Rinne stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Predators 5-1 blowout win over the Coyotes on Thursday. Tonight the Predators will wrap up a three-game road trip—so far they are 2-0 and Rinne has stopped 57 of 58 shots (.983 SV%) on the trip. It is not a great matchup, but you can’t keep this guy out of your lineup.
Hemsky has served as a healthy scratch for the last two games, but will be back in the lineup tonight with Travis Moen out with an injury. He will skate on the second line with Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel.
Pickard gave up three goals on 33 shots in the Avs’ shootout win over Winnipeg on Thursday. The 22-year-old net minder continues to impress everyone with his strong play. He now sits at 4-5-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .926 SV% this season. Despite the recent success, he draws a really tough matchup tonight with the Blues in town.
Niemi has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, but will be back between the pipes tonight vs. Nashville. He comes in riding a four-game winning streak while posting a 2.75 GAA and .910 SV% over that span. He has yet to face the Predators this season, but they come in winners of both games on their current road-trip.
Matthias has missed the last two games with a head injury, but will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Rangers. Before getting hurt, Matthias had four goals and two assists in his previous six games.
Roberto Luongo had to make 29 saves in the Panthers shootout win over the Red Wings last night, so expect to see Montoya tonight in Buffalo. He stopped 21 of 23 shots in a loss to the Blue Jackets in his last start back on December 1st. He draws a nice spot-start matchup vs. the league’s lowest scoring team.
Vlasic missed Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, but will return tonight. Mirco Mueller is expected to take a seat with Matt Tennyson staying in the lineup for a second straight game. Vlasic has three goals, five assists and a team leading plus-12 rating 30 games this season.
Crawford will miss his sixth and seventh straight game this weekend, but should be back next week. They have the Wild on Tuesday, but after that they are off until Saturday vs. the Blue Jackets. Monitor his status next week.
Greiss allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Penguins 3-0 loss to the Canucks on December 4th. With Marc-Andre Fleury going last night, Greiss will be in the cage tonight in Columbus. Greiss is 3-1-1 with a 2.37 GAA and .927 SV% on the road, but draws a fairly tough matchup vs. a Blue Jackets team who have won five straight.
Clitsome has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury that he suffered on November 28th. It does not look like he will return to the lineup tonight, but the Jets will look to get him back in next week.
Tlusty took part in warmups, including line rushes on the top-line, but he will not be available vs. the Flyers. Obviously his injury did not react as he would have liked in warmups, so the Hurricanes will have Jay Harrison draw in as they go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Maatta’s placement is retroactive to December 6th which means he is eligible to return to the lineup whenever he is healthy. He will miss his third consecutive game tonight, but could be back in the lineup by Monday vs. the Lightning.
Nichushkin had surgery on his hip in mod-November and had been in New Jersey since. He was back at team facilities today and was reportedly in good spirits. His original timetable for a return was four months, which would see him return for the final 10-15 games of the season.
Weiss suffered a shoulder injury on Friday night and will miss tonight’s game. Weiss is on the trip with the team but will be evaluated today to determine the nature and severity of the injury. This is a tough break for a player who is constantly out of the lineup, but had picked up 10 points (4G / 6A) in 10 games since returning from a groin injury. Expect Dan Cleary to be in the lineup tonight vs. Toronto.
Goligoski has one goal and four assists in his last seven games and is now just one point behind Trevor Daley (14) for the team lead in points among blue liners.
Tlusty was listed as a game-time decision, so a decision will likely be made based on how he feels in warmups. Tlusty has not recorded a point in six games, so it might be safe to go with your other option today, just in case he is held out.
Toews left Thursday’s game after being hit from behind by Dennis Seidenberg. Toews said he was fine after the hit and passed all concussion protocol that night, but was held out as a precaution. He will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Isles. Toews has 23 points (11G / 12A) in 29 games.
Darling stopped 32 of 34 shots in the Blackhawks 3-2 win over the Bruins on Thursday. Since being recalled, Darling has won all three starts with a 1.62 GAA and .945 SV%. The entire team is on fire right now, but he draws a tough matchup on the road vs. the Islanders and their fourth ranked offence.
Rask allowed three goals on 21 shots in Thursday’s loss to the Blackhawks. Rask has lost three of his last four while allowing a combined 15 goals on 119 shots (.874 SV%). It has not been a pretty stretch for Rask, but look for him to get back on track this afternoon vs. the Senators.
Dubnyk allowed four goals on 24 shots in the Coyotes loss to Boston last Saturday. He has gone 5-2-1 with a 2.74 GAA and .918 SV% on the year, but continues to rotate start with the struggling Mike Smith. Tonight it looks like Dubnyk will face a Wild team who have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 contests.
