Boychuk finished Wednesday’s game vs. the Sabres but he must have sustained a lower-body injury somewhere throughout the game. Boychuk will likely miss a couple of weeks so the Islanders have recalled Sebastian Aho from Bridgeport (AHL).
Reimer stopped all 38 shots that he faced in the Panthers shutout won over the Senators last Saturday. Reimer has won three in a row while posting a 1.33 GAA and .964 SV%. The 29-year-old has gone 5-3-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .925 SV% in 11 December appearances.
Price allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Canadiens loss in Carolina last night. Price has won three of his last five starts while posting a 2.41 GAA and .928 SV%. He will be in tough starting for the second night in a row against the top offence in the NHL—Price has gone 4-7-0 with a 3.59 GAA and .895 SV% on the road this season.
Andersen allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Maple Leafs win in New York before the Christmas break. Andersen has won just four of his seven starts in December despite posting a 2.01 GAA and .941 SV%. In his first start against the Coyotes, Andersen allowed two goals on 29 shots in a 4-1 loss in mid-November.
Elliott stoped 35 of 36 shots in the Flyers shootout loss in Columbus last Saturday. Elliott has lost two in a row despite turning aside 68 of 71 shots (.958 SV%). Elliott has been strong in an extended run as the Flyers No.1, going 7-3-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .933 SV% in 11 December starts.
Kreider reportedly left the first period because his arm felt weird and he was sent to the hospital where they discovered he has a blood clot in his arm. Kreider will be sidelined for an extended period of time. Players with similar blood clots have missed about 6-8 weeks.
Vasilevskiy stopped all 22 shots that he faced in the Lightning’s shutout win over the Wild last Saturday. Vasilevskiy’s ridiculous season has not slowed down in December as he’s gone 7-1-0 with a 1.86 GAA, .932 SV% and two shutouts in eight starts. He is a must-start against a Canadiens team who played last night—Vasilevskiy is 14-1-1 with a 2.28 GAA, .921 SV% and one shutout on home ice.
With Kris Letang dealing with a lower-body injury and Chad Ruhwedel getting hurt last night, Corrado has earned yet another call-up. He has one goal and seven assists (eight points) in 19 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has only appeared in three games with the Pittsburgh.
Crawford was placed on IR yesterday and will be out until at least January 3rd, meaning he will miss the next three games minimum. There’s a good chance that Anton Forsberg will start three games in four days but there’s no word whether Crawford will be out through January 3rd.
Neuvirth has not started since November 28th as he’s missed exactly one month with a lower-body injury. During his absence, Brian Elliott played very well so Neuvirth may be hard pressed for starts going forward.
Lettieri, 22, has recorded 12 goals and nine assists (21 points) in 31 games with the Wolf Pack this season. He has played well in his first full pro season after four years at the University of Minnesota. He could make his NHL debut with Chris Kreider leaving Wednesday’s game.
Fleury stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Golden Knights shutout win over the Capitals before the break. Since returning from his concussion, Fleury has gone 3-0-1 with a 1.47 GAA and .952 SV% in four starts. He has been sensational in his first eight starts with Vegas and tonight he runs into a tough Kings team who come in having lost four of their last six.
Vrbata was not on the ice for the Panthers practice on Wednesday and is not expected to play tonight. Vrbata has had a tough season in Florida so he isn’t fantasy relevant at this time anyways.
Rust departed the game after recording an assist in 10:06 TOI and did not return. The Penguins did not provide and update on Rust’s status so consider him questionable for Friday’s game in Carolina.
The Penguins did not provide an update on Ruhwedel’s status after the game so consider him as questionable leading up to Friday’s game in Carolina. This is a bad time to lose Ruhwedel as the Penguins were without Kris Letang for Wednesday’s game.
Kreider did not return after the first period of Wednesday’s shootout win over the Capitals after sustaining an upper-body injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that they will have an update on Kreider on Thursday, so consider him questionable for Friday’s game in Detroit.
Scheifele left yesterday’s game after crushing hard into the corner and left the ice in a lot of pain. Head coach Paul Maurice said that the Jets will have an update on Scheifele on Thursday but the initial prognosis doesn’t appear to be positive.
Forsberg stopped 21 of 22 shots after replacing Corey Crawford in the Blackhawks loss in New Jersey before the Christmas break. With Crawford landing on IR on Wednesday Forsberg becomes the Blackhawks No.1 going forward. Forsberg has gone 1-3-2 with a 3.71 GAA and .894 SV% on the road this season.
Holtby allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Capitals loss in Vegas last Saturday. Philipp Grubauer started the first game back from the break so Holtby will start the second game of their back-to-back tonight vs. the Bruins. Saturday’s loss to the Golden Knights snapped a four-game winning streak for Holtby, who enters play on Thursday 2-0-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .929 SV% in two starts vs. the Bruins this season.
Howard gave up two goals on 25 shots in the Red Wings loss in Boston before the Christmas break. Howard has dropped five of his last six starts while posting a 2.83 GAA and .895 SV%. Howie has just two wins in his last 14 appearances dating back to mid-November.
