Howard surrendered four goals on 39 shots in the Red Wings loss in New York on January 31st. Jonathan Bernier has started the last three games but Howard will start the second half of their back-to-back tonight in Columbus. He is 2-20-2 on the season, so it's next to impossible to trust him to earn you a win tonight. He allowed five goals on 37 shots in a 5-4 loss in Columbus back in late-November.
Sprong did not appear in a single game during his most recent call-up so he'll go back to the AHL where he can play some games. Kiefer Sherwood was called up to take his spot on the roster.
Sherwood suited up for 50 NHL games last year but has spent the entire 2019-20 season in the AHL, picking up 21 points (14G / 7A) in 30 games. He'll replace Daniel Sprong on the Ducks active roster.
With Joel Farabee sidelined with an illness, the Flyers are looking to Frost to inject some offence into their middle-6. Frost, who had seven points in 18 games with the Flyers earlier in the year, has tallied eight goals with 12 assists (20 points) in 30 AHL games this season.
Suomela was a healthy scratch for the last two games so he'll go back to the AHL where he'll be getting playing time. The 25-year-old has seven points (4G / 3A) in 11 AHL contests this season.
Sekera replaced Stephen Johns in the lineup on Tuesday but will swap places with him tonight vs. Minnesota.
Johns is still working his way back from a long-term injury so he sat in the second half of a back-to-back earlier in the week but will draw back in for Andrej Sekera on Friday. Johns has picked up one goal and two assists in his last two games.
With Rasmus Dahlin returning to the lineup, Pilut will be the defenseman that sits in New York. The rookie defenseman has not registered a point while playing 16:39 ATOI in 10 games this season.
Hutton was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots in the Sabres loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. The high from winning his first game in months did not last long and now he's tasked with starting in New York, where the Rangers are 7-3-0 while averaging 4.20 goals per game in their last 10 home games.
Marino will be sidelined indefinitely with a broken cheek that he suffered while taking a Steven Stamkos shot in the face on Thursday night. Marino filled in admirably when the Penguins were banged up and turned himself into a reliable top-4 defenseman this season, so this is a huge loss for the Penguins.
Merzlikins stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Blue Jackets shutout win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Merzlikins is now riding a seven-game winning streak, posting a 1.14 GAA, .965 SV% and four shutouts. His numbers since Joonas Korpisalo went down are absolutely mind-blowing and he is the obvious top goalie tonight with the Red Wings in town on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Head coach Jeff Blashill said that Helm will miss tonight’s game in Columbus but did not disclose what type of injury that veteran is dealing with. Look for Brendan Perlini to replace him in the Red Wings’ lineup.
Dubnyk allowed six goals on 34 shots in the Wild’s loss to the Bruins last Saturday. Alex Stalock started the last two games but they’re expected to come back to Dubnyk in the second-half of a back-to-back. Dubnyk is 3-8-0 with a 3.80 GAA and .887 SV% on the road this season and faces a Stars team that is 4-2-0 with 3.00 goals per game their last six home games.
Brossoit allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Jets loss to the Bruins on January 31st. Brossoit has gone 1-3-0 with a 3.76 GAA and .875 SV% on home-ice this season and gets set to face an Ottawa team that has lost eight of their last nine road games (1-4-4).
Following the trade of Jack Campbell to the Maple Leafs, Petersen makes his return to the NHL. Petersen appeared in 11 NHL games last year, going 5-4-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .924 SV%. He hasn't had the same level of success in the AHL this year, going 17-15-4 with a 3.43 GAA and .906 SV%. Tonight he'll make his season debut vs. a Devils team that is on a five-game point streak, going 2-0-3 over that span.
Ekman-Larsson has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury but is expected to travel on the Coyotes upcoming road trip. Monitor his status prior to Saturday's game in Boston.
Demers is going on IR with an oblique injury and is expected to be out a while. This is a tough break for the Coyotes, who have been without Oliver Ekman-Larsson for a few games as well.
Elliott was pulled after he allowed four goals on 17 shots in the Flyers 5-0 loss to the Devils on Thursday. In his last four starts, Elliott has two shutouts but has given up a combined eight goals on just 37 shots in the other two games. Elliott has a strong record (9-4-2) on the road this year but the other numbers aren't as pretty (3.12 GAA | .895 SV%).
Farabee reportedly lost a lot of weight while battling illness, so the Flyers will give him a few more days to build back up some strength. Scott Laughton moved into the Flyers' top-6 in Friday's practice to replace Farabee.
Weegar missed Thursday's game with an illness and is listed as day-to-day heading into Saturday's game. Josh Brown will remain in the lineup tomorrow if Weegar can't go.
