Howard turned aside all 29 shots that he faced in Tuesday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets. Despite the loss, Howie was credited with his second shutout of the season. Despite losing three in a row, Howard has been great as of late. He has posted a 2-1-3 record with a 1.78 GAA and .930 SV% in December.
Severson was injured while blocking a shot on December 6th vs. Washington. He played five games on it before it swelled up on Wednesday. His fractured ankle will not require surgery, but you won’t see him back in the lineup until mid-to-late January. Expect Eric Gelinas to return as a full-timer on the blue line.
Holtby allowed one goal on 29 shots and stopped 14 of 20 shootout attempts in the Capitals marathon shootout loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. He given five chances to end the game, but couldn’t come up with a clutch save. Despite the loss, Holtby is 4-0-2 with a 1.79 GAA and .939 SV% in his last six starts.
Bobrovsky stopped all 30 shots and two out of three shootout attempts in Tuesday’s 1-0 shootout win over the Red Wings. It was Bob’s first shutout of the season and his seventh straight victory. He has posted a ridiculous 1.63 GAA and .950 SV% over the seven-game span and he will look to stay hot tonight vs. the Capitals. He made 39 saves in a 3-2 OT win in Washington last Thursday.
Luongo allowed a single goal on 24 shots and stopped an absurd 15 of 20 shootout attempts in Tuesday’s marathon win over the Capitals. Bobby Lu has won two games in a row for the first time since October 17th and 20th. Over the last two games he has posted a 1.38 GAA and .945 SV%. He should be safe to deploy vs. the Flyers—he made 36 saves in a 2-1 win in their first meeting.
Andersen was yanked after he allowed four goals on 20 shots in the Ducks loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The loss snapped a seven game winning streak for Andersen. Seven in a row sounds good, but Andersen has a 2.67 GAA and .903 SV% over the eight game span—showing the Ducks are really winning in spite of Andersen, not because of him.
Stalberg has not played since October 25th because of a lower-body injury. Since signing a four-year, $12 million contract prior to the 2013-14 season, Stalberg has just eight goals and 10 assists (18 points) in 75 games with the Predators.
Sutter had one assist in two games during his recall. His return to the AHL suggests that Ryan Carter or Matt Cooke will be back in the lineup on Saturday.
Curry served as Niklas Backstrom’s backup last night because Darcy Kuemper was out with an illness. With Curry heading back to Iowa, that suggests that Kuemper will be available for Saturday’s game.
Harrington, 21, was the 54th overall pick in 2011. The former London Knights’ defenseman has five assists in 21 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. Tonight he will replace Brian Dumoulin on the Penguins blue line; he is expected to be paired with Christian Ehrhoff.
Kunitz was on the ice for the Penguins morning skate, but is not quite ready to return to the lineup tonight vs. the Avalanche. He is definitely getting close, so monitor his status leading up to Saturday’s game vs. the Panthers.
Crosby took part in the Penguins morning skate and could return tonight after missed three games with mumps. He skated on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist; a line that is sure to bring a ton of offence. Monitor Crosby’s status during pre game warmups starting at 6:30 PM ET.
Fleury allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Penguins win over the Lightning on Monday. He was not expected to play tonight, but after testing negative for mumps, he will make his 24th start of the season. Fleury has gone 4-0-1 with a 1.78 GAA and .938 SV% in December. He takes on an Avs’ team who have lost five of six.
Lazar, 19, has recorded one goal and six assists in 27 games with the Senators this season. Lazar represented Team Canada last year as well—he recorded three goals and four assists in seven games in the tournament.
Eller was cleared for contact on Wednesday and was in the morning skate, but it remains to be seen if he will return after missing the last four games with an upper-body injury. If Eller is not available, Eric Tangradi will play.
Semin took part in the Hurricanes’ morning skate but will not play tonight vs. the Leafs. Coach Bill Peters is hopeful that Semin will return to the lineup this weekend vs. the Rangers.
Staal missed the skate because of some “soreness”, but he will play tonight vs. the Leafs. Staal has just one goal in his last seven games and 16 points (7G / 9A) in 25 games this season.
Ward allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Hurricanes loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday. Despite losing four in a row with a 2.80 GAA and .883 SV%, the Hurricanes will start Ward again tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. Toronto is red-hot right now and the Canes are clearly struggling, so look elsewhere tonight.
Originally it was Marc-Andre Fleury who was being tested for mumps and Greiss was ready to start tonight vs. Colorado. Well, Fleury is mumps free and now expected to start and Greiss is in isolation as he gets tested for the virus.
This is a crazy situation. Originally Greiss had been the scheduled starter with Fleury being tested for mumps. Fleury's tests came back negative and was cleared to play tonight. Now Greiss is being tested for mumps and is in isolation, which leaves Fleury to start tonight with Jeff Zatkoff as his backup.
