Svechnikov was a very late scratch for Thursday's game with the announcement being made less than 10 minutes before puck drop. He did participate in warmups but evidently was not feeling well enough to play. Brendan Lemieux will enter the lineup in his place.
Hellebuyck has been sensational lately and will return to the crease on Thursday after having the night off in the Jets' previous game on Monday. Posting a 5-2-0 record in his last seven games, Hellebuyck has one shutout and a stellar .942 SV%, allowing more than two goals in only one contest. The Jets are +119 road underdogs against their division rivals, the Colorado Avalanche, who will welcome Cale Makar back into the lineup.
Georgiev has quality starts in three of his last four outings and will look to continue his strong play on Thursday when the Avalanche welcome the Winnipeg Jets. In his past four games (2-1-1), Georgiev has a stellar .929 SV%, allowing only 10 total goals in that stretch. The Avalanche are -130 home favourites in their first game this season against the Jets, who are averaging only 2.0 goals per game over their last seven contests (4-3-0).
Dermott has not played since November 7th, when he recorded one assist and fired three shots on goal in a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. He has no goals and one assist in ten games this season.
Durzi exited Monday's game against the Washington Capitals with a lower-body injury in the first period. Despite playing only 4:02 time-on-ice, Durzi recorded a point (0G / 1A), snapping a seven-game pointless skid.
Dostal will get the start for the first time since November 26th, breaking a run of four consecutive starts for John Gibson. After a strong start to the season, Dostal has struggled of late, registering an ugly .787 SV% across his last three starts, losing all three decisions. He owns an .878 SV% and a 4.30 GAA on the season. Dostal couldn't ask for a better matchup to get back in the win column on Thursday as the Ducks are set to take on the lowly Blackhawks.
Saros will search for his third straight victory as the starter for the third consecutive game on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Saros has been excellent lately, winning six of his last seven contests (6-1-0), posting a .914 SV% in the process. The Predators' resurgent play lately has them listed as -129 home favourites on Thursday against a Lightning team that has won two straight, outscoring their opposition 7-1, but played last night and will presumably turn to Jonas Johansson between the pipes.
Johansson will start the tail-end of Tampa Bay's back-to-back after Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the 3-1 win over the Penguins on Wednesday. It's Johansson's first start since November 28th, when he surrendered three goals on 27 shots enroute to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Coyotes. The 28-year-old netminder owns a .892 SV% and a 8-5-5 record on the season. He'll have his hands full on Thursday facing a Predators team fresh off back-to-back victories.
Kochetkov will get an immediate chance to redeem himself after last night's disappointing start in Edmonton. Kochetkov allowed three goals on the first six shots he faced before being lifted in favour of Antti Raanta, who hardly fared any better in the 6-1 defeat. Kochetkov owns an unflattering .871 SV% to go along with a 4-5-1 record on the season. He'll be hoping to get back in the win column on Thursday with the Hurricanes being -125 favourites over the Flames.
Seguin did not play in the third period for the Stars after suffering an undisclosed injury in the third period. Sam Steel replaced Seguin on the second line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. Seguin's status for Thursday's game was up in the air, but thankfully he will be available for the Stars. Seguin has had a resurgent season, scoring 17 points (8G / 9A) through 24 games.
Wedgewood will get the nod on Thursday after Jake Oettinger started the front half of the Stars' back-to-back on Wednesday. It will be Wedgewood's first appearance since allowing four goals on 36 shots in a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Flames on November 30th. Dallas' backup owns a 4-1-1 record and a .911 SV% on the season. He draws a favourable matchup on Thursday with the Stars being -140 road favourites in Washington.
