Blackwood will start Thursday against the Islanders. Blackwood allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Devils shootout win over the Bruins on Tuesday. Blackwood has won three of his last four starts (3-0-1) with a 2.67 GAA and .911 SV% and tonight he faces an Islanders team that has lost three in a row (0-2-1) on home-ice while scoring 3.33 goals per game. Source: Amanda Stein
Jarry will start Thursday vs. the Sharks. Jarry allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Penguins win over the Senators on Monday. Jarry is riding a six-game winning streak while posting a 1.80 GAA, .939 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he faces a Sharks team that was awful in December, going 2-9-2 while scoring just 2.08 goals per game, making Jarry a must-start on Thursday. Source: Mike DeFabo
Markstrom will start Thursday vs. the Blackhawks. Markstrom allowed two goals on 51 shots in the Canucks win over the Kings last Saturday. It was a fantastic game for Markstrom, who has won four straight while posting a 2.24 GAA and .941 SV%. He has gone 7-5-2 with a 2.48 GAA, .924 SV% and one shutout on home-ice this year but will face a Chicago team that is heating up, winning five of their last six with 3.83 goals per game. Source: Farhan Lalji
Varlamov will start Thursday vs. the Devils. Varlamov allowed three goals on 39 shots in the Islanders win in Washington on New Year's Eve. Varlamov has won two in a row and will make his fourth straight start on Thursday. He was an impressive 7-0-1 with a 2.34 GAA And .922 SV% in December and draws a nice matchup vs. a Devils team that was 3-5-0 while averaging 2.50 goals for in eight road games in December. Source: Andrew Gross
Vasilevskiy will start Thursday in Montreal. Vasilevskiy struggled in his last outing, allowing four goals on 28 shots but still left Buffalo with his 17th win of the season. It's the second time in a row he's won while along four goals and the fifth time in his last six starts that he's allowed at least three goals. He has played well against the Canadiens this year though, going 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .935 SV% and tonight they'll be without Brendan Gallagher. Source: Joe Smith
Price will start Thursday vs. the Lightning. Price gave up six goals on 34 shots in the Canadiens loss in Florida on Sunday. Price has lost three of his last four starts (1-3-0) while posting a hideous 4.37 GAA and .857 SV%. Charlie Lindgren gave him the night off on Tuesday but that didn't help. Tonight he faces the Lightning for the third time--he is 0-2-0 with a 4.15 GAA and .846 SV% in the first two meetings. Source: Stu Cowan
Smith will start Thursday in Buffalo. Smith allowed one goal on seven shots after replacing Mikko Koskinen in the Oilers loss to the Flames last Friday. Smith has not recorded a win since November 23rd, going 0-3-1 with a 4.35 GAA and .840 SV% in four starts and two relief appearances since. He'll try to get back on track against a Sabres team that has lost four straight while averaging 1.75 goals for per game. Source: Jack Michaels
Merzlikins will start Thursday in Boston. Merzlikins stopped 36 of 37 shots in the Blue Jackets win over the Panthers on Tuesday. It was an outstanding effort from Merzlikins in his first game as the Blue Jackets new No.1 netminder. It was Merzlikins first career NHL win but his second may have to wait a little longer. The Bruins are 14-1-8 while scoring 3.43 goals per game in Boston this year. Source: Brian Hedger
Rask will start Thursday vs. the Blue Jackets. Rask allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Bruins win over the Sabres on Sunday. Rask has turned things around recently, winning two in a row while stopping 63 of the 68 shots (.927 SV%) that he faced. He still has not lost in regulation on home-ice this season, going 10-0-5 with a 2.22 GAA, .925 SV% and two shutouts and gets set to face a Blue Jackets team that has been devastated by injuries. Source: Mike Morreale
Bobrovsky will start Thursday in Ottawa. Bobrovsky surrendered four goals on 28 shots in the Panthers loss in his return to Columbus on Tuesday. Bobrovsky is in the middle of another tough stretch, losing two of his last three while allowing a combined 15 goals on 105 shots (.857 SV%). He's still a strong option in Ottawa--he stopped 29 of 30 shots in a winning effort in his first start vs. the Senators. Source: Doug Plagens
Ullmark will start Thursday vs. the Oilers. Ullmark surrendered five goals on 26 shots in the Sabres loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. Ullmark lost four consecutive games (0-4-0) while posting a 3.11 GAA and .881 SV%. Despite the rough stretch, the Sabres will start Ullmark for the sixth straight game and for the 11th time in 12 games. He is 7-4-1 with a 2.68 GAA and .914 SV% on home-ice.
Source: John Vogl
Hellebuyck will start Thursday vs. the Maple Leafs. Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 43 shots in the Jets win in Colorado on Tuesday. Hellebuyck finished December at 5-4-2 with a 3.28 GAA, .902 SV% and one shutout. January gets off to a difficult start with the Maple Leafs in town. Toronto is 13-4-1 and leads the NHL in goal-scoring, averaging 4.05 goals per game since their coaching change. Source: Ken Wiebe
Gibson will start Thursday in Arizona. Gibson allowed four goals on 42 shots in the Ducks loss in Vegas on Tuesday afternoon. Gibson was 4-4-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .905 SV% in nine December starts and will make his third start of the season vs. Arizona on Thursday. He has gone 1-0-1 with a 1.92 GAA and .934 SV% in the first two meetings of the season. Source: Elliott Teaford
Binnington will start Thursday in Colorado. Binnington stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Blues win over the Jets last Sunday. Binnington is on a six-game winning streak while posting a 2.15 GAA and .921 SV%. He is also 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .935 SV% in two starts against an Avalanche team, that has lost five of their last six (1-4-1) but they've scored 3.50 goals per game over that span. Source: Jim Thomas
Lehner will start Thursday in Vancouver. Lehner allowed three goals on 44 shots in the Blackhawks win in Calgary on Tuesday. Lehner has been hot since the Christmas break, winning three in a row while stopping 110 of the 117 shots (.940 SV%) that he has faced. On the season, Lehner has gone 7-4-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .926 SV% on the road. Source: Ben Pope