DeSmith allowed one goal on 26 shots in the Penguins shootout win over the Islanders on Monday. Even with Matt Murray being activated from IR, the Penguins will stick with DeSmith tonight in Chicago. DeSmith has won three of his last four starts with a 1.96 GAA and .933 SV% and is a must-start against a Chicago team that has lost eight in a row.
Smith allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Flames win over the Predators on Saturday. Smith has won his last five starts while posting a 1.59 GAA, .941 SV% and one shutout. Smith has done a great job putting a terrible spot behind him and draws a strong matchup tonight. The Flyers are 12-13-3 on the season, including 7-6-1 on the road this year.
Stastny has been out since October 8th, missing the last 29 games with a lower-body injury. Stastny stayed on with the extras, which suggests that he won’t play tonight but Gerard Gallant will check with trainers and listed him as a game-time decision. Stastny is expected to skate with Max Pacioretty and Alex Tuch when he returns to the Vegas lineup but that might not happen until the weekend.
Fleury made 22 saves on 24 shots in the Golden Knights win over the Stars on Sunday. Fleury has won five in a row on home-ice but has lost two straight on the road. On the season, Fleury is 7-7-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .888 SV% on the road but has a solid matchup against the Islanders. New York is 7-4-3 on home-ice this year.
Komarov missed the Islanders morning skate and will be a game-time decision vs. the Golden Knights. If Komarov is unavailable, Josh Ho-Sang is expected to make his season debut on the third line.
The Blackhawks have had a tough time figuring out where to play Fortin, as he’s moved up and down from the second and fourth line all season. Fortin has six points (3G / 3A) in 24 games with Chicago but heads to the AHL with Dylan Sikura getting a shot with the big club.
Dahlstrom, 23, was a second-round pick in 2013 and has three assists in 11 career NHL games. Dahlstrom has likely been recalled as insurance for Wednesday’s game. Dahlstrom has eight points (1G / 7A) in 22 games with Rockford this season.
Sikura was expected to make the Blackhawks out of training camp after picking up three assists in five games with the Blackhawks at the end of last season. The 23-year-old has registered 18 points (9G / 9A) in 26 games with the IceHogs this season and should make his season debut on Wednesday.
Anisimov suffered a concussion against the Canadiens vs. Montreal on Sunday and is out indefinitely. Anisimov’s move to IR opened up a roster spot for the Blackhawks to recall Dylan Sikura from Rockford (AHL).
Shattenkirk separated his shoulder against the Lightning on Monday and will be out until at least Christmas. Shattenkirk hasn’t been the same offensive defenseman that he has been in years past, picking up just eight points (1G / 7A) in 29 games. This injury should be good news for Tony DeAngelo, who likely won’t be healthy scratched while Shattenkirk is sidelined.
Lehner stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Islanders shootout loss to the Penguins on Monday. Lehner’s has been great in his last two appearances, stopping 58 of the 60 shots (.967 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he faces a Golden Knights team that has gone 7-11-0 on the road this season.
Kuokkanen, 20, was a second-round pick (No.43 overall) in 2016 and appeared in four NHL games last season. Kuokkanen leads the Checkers in points with 27 (11G / 16A) in 26 games this season. He could make his season debut on Thursday with Micheal Ferland leaving Tuesday’s game.
Pasquale made his NHL debut during his call-up but returns to the AHL with Andrei Vasilevskiy’s return just around the corner. Pasquale has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.98 GAA and .900 SV% in nine games with the Crunch this year.
Jarry appeared in two games while Matt Murray was out, giving up a combined seven goals on 62 shots (.887 SV%). With Murray activated from IR, Jarry returns to the AHL where he is 4-5-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .909 SV%.
Murray has been out since November 17th but will be available to start or backup on Wednesday. Casey DeSmith has played very well since Murray got hurt, so Murray could be the Penguins No.2 netminder moving forward. The 24-year-old has gone 4-5-1 with a .877 SV% this season.
Ferland was making his return from a concussion but the Hurricanes removed him from the game because he didn’t feel right. This likely means that Ferland will miss the Hurricanes’ back-to-back on Thursday/Friday.
Klefbom was forced to leave Tuesday’s game in Colorado and head coach Ken Hitchcock said that Klefbom will return to Edmonton to be evaluated but that he will likely be “out weeks, not days.” Klefbom’s injury should lead to Chris Wideman getting regular playing time and Darnell Nurse to take on a much larger role.
Stastny has been out since the third game of the season but was back at practice on Tuesday and has a chance to play on Wednesday. Expect an update following today’s morning skate in Brooklyn.
Kamenev suffered a shoulder injury that will require surgery on Saturday and will likely miss the rest of the season according to head coach Jared Bednar. This is the second major injury that Kamenev has suffered in two years since being acquired from the Predators. A.J Greer was recalled from Colorado (AHL) to replace him on the roster.
Crawford allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Blackhawks loss to the Canadiens on Sunday. Crawford has struggled as of late, going 0-8-0 with a 4.43 GAA and .871 SV% in his last eight starts. Overall, Crawford is tied for 39th in SV% (.901) and 47th in GAA (3.21) on the season. Leave him on the bench against a Penguins team that is eighth in the NHL in goal-scoring (3.34 GF/pg).
