Goalie Start
No morning skate for the Sharks, so there will be no announcement on their starting goalie until 6 PM ET when the team arrives to the rink.
NHL Hockey Player News
Goalie Start
Rinne is expected to start in goal for the Predators.
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.
Goalie Start
Smith will make his second straight start.
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.
Goalie Start
Ward will start in goal for the Hurricanes.
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.
Goalie Start
Scratch that, Fasth will start vs. the Red Wings, not Scrivens.
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.
Gudas is expected to miss four months after undergoing knee surgery.
Gudas will likely miss the rest of the season after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his knee on Tuesday. This is a huge opportunity for Nikita Nesterov, who will stay on the roster with Gudas out.
Letestu (groin) will be back in the Blue Jackets lineup on Tuesday.
Letestu has been out since October 28th with a groin injury, but will be back in tonight vs. the Stars. The 29-year-old forward will centre the fourth line with Jeremy Morin and Jared Boll.
Atkinson (upper-body) will return to the Blue Jackets lineup on Tuesday.
Atkinson has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury that he suffered on December 27th. Atkinson will be back on a line with Brandon Dubinsky and Matt Calvert; he has eight goals and six assists (14 points) in 33 games.
Goalie Start
Bobrovsky will start vs. the Stars.
Bobrovsky was pulled after allowing six goals on 31 shots in the Blue Jackets loss to the Coyotes on Saturday. He had been sensational for the entire month previous, so he was due for a bad game. He comes in having lost three of five with a 3.89 GAA and .892 SV%.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have sent Adam Cracknell back to Springfield (AHL).
Cracknell, 29, had one assist in 17 games with the Blue Jackets after coming over from St. Louis. He heads back to the AHL where he had 25 points (12G / 13A) in 28 games with Chicago last season.
Call up / Send down
Allen has cleared waivers and been assigned to Hamilton (AHL).
Allen, 34, had one assist in five games with Montreal after being acquired from Anaheim.
Goalie Start
Smith not taking part in optional morning skate; probable to start.
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.
Line Change
Bennett moved to the Penguins second line on Tuesday.
Bennett, who has three assists in three games since returning to the Penguins lineup, was moved up to the second line on Tuesday. He skated with Evgeni Malkin and Nick Spaling today and should start the game there on Wednesday.
Goalie Start
Luongo will start vs. his former team on Thursday.
Luongo gave up three goals on 21 shots before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury after the second period in the Panthers loss to the Capitals on Sunday. Despite being hurt, the three days off will allow Bobby Lu to get the nod in Vancouver vs. his former squad. He is 7-4-4 with a 2.35 GAA and. 926 SV% on the road this year, but this game will be totally different from those other 16 starts.
Bernier (lower-body) will be back in the Devils lineup on Tuesday.
Bernier missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but will be back in tonight vs. the Sabres. He has 10 points (3G / 7A) in 28 games this season.
Martin (undisclosed) practiced with the Penguins on Tuesday.
Martin, who missed practice on Monday, is on the ice this morning, which suggests that he should be in the lineup as expected on Wednesday.
Neal (lower-body) did not participate in the Predators morning skate.
Neal, who is listed as day-to-day, is not on the ice for the morning skate, which suggests that he will miss a third straight game with a lower-body injury.
Goalie Start
Kuemper will be in goal for the Wild.
Kuemper was pulled after he allowed four goals on 21 shots in the Wild’s blowout 7-1 loss to the Stars on Saturday. Over the last month, Kuemper has lost five of seven starts with a 3.15 GAA and .902 SV%. He has become an extremely risky fantasy investment. Be cautious until he proves otherwise.
Goalie Start
Lindback was the first goalie off for the Stars.
Lindback allowed one goal on 10 shots after replacing Kari Lehtonen in the Stars shootout win over the Oilers on December 21st. He comes into play tonight with a 1-5-0 record, 4.28 GAA and .864 SV%. Yep, those are real numbers, so be extremely careful with Lindback.
Giroux (leg) will be a game-time decision on Tuesday.
Giroux missed the morning skate, but is listed as a game-time decision. He was listed as GTD on Saturday as well and did not come out for warmups, that is not likely to be the case tonight. Giroux did jump on the ice late in the skate just to shoot some pucks, so monitor his status during pre-game warmups.
