens started the last four games, but it will be Fasth tonight vs. the Red Wings. Fasth is 2-9-2 with a 3.51 GAA and .881 SV% this season, but has gone 2-0-0 at home versus 0-9-2 on the road.
