MacEachern, 24, was a third-round pick (No.67 overall) in 2012 and is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday. MacEachern has nine goals and six assists (15 points) in 31 games with the Rampage.
Hayes continues to be sidelined with an upper-body injury and will miss his fourth consecutive game on Thursday. Ryan Strome will continue to skate in the Rangers top-6 while Hayes is out.
Forsling missed the previous two games and was moved to IR prior to Wednesday’s game vs. the Predators. The Blackhawks have quality blue line depth so this injury won’t cripple them.
Bunting had one goal in four games with the Coyotes earlier this season. The 23-year-old will travel to Vancouver with the team after being recalled on Wednesday. He has 18 points (6G / 12A) in 22 games with the Roadrunners.
Lehner made 29 saves on 33 shots in the Islanders win in St. Louis last Saturday. The victory extended his winning streak to seven games, posting a 1.22 GAA, .959 SV% and one shutout during that stretch. Lehner will look to stay hot against the Rangers on Thursday—he allowed five goals on 27 shots in a 5-0 loss in New York on November 21st.
Binnington stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the Blues shutout win in Philadelphia on Monday. Binnington was as good as you can be in his first career NHL start and has now stopped 46 of the 50 shots (.920 SV%) that he has faced with St. Louis this season. He draws a tougher assignment in his second career start—Montreal is 12-7-3 on the road this year.
Kinkaid allowed five goals on 33 shots in the Devils loss in Buffalo on Tuesday. Kinkaid will make his third straight start despite allowing a combined eight goals on 61 shots (.869 SV%). Kinkaid is 0-2-0 with a 6.60 GAA and .792 SV% in two appearances against the Maple Leafs this season.
Lundqvist was pulled after allowing five goals on 32 shots in the Rangers loss in Arizona on Sunday. Lundqvist has been pulled in his last two starts while allowing a combined 11 goals on 50 shots (.780 SV%). Tonight he will look to get back on track against the Islanders—he was pulled after allowing five goals on 17 shots in a 7-5 los sin his first start against them.
DeAngelo played just 12:51 on Tuesday after leaving briefly with an injury and then receiving 14 PIMS. Frederik Claesson is expected to replace DeAngelo on Thursday.
Claesson has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but is expected to replace Tony DeAngelo on Thursday. Claesson has just four points (2G / 2A) in 24 games this season.
Hart allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Flyers 2-0 loss to the Blues on Monday. Hart is on a five-game losing streak while posting a 3.23 GAA and .895 SV%. He will look to get back into the win column against a Stars team that has won five of their last seven games (5-1-1).
Vasilevskiy stopped all 31 shots that he faced in the Lightning’s shutout win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Since returning from a fractured foot, Vasilevskiy has gone 8-1-1 with a 2.88 GAA, .919 SV% and one shutout. Vasilevskiy’s splits haven’t been great but he continues to rack up the wins—he is now tied for sixth in the NHL in wins (17) despite missing 15 games. He is a must-start against a Hurricanes team that he tied for 27th in the NHL in scoring (2.64 GF/pg).
Korpisalo stopped all three shots that he faced after replacing Sergei Bobrovsky in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. With Bobrovsky “away from the team” on Thursday, Korpisalo will start vs. the Predators. The 24-year-old netminde has gone 2-1-1 with a 3.67 GAA and .872 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances on home-ice.
Kinkaid allowed five goals on 33 shots in the Devils loss in Buffalo on Tuesday. It looks like Kinkaid will make his third straight start despite allowing a combined eight goals on 61 shots (.869 SV%). Kinkaid is 0-2-0 with a 6.60 GAA and .792 SV% in two appearances against the Maple Leafs this season.
Hannikainen is expected to be out for “a little while” with an upper-body injury that he suffered in Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Dubinsky is expected to be out for “a little while” with a lower-body injury that he suffered in Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Berube is expected to serve as Joonas Korpisalo’s backup on Thursday because Sergei Bobrovsky will not be with the team tonight. Berube has gone 11-10-0 with a 2.94 GAA and .899 SV% in 24 AHL games this season.
“There are certain expectations and values that we have established for our players that define our culture,” said Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen. “An incident occurred in which Sergei failed to meet those expectations and values, so we made the decision that he would not be with the team for tonight’s game. This is an internal matter and we will have no further comment at this time.”
