Holtby allowed two goals on 26 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Sabres last Saturday. Despite to the loss to the lowly Sabres, Holtby continues to play great—Holtby’s won four of six with a 1.67 GAA and .942 SV%. However, tonight he will be in tough vs. the red-hot Isles.
Pickard stopped all 25 shots he faced after replacing Reto Berra in the Avs’ come-from-behind win over the Coyotes last night. He has won the first two games of his career in relief efforts—stopping all 42 shots. He has earned the start tonight, but draws a tough matchup vs. the Blackhawks.
Drouin will be a healthy scratch for the second time in six games. The 19-year-old has nine points (1G / 8A) in 16 games this season. Vladimir Namestnikov will be back in the lineup.
Datsyuk has missed the last four games with a sore groin, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Flyers. He has missed a lot of time with injuries, this season, but when he has been in the lineup he has registered 11 points (5G / 6A) in 10 games. He will skate with Darren Helm and Stepheg Weiss.
Mason stopped all 46 shots that he faced in the Flyers 1-0 shootout loss to the Islanders on Monday. It was a ridiculously good night for Mason, but he was still unable to register the victory. He has been great over the last month, winning four of eight with a 1.89 GAA and .946 SV%.
Bishop is not on the ice for the Lightning’s optional morning skate, which suggests that he will start tonight vs. the Rangers. He stopped 30 of 31 shots in a 2-1 win over the Wild on Saturday. It was a nice bounce-back performance for Bishop, who sits at 12-3-2 with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV% this season.
Penguins’ head coach Mike Johntson did not specify on the nature of Bennett’s injury, but it is believed to be his right knee. Bennett has had an extremely difficult time staying healthy in his young career. Expect Zach Sill to get back in the lineup tonight vs. the Leafs.
Ward gave up four goals on 35 shots in the Hurricanes loss to the Avalanche on Saturday. He has dropped four of his last five starts with a 3.07 GAA and .907 SV%. It’s been a rough stretch for Ward, but he does draw a nice road matchup tonight in Florida.
Upshall was spotted wearing a walking boot on Tuesday and it turns out that he suffered an ankle injury on Monday vs. Minnesota. With Upshall out, Vincent Trocheck moves into the lineup with Brandon Pirri shifting to the wing.
Luongo gave up three goals on 38 shots in the Panthers 4-1 loss to the Wild. Bobby Lu has lost four of his last five games with a 2.85 GAA and .921 SV%. He has had a hard time racking up wins on a consistent basis, but he has been a rock in goal for the Panthers so far.
Hickey missed Monday's game with an illness, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Capitals. Hickey has one goal and five assists in 20 games, which puts him on pace for 32 points this season, his career-high is 22. Matt Donovan will come out for Hickey.
de Haan missed Monday’s game with an illness, but will be back in the lineup on Wednesday vs. the Capitals. de Haan has registered just three assists in 17 games so far this season. He will replace Brian Strait on the back-end.
Halak stopped all 21 shots that he faced in the Isles’ 1-0 shootout win over the Flyers on Monday. Despite not being able to score, the Isles came out victorious for the fourth-straight game. The Islanders are one of the hottest teams in the NHL and Halak has been scorching, winning seven straight with a 1.11 GAA, .958 SV% and three shutouts.
Hedman came out for the Lightning’s optional skate with a regular jersey for the first time since fracturing his finger on October 18th. This is a good sign that Hedman will be ready to get back in the lineup on Saturday vs. the Senators.
Brodin has missed the Wild’s last seven games with an illness, but head coach Mike Yeo is hopeful that Brodin will return Friday vs. the Stars.
Chara resumed skating on Monday and is back on the ice this morning. He has been sidelined with a PCL tear since October 23rd, but it sounds like he is nearing a return. “Usually, when they start skating, it’s at the earliest at 10 days (and) at the latest two weeks when he’s been out that long,” GM Peter Chiarelli said. The Bruins have gone 9-4-1 in Chara’s absence.
Raanta had been scheduled to start against the Oilers but illness denied him that opportunity. Raanta was back on Tuesday, practicing for the first time since the Blackhawks’ morning skate on Saturday. He won’t start on Wednesday against Colorado. Coach Joel Quenneville said he’ll see if Raanta starts one of the back-to-back games (Anaheim and Los Angeles) coming at the end of the trip.
Mason stopped all 46 shots that he faced in the Flyers 1-0 shootout loss to the Islanders on Monday. It was a ridiculously good night for Mason, but he was still unable to register the victory. He has been great over the last month, winning four of eight with a 1.89 GAA and .946 SV%.
Khokhlachev had no points with a minus-2 rating in an average 8:12 TOI in three games during his recall.
Caron has a minus-1 rating and one shot in just 3:35 TOI in the only game he played in on Monday. Seth Griffith was recalled with Caron going down.
