Varlamov skated and took shots on Sunday in Detroit and Patrick Roy said he is “95 percent and will likely start on Tuesday” but the team will decide for sure on Monday. Calvin Pickard continues to play extremely well, so there is no need to rush Varlamov back if he is not 100 percent.
Garrison, who missed the third period of Saturday’s game, is dealing with a minor undisclosed injury and shouldn’t miss an extended period of time. The Lightning are in action tomorrow vs. Pittsburgh, so monitor his status today and tomorrow.
Volpatti, 29, has not played yet this season after starting the year on the non-roster injury list following offseason neck surgery. He was with Hershey for a three-game conditioning stint—he didn’t record a point and had six PIMS.
Burakovsky, 19, did not record a point and was a minus-1 in two games with Hershey over the weekend. He was not playing with the Capitals, so they sent him back to get a few games in. Now that he is back, he could be in the lineup tonight vs. the Senators. He recorded 12 points (3G / 9A) in his first 15 games, but has just one goal in his last 11 games.
Gardiner served as a healthy scratch on Saturday, but will replace Stephane Robidas tonight vs. Chicago. Gardiner has not recorded a point in six games and is a minus-2 rating over that stretch. He has eight points (2G / 6A) in 30 games this season.
Robidas will be replaced by Jake Gardiner in the lineup tonight. Robidas had one assist in 22:18 TOI last night, but will take a seat in the second game of the back-to-back.
Reimer stopped the only shot that he faced after replacing Jonathan Bernier in the Maple Leafs blowout loss to the Flyers on Saturday night. Heading into tonight, Reimer has won each of his last two starts in shootouts, while posting a 1.85 GAA and .949 SV%. There are better spot-start option than him tonight, with the Leafs in Chicago to take on the Hawks.
Enroth allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Sabres loss to the Avalanche last night. Despite the loss, the light work-load will allow Enroth to go again tonight vs. the Bruins. He comes into play at 5-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .911 SV% in December. He draws a rough matchup on the road vs. the B’s.
Rask allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Bruins 2-1 loss to the Jets on Friday. It was Rask’s fourth straight loss and sixth in his last seven games. Over that seven games stretch (1-4-2), Rask has posted a 2.96 GAA and .903 SV%. However, he should have no trouble getting back on track and back in the win column tonight with the Sabres in town. He is a must-start.
Lehtonen stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Stars’ 2-1 victory over the Flames on Friday. This had to be coming sooner or later—Lehtonen has finally gotten hot for the Stars, winning four of his last five with a 1.80 GAA and .930 SV%. He started the year 9-6-5 and now sits at a nice 13-7-5 as we near the Christmas break. Look for things to continue tonight in Edmonton vs. a disastrous Oilers team.
Scrivens allowed four goals on 30 shots in the Oilers loss to the Sharks on Thursday. Despite losing his last four starts, Scrivens will get a fourth consecutive start tonight vs. Dallas. His 5-12-4 record, 3.08 GAA and .893 SV% should tell you all that you need to know if you are considering starting Scrivens tonight. There are a ton of spot-start options out there, so look elsewhere.
Richards must have suffered the injury in the Blackhawks loss to the Blue Jackets last night. He will be replaced by Joakim Nordstrom in the lineup tonight vs. the Maple Leafs.
Raanta allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Wild on Tuesday. He served as Corey Crawford’s backup last night, but he will get the call tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. Raanta has won each of his last four starts with a 2.00 GAA and .941 SV%. There are a lot of spot-start options tonight, but Raanta should be one of the better ones.
Myers injury is not believed to be serious and the Sabres believe he could be back on Tuesday in Detroit. With Myers out, Mark Pysyk will play after being recalled from Rochester this morning.
Talbot allowed three goals on 34 shots in a loss to the Red Wings back on December 6th. Henrik Lundqvist has started the last five games, but it will be Talbot tonight vs. Carolina. It will be his first start since signing a one-year extension on Friday. He enters play with a 2-3-1 record, 2.34 GAA and .921 SV%.
Everberg served as a healthy scratch in Saturday’s game, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. He has no points and a minus-1 rating in three games since returning to the Avalanche lineup.
Head coach Willie Desjardins expects that Hamhuis will be ready for January barring a setback. He has healed ahead of schedule, which is good news for the Canucks blue line.
Despite being sent to the hospital after collapsing on the bench on bench last night. Hansen did not take part in Sunday’s practice, head coach Willie Desjardins expects Hansen to be good-to-go on Monday.
Howard will miss Sunday’s game with a groin injury that he suffered on Friday vs. the Islanders. He could return to practice on Monday and start on Tuesday, but the more likely scenario is that the Red Wings let him rest in Saturday.
Brown broke his fibula on December 9th and the expected timetable is 6-8 weeks from the day of the injury. He is almost three weeks into that timeframe, so expect him to miss 3-5 more weeks.
