Talbot stopped 19 of 20 shots after replacing David Rittich in the Flames 5-2 loss to the Canucks on Sunday. December was Talbot's busiest month so far and he went 2-2-0 with a 2.09 GAA and .939 SV% in four starts and one relief appearance. Tonight he faces his former team, who have lost three of their last four (1-2-1) road games but possess a top-10 offence this season.
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.
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.
Lauzon played one game (15:40 TOI) during his call-up but heads back to the AHL with Torey Krug and likely Charlie McAvoy back in the lineup tonight.
Blidh has yet to play this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in September but will get back up to game-speed with Providence. He spent most of his season there last season, posting 10 goals with 13 assists (23 points) in 74 games.
Samsonov allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Capitals win over the Blue Jackets last Friday. The Capitals continue to ride Holtby even though Samsonov has been the better netminder as of late. He was 4-0-0 with a 1.71 GAA and .927 SV% in December and is 10-2-1 with a 2.28 GAA and .918 SV% overall on the year.
Carlsson played in three straight games, averaging 10:34 TOI/gm but had no points and was a minus-2. He'll get replaced by Scott Harrington in Boston.
Harrington has been out of the lineup for the last three games but will replace Gabriel Calrsson in the lineup on Thursday. He has just two assists in 12 games this season.
Bernier stopped all 34 shots that he faced in Red Wings shutout win over the Sharks on Tuesday. Bernier has gone 3-2-0 with a 1.78 GAA, .951 SV% and one shutout in his last six starts. He's been terrific but it's hard to warrant starting him behind the league's worst offence. Especially in Dallas, where the starts are 12-3-1 while scoring 3.19 goals per game in their last 16.
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.
McAvoy missed the last three games with a lower-body injury but is expected to be back in tonight vs. Columbus. McAvoy is still looking for his first goal of the season but has 13 assists and a plus-13 rating in 38 games.
Krejci missed the Bruins New Year's Eve game in New Jersey but will be back on the second line on Thursday. Krejci has 28 points (8G / 20A) and a plus-16 rating in 34 games this season.
Krug missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will be back next Brandon Carlo at even-strength and on the top power-play unit vs. the Blue Jackets. Krug has five goals and 21 assists (26 points) in 33 games this season.
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.
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.
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.
Columbus finally gets some good news on the injury front, with Milano returning from an eight-game absence. Milano, who has 11 points (3G / 8A) in 30 games this season, will replace Alexandre Texier (back) in the lineup in Boston.
The Canadiens confirmed that Gallagher suffered a concussion on Tuesday and will be out indefinitely. This is obviously a huge blow for Montreal, who lost part of their dominant top-line. Gallagher is second on the team in goals (15) and points (32) in 40 games this season.
Zaitsev was expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday but was not on the ice for the morning skate and still isn't 100 percent. Zaitsev said that he felt some discomfort and didn't want to risk re-aggravating the injury.
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.
