Varlamov continues to battle a groin injury and will miss at least the next four games as he is shut down until after the break. With Varlamov out, Calvin Pickard will start on Thursday and Spencer Martin has been recalled to serve as their No.2.
Brodin will see a hand specialist on Wednesday and will miss a number of weeks, but they will determine whether it will be 2-3 weeks or four-plus weeks. Brodin’s absence leaves the Wild to replace nearly 20 minutes on the back-end; Nate Prosser will likely draw into the lineup on Thursday.
Budaj surrendered two goals on 29 shots in the Kings’ loss to the Lightning on Monday. Budaj has gone 4-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .908 SV% in his first six starts in January and tonight he will face the Sharks for the fourth time this season. The veteran has gone 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .914 SV% in the first three meetings between the two.
Werenski was held off of the ice on Wednesday and his status for Thursday’s game remains up in the air. Monitor Werenski’s status tomorrow, but because the Blue Jackets rarely hold a morning skate, there might not be an update on Werenski’s status until closer to puck-drop.
Talbot turned aside 21 of 22 shots in the Oilers’ win over the Coyotes on Monday. Talbot has won three consecutive games while posting a 1.29 GAA and .939 SV%. Tonight, Talbot will make his league leading 42nd start and it will come against a Florida team that ranks 27th in the NHL in scoring (2.28 GF/PG). Talbot has gone 12-8-1 with a 2.33 GAA and .919 SV% on home-ice this season.
Murray allowed seven goals on 28 shots in the Penguins 8-7 overtime win vs. the Capitals on Monday. You rarely see a goalie allow seven goals and walk away with the win and almost never see him start the next game, but that will be the case tonight in Montreal. The 22-year-old has gone 6-4-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 SV% on the road this season.
Fast suffered an injury Tuesday vs. the Stars and will miss at least one week with an upper-body injury. Expect Oscar Lindberg to draw into the lineup for Fast on Thursday.
Rielly left Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury after crashing into the boards and retired to the dressing room after playing just 2:57 TOI. Rielly is day-to-day and will not play Thursday, which means that Frank Corrado will draw into the lineup for the second time this season.
Hanzal will be held out of the lineup on Wednesday, which means that Josh Jooris will draw back into the lineup in Winnipeg. With Hanzal out, Alex Burmistrov is expected to centred the top line and Peter Holland the second line.
Carlson missed Monday’s game in Pittsburgh, but was expected to play on Thursday. Because he was unable to practice this morning, he is now listed as questionable and it seems like a more likely return date is Saturday in Dallas.
Hamonic has missed the last four games with a knee injury and is expected to miss at least a couple more weeks. Interim head coach Doug Weight said that Hamonic is week-to-week, so there’s no firm timetable for the defenseman’s return.
Clutterbuck missed Monday’s game in Boston and is listed a day-to-day. His day-to-day tag suggests that he won’t play on Thursday, but monitor his status during the morning skate to be sure.
Ladd missed Monday’s game with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. With his day-to-day tag, consider Ladd as questionable for Thursday’s game vs. the Stars.
Oduya left Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury and did not return. Oduya played just 8:41 TOI before retiring to the dressing room and will miss Thursday’s game as a result. He is listed as day-to-day.
Laine will miss his sixth consecutive game on Wednesday, but he skated this morning for the first time since suffering a concussion on January 7th. Head coach Paul Maurice said Laine remains without a timetable for his return, but monitor his status heading into Saturday’s game vs. the Blues.
Rask was pulled after he allowed three goals on 15 shots in the Bruins’ loss to the Islanders on Monday. Rask has gone 3-3-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .888 SV% in his first seven starts of January. Tonight he will make his second start of the season vs. the Red Wings—he stopped all 24 shots that he faced in a 1-0 shutout win in the first meeting.
Murray allowed seven goals on 28 shots in the Penguins 8-7 overtime win vs. the Capitals on Monday. You rarely see a goalie allow seven goals and walk away with the win and almost never see him start the next game, but that will be the case tonight in Montreal. The 22-year-old has gone 6-4-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 SV% on the road this season.
Smith allowed three goals on 27 shots in the Coyotes loss in Edmonton on Monday. Smith has allowed three-plus goals in eight of his last nine starts while allowing a combined 23 goals on 291 shots (.890 SV%). Smith has gone 3-5-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .920 SV% on the road this season and he’ll face a Jets team that has lost four in a row.
Coreau stopped all 18 shots that he faced in the Red Wings’ 1-0 shutout win over the Canadiens on Monday afternoon. It was Coreau’s fifth win and second shutout in his first eight NHL starts. Over that span he has gone 5-1-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .911 SV%, including going 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .939 SV% in his first two starts at Joe Louis Arena.
Price allowed one goal on 20 shots in the Canadiens’ 1-0 loss in Detroit on Monday afternoon. Price has gone 3-3-0 with a 3.30 GAA and .886 Sv% in six January starts and tonight he will face the Penguins for the second time this season. Price allowed four goals on 41 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on December 31st.
