Allen was yanked after giving up three goals on 12 shots in the first period of Saturday’s comeback win over the Islanders. He has actually been overshadowed by Martin Brodeur since Marty signed, but Allen gets another crack agh the Isles tonight; this time at home where he is 4-1-1 with a 2.51 GAA and .893 SV% this season.
Scrivens allowed one goal on 21 shots in the Oilers 2-1 win over the Sharks on Sunday. The win snapped an ugly nine game losing streak for Scrivens. Tonight he takes on the Sharks once again, but the chances of this struggling Oilers team coming up with a repeat performance seem pretty slim.
With John Gibson and Jason LaBarbera out with injuries, the Ducks have brought Bryzgalov back to play with Frederik Andersen. Bryzgalov will go to Norfolk (AHL) on a conditioning stint before joining the Ducks.
Perry suffered the injury on Friday vs. the Wild and will be out until the end of December or early January. This is a tough break for the Ducks and Perry owners. Expect Kyle Palmieri, Devante Smith-Pelly and Rene Bourque to take on larger roles with Perry sidelined.
Rinne allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Predators loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday. Despite the loss, it was another strong performance for Rinne. He ranks first in wins (17), fourth in GAA (1.89) and tied for second in SV% (.931). He makes for a strong start tonight in Colorado.
Niemi stopped 33 of 35 shots in the Sharks win over the Flames on Saturday. He was given Sunday night off, but he will be back in tonight as the Sharks try to avenge Sunday’s loss to the Oilers. He has won four in a row with a 2.75 GAA and .910 SV%. He makes for a great start vs. Edmonton.
Karlsson, 24, has 10 points (5G / 5A) in 20 games with Worcester. This is his first year in North America and he is expected to make his NHL debut tonight vs. Edmonton.
Rendulic, 22, has four goals and three assists in 21 games with Lake Erie. He is en route to Colorado and will make his NHL debut tonight vs. the Predators. The Avs were prepared to play with just 19 players, but Rendulic’s recall will have them at 20 tonight.
Hornqvist plans to practice on Thursday and if all goes well, he could return to the lineup on Friday vs. the Flames. This news suggests that Hornqvist avoided a concussion, which is great news for the Penguins.
Varlamov underwent an MRI on Monday and the results did not reveal anything positive for the Avalanche. Varlamov will miss a couple of weeks at least, which leaves the team with Calvin Pickard as their starter.
With Patrick Sharp returning to the lineup tonight, the Blackhawks had to make a roster move to make room for him to be activated from IR. Nordstrom had two assists and 12 shots on goal in 10 games during his recall.
With Semyon Varlamov out with a groin injury again, Pickard is back and will start on Tuesday. During his last recall, he won three games with a 1.99 GAA and .936 SV% in three starts and two relief appearances. He becomes the Avs’ temporary starter but has an rough matchup tonight with the Predators in town.
Cizikas’ move to IR is retroactive to November 6th. Josh Bailey will remain in the lineup until Cizikas is 100 percent.
Visnovsky has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury he suffered on October 28th, but he will be back in the lineup tonight vs. Minnesota. Matt Donovan will come out of the lineup to make room for Visnovsky. He has six points (1G / 5A) in 17 games this season.
Halak allowed six goals on 40 shots as the Islanders blew a 3-0 first period lead to lose 6-4 on Saturday vs. St. Louis. The loss snapped his ridiculous 11-game winning streak, but don’t let the one bad start deter you from starting Halak tonight. He is 6-2-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .931 SV% on the road.
Hutchinson gave up two goals on 22 shot in Friday’s win over the Avalanche. He was won three of his last four starts with a 1.73 GAA and .940 SV%. He continues to make a strong case to supplant Ondrej Pavelec as the team’s number-1. Hutchinson will face the Stars in Dallas tonight, he has gone 3-1-2 on the road this year.
Sharp has been sidelined with a leg injury since November 4th, but will be back in tonight vs. New Jersey. Sharp was given a 3-4 week timetable, and he ended up missing just over four weeks. The emergence of Kris Versteeg in his absence means that Sharp will return on the Hawks third line with Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell.
Matthias was on the ice for the Canucks morning skate, but head coach Willie Desjardins did not have an update on him following the skate. He was unsure whether or not Matthias would be available tonight. Consider him a game-time decision.
Holtby stopped 33 of 34 shots in Saturday’s 4-1 win over New Jersey. He has won two in a row while turning aside 62 of 64 shots (.969 SV%) in the process. He is a risky start tonight vs. the highest scoring team in the NHL. He allowed four goals in a 4-3 loss in his first start vs. Tampa this season.
Eddie Lack was in the starter’s net this morning, but it will be Miller who gets the call in Montreal. He was yanked in his last outing after he gave up four goals on 14 shots. Tonight he will face the Canadiens in a building he has gone 11-6-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .935 SV% in in his career.
