Binnington stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Blues win in Dallas on Saturday. Binnington earned second star of the week honours in the NHL last week after winning all three of his starts while stopping 74 of the 76 shots (.974 SV%) that he faced. He will look to stay hot against an Islanders team that has won 11 of their last 14 games.
Kyrou sat as a healthy scratch after being called up from the AHL on Saturday but will replace Robby Fabbri tonight in Washington. Kyrou has just one goal and one assist in 11 games this season.
Leivo gets back into the lineup after missing three game with back spasms. Leivo has four goals and one assist (five points) in 14 games since joining the Canucks.
Leivo has missed the last three games with back spasms but practiced on Saturday and could play on Sunday. If he does play, the Canucks will likely return Adam Gaudette to the AHL.
Kyrou has had a tough time finding offence early in his NHL career, picking up just one goal and one assist in 11 games this season. However, the 20-year-old has 11 goals and 14 assists (25 points) in 26 AHL games, so it’s probably only a matter of time before he starts racking up points for the Blues.
MacEachern, 24, was a third-round pick (No.67 overall) in 2012 and is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday. MacEachern has nine goals and six assists (15 points) in 31 games with the Rampage.
Binnington stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the Blues shutout win in Philadelphia on Monday. Binnington was as good as you can be in his first career NHL start and has now stopped 46 of the 50 shots (.920 SV%) that he has faced with St. Louis this season. He draws a tougher assignment in his second career start—Montreal is 12-7-3 on the road this year.
Binnington has made two relief appearances this season, allowing four goals on 25 shots (.840 SV%). The 25-year-old has spent the majority of the season in the AHL, where he has gone 11-4-0 with a 2.08 GAA and .927 SV% in 16 games. His NHL appearances have not been positive but his matchup with the Flyers is—Philadelphia enters play having lost six in a row (0-4-2).
Leivo has been moved to IR due to back spasms that forced him to leave Wednesday’s game in Ottawa. Leivo has been ruled out of tonight’s game and Saturday’s game in Toronto, so moving him to IR was just a formality to active his replacement Brandon Sutter. Leivo is eligible to come off of IR for next Thursday’s game vs. the Coyotes.
Gunnarsson has been out since November 16th but said on Wednesday that he is ready-to-go. However, Gunnarsson skated on the fourth pairing in the morning skate, which suggests that he might not play vs. the Capitals.
Gunnarsson has been out since November 16th but is ready to play on Thursday if the coaches call upon him. Gunnarsson had no points, just eight shots and a plus-2 rating in seven games before getting hurt.
Joseph was a late scratch from Thursday’s game vs. the Maple Leafs and missed Friday’s practice. Joseph is listed as day-to-day, which makes him questionable for Sunday’s game in Winnipeg.
Buchnevich has been out since November 10th but is expected to play Friday vs. the Coyotes. Buchnevich has averaged just 14:53 TOI/gm this season but collected nine points (5G / 4A) in 14 games.
Kyrou appeared in just two games during his call-up, scoring one goal on two shots while averaging 11:58 TOI/gm. Kyrou returns to the AHL, where he has five goals and five assists (10 points) in 14 games.
With Jake Allen and Chad Johnson struggling in the Blues crease, it looks like St. Louis will go with three goalies for a little bit. Binnington is a former third-round pick, who has gone 8-4-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .914 SV% in 13 games with the Rampage this season. Binnington could make his first NHL appearance since the 2015-16 season this week.
