Emery allowed six goals on 28 shots in a loss to the Habs on Saturday. It was a brutal outing for Emery, who has allowed 10 combined goals in his last two starts. He will likely get the call tonight vs. the Wild, as the Flyers try to snap a three-game losing skid.
Quick stopped 30 of 32 shots in the Kings 5-2 win over the Panthers on Tuesday. That is back-to-back strong outings for Quick, who lowered his GAA to 2.06 on the season. Tonight, he will get another crack at a Carolina team who pushed three past him in a 3-2 loss in early November.
Weiss was sent on a conditioning stint in late October and he pulled his groin in the first game. The Red Wings lost prospect Andrej Nestrasil on waivers in order to activate Weiss to send him on this conditioning stint, so the Wings are certainly hoping he can get through this one at 100 percent.
Holtby stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Capitals’ OT win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. He has win three of his last four with a 1.49 GAA and .949 SV%. He is a solid option tonight against an inconsistent Avalanche team without Semyon Varlamov.
Ward allowed four goals on 27 shots in a 6-4 win over the Stars on Tuesday. The win snapped a short two-game losing streak and Ward now sits at 6-2-0 with a 1.87 GAA and .931 SV% in November. He has really turned things around and tonight he starts vs. a Kings team he has already beat this season.
Datsyuk will not play tonight vs. Jets, but went out for a skate after the Red Wings’ morning skate and is trying to work towards a return to the lineup on Saturday vs. Toronto. Monitor his status over the next few days.
Ouellet was recalled on Wednesday after the Red Wings placed Brendan Smith on IR. Ouellet will be paired with Brian Lashoff tonight, in what will be his season debut. He has no points in four career NHL games, but had five points (1G / 4A) in 13 games with GR before his recall.
Martinez was given a one week timetable which would have had him return tonight vs. the Hurricanes, but his absence from the morning skate this morning suggests that he will miss his third straight game.
Jones will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Saturday vs. the Senators. His movement to IR allowed the Flames to activate Michael Ferland.
Ferland missed the last eight games with a concussion that he suffered in his NHL debut on October 31st. The Flames line rushes were a bit scrambled this morning, but Ferland figures to skate on the top line with Sean Monahan and Curtis Glencross.
The Coyotes did not skate this morning because of their recent busy schedule, so head coach Dave Tippett said he will know more about Hanzal’s availability closer to game-time. Hanzal missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.
Smith-Pelly has missed the last three games with a shoulder injury that he suffered vs. the Kings last Wednesday. Head coach Bruce Boudreau would not commit to Smith-Pelly being in the lineup, but the 22-year-old forward deemed himself “good to go.”
Beauchemin has missed the last five games after he was hospitalized with an illness. He will provide a big boost to the Ducks blue line who have had to have inexperienced players play large minutes in Beauchemin’s absence. He is averaging 22:51 TOI per game, so expect him to play close to that in his return tonight. He has four assists in 15 games.
Datsyuk is not on the ice for the Red Wings morning skate so it looks like he will not play for the second straight game. He continues to battle a groin injury and will now target Saturday vs. Toronto for a return.
Marchand was back on the ice for Bruins practice on Thursday morning, but he will not travel with the team. He will miss his second straight game and remains day-to-day. He should be considered questionable for Saturday’s game vs. the Habs.
Jokipakka will slide back into the Stars lineup tonight for the first time since November 1st. Jokipakka will look to have a strong game in order to carve out a long-term role on the Stars’ blue line in a state of flux right now. He has no points and a minus-3 rating in three games.
Russell, who missed Tuesday’s game, was expected to be on the ice this morning and potentially return to the lineup tonight vs. the Hawks. His absence this morning puts his status for tonight in serious doubt.
Paajarvi will be back in the lineup tonight after sitting for the last three games. He has one assist in six games this season and is expected to skate with Alex Steen and Paul Stastny tonight vs. the Habs.
Stajan suffered the injury in late October, but avoided any structural damage and is back skating on his own three and a half weeks into his 4-6 week return timeline.
Nestrasil, 23, was the Red Wings third-round pick in 2009. He had two assists in 13 games with Detroit this season. He was also a member of the Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013.
