McCabe will come out of the lineup in the tail-end of a back-to-back because of an upper-body injury that he suffered in Tampa Bay last night. Lawrence Pilut will make his NHL debut in McCabe’s place.
Pilut is a 22-year-old Swedish defenseman who has picked up 22 points (3G / 19A) in 16 games with Rochester (AHL) before being recalled to the NHL. Pilut is replacing Jake McCabe tonight and could make for an intriguing punt play in daily fantasy.
Ullmark allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Sabres win in Detroit last Saturday. Ullmark has won two in a row and has five wins in seven games while posting a 2.52 GAA and .926 SV% this season. Tonight he faces a Panthers team that 1-3-1 while averaging 2.80 goals for per game since Vincent Trocheck got hurt.
Sheary has will miss his third straight game on Friday and will be forced to miss next Monday’s game in Nashville as well after being moved to IR. His movement to IR opened up a roster spot for the Sabres to activate Patrik Berglund.
Berglund has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury but is a possibility to return to the lineup after being activated from IR. Berglund has two goals and two assists in 19 games this season.
Lindholm has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury but took line rushes with Brandon Montour at the Ducks morning skate. There is no official word whether Lindholm will be back in the lineup or not, so consider him as a game-time decision for now.
Schmaltz has picked up just two assists in 17 games this season and will come out of the lineup on Friday with Robert Bortuzzo back in for the first time since October 20th.
Bortuzzo has not played since October 20th but will be back in the lineup tonight in Colorado. Bortuzzo, who will replace Jordan Schmaltz, has just one goal in five games this season.
Georgiev surrendered four goals on 27 shots in the Rangers loss to the Capitals last Saturday. Georgiev was 3-2-1 with a 2.47 GAA, .915 SV% and one shutout in five appearances in November. It’s hard to tell exactly what you’re going to get from the 22-year-old from start-to-start, so it’s hard to trust him tonight in Montreal. The Habs are averaging 3.00 goals per game (t-16th) this season.
Anderson stopped all 27 shots that he faced in the Senators shutout win over the Rangers on Thursday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Anderson, who finished November at 6-6-1 with a 3.88 GAA, .898 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he faces a Sharks team that is 0-2-1 in the first three games of their road-trip but bring Erik Karlsson to town.
Barrie will sit once again on Friday, with Mark Alt replacing Barrie’s original replacement Mark Barberio. Barrie remains day-to-day.
Barberio was in the lineup for the last two games with Tyson Barrie out and now he’s out with an injury of his own. Barberio will be replaced by Mark Alt, who was called up from Colorado (AHL).
Alt has just four assists in 19 AHL games this season and will play his 17th career NHL game tonight vs. the Blues. Alt will replace Mark Barberio who is out with an upper-body injury.
Russell, who failed to record a point in four games during his call-up, will return the Condors where he has nine points (4G / 5A) in 11 games. Russell will be replaced by Valentin Zykov, who was claimed off of waivers from the Hurricanes.
McDonagh was forced to leave Thursday’s game vs. the Sabres and is questionable for Saturday due to an upper-body ailment. If McDonagh doesn’t play on Saturday, look for Slater Koekkoek to get back into the lineup.
Varlamov made 36 saves on 38 shots in Colorado’s win in Nashville on Tuesday. Varlamov extended his winning streak to five games, posting a 2.21 GAA and .928 SV% in the process. The 30-year-old has been strong at the Pepsi Center, going 4-2-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .928 SV% in seven starts.
Daley was forced to leave Wednesday’s game vs. St. Louis and will miss Saturday’s game in Boston. Daley is day-to-day and is expected to be replaced by Christoffer Ehn as the Red Wings go back to 12 forwards and six defensemen.
Carlo has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury but is expected to play Saturday vs. Detroit. Carlo has just two assists in 16 games this season.
Rask stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Bruins win over the Islanders on Thursday. Since returning to the crease, Rask has won two of four starts with an impressive a 1.70 GAA and .944 SV%. The 31-year-old is 1-0-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .918 SV% in two starts against the Red Wings this season.
