Rust skated this morning but remains day-to-day and will not play against the Blues. With Patric Hornqvist and Rust both missing from their top-6, the recently signed Stefan Noesen is expected to make his Penguins debut.
Aston-Reese was absent from Tuesday’s practice session but the Penguins expect him to be in the lineup vs. the Blues. Aston-Reese has just four goals and three assists (seven points) in 27 games this season.
Jarry surrendered four goals on 29 shots in the Penguins loss in Columbus last Friday. Matt Murray did not have his best showing in St. Louis the following night, so Jarry will get a shot at the Blues on home-ice on Wednesday. The 24-year-old was 4-2-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .923 SV% in November and is 4-1-0 with a 1.59 GAA and .948 SV% on home-ice, so he’s a reasonable spot-start option tonight.
Andersen allowed five goals on 28 shots in the Maple Leafs' 6-1 loss in Philadelphia last night. Despite head coach Sheldon Keefe saying Michael Hutchinson would start Wednesday earlier in the week, it looks as if Andersen will be between the pipes again. Normally he's a top-end option but starting two nights in a row and facing a Colorado team that is getting healthy and has won three straight while scoring 16 goals (5.33 goals per game) makes him a low-end option tonight.
Chlapik played last night in Vancouver and returns to the AHL, where he has one goal in six games this season. Chlapik's demotion suggests that J.C. Beaudin will be back in the lineup on Wednesday.
Czarnik has not played since October 24th due to a lower-body injury, so he'll go get a game or two with Stockton before returning to the NHL.
Suomela has missed the last two games and the Sharks don't have a timetable for his return right now. His move to IR opened up a roster spot for Lean Bergmann to be called-up from the AHL.
Bergmann has registered five goals and six assists in 15 AHL games this season. He returns to the NHL, where he has one assist in eight games and takes Antti Suomela's spot on the roster.
Dea was a healthy scratch for the last three games and only appeared in one game during his call-up. Dea heads back to the AHL, where he has seven goals and six assists (13 points) in 18 games this season.
Persson was called up on Tuesday and will play in his first NHL game since November 10th. Persson will skate with Kris Russell on the third pair and has two assists and 12 shots in 10 games this season.
Russell missed Sunday's game in Vancouver to be with his wife for the birth of their child. He'll be back on the third pair next to Joel Persson on Wednesday and comes in with just four assists but is averaging 0.86 shots, 1.93 blocked shots and 1.1 hits per game this season.
Quick allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Kings loss in San Jose last Friday. Jack Campbell started the last two games but Quick will make his 19th start of these season on Wednesday. The veteran netminder went 5-4-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .906 SV% in 10 starts in November and draws a horrible matchup with the Capitals in town--they are tied for first in the NHL with 45 points (20-4-5).
Gunnarsson missed the last three games with an illness but will draw back into the Blues lineup in Pittsburgh. Gunnarsson has one goal and three assists in 15 games this season.
It looks like Petan has lost out to Pierre Engvall and Dmytro Timashov for a spot on the Maple Leafs roster and Toronto needed to clear space to activate Mitch Marner from IR.
Marincin was called up to be a spare defenseman in Philadelphia last night and heads back to the Marlies to clear some cap-space to activate Mitch Marner from IR.
Marner has been out for the last 11 games with a high-ankle sprain but is expected to play Wednesday vs. the Avalanche. Marner is expected to skate with John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev and will be back on the top power-play unit. Marner has 18 points (4G / 14A) in 18 games this year.
It is believed that Spurgeon is dealing with a broken bone in his right hand but the Wild are calling it an "upper-body" injury. Spurgeon will miss at least two weeks, so look for Nick Seeler to replace Spurgeon on Thursday and moving forward.
Koivu was forced to leave Tuesday's game in Florida with a lower-body injury and missed Wednesday's practice. The Wild have labelled Koivu as day-to-day, which makes him highly questionable for Thursday's game in Tampa Bay.
Kulikov is expected to be out until the All-Star break, so his move to IR is simply a formality to open up a roster spot. The Jets used that roster spot to claim Nick Shore off of waivers from the Maple Leafs.
