Klingberg underwent surgery on his hand last Friday and will miss at least five weeks. Klingberg’s original timetable was “one month,” but head coach Jim Montgomery said he would “take that deal” if Klingberg was out for six weeks. This puts Klingberg on-pace to return in late-December/early-January which will give Miro Heiskanen an extended run on the Stars top-pairing and top power-play unit.
Budaj will miss the Kings morning skate on Friday morning because of an illness. As a result, Budaj is listed as questionable for tonight’s game in Chicago, which would leave Cal Petersen to make his first career NHL start.
Petersen stopped 15 of 16 shots after replacing Peter Budaj in the Kings 5-1 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. With Budaj sick, Petersen will likely make his first career start tonight in Chicago. The 24-year-old has a career .903 SV% in 51 career games with the Ontario Reign (AHL).
Bishop allowed five goals on 34 shots in the Stars loss to the Predators last Saturday. Bishop and Anton Khudobin have been splitting time and tonight is Bishop’s turn between the pipes. The 31-year-old is 4-2-1 with a 2.57 GAA, .918 SV% and one shutout on home-ice this season.
Davidson missed Wednesday’s game and will miss at least two more games after being placed on IR. Gustav Forsling will remain in the Blackhawks lineup on Frida with Davidson sidelined.
Kruger missed the last three games with a leg injury, but is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. Kruger, who will genre the fourth line with Chris Kunitz and Andreas Martinsen, has just two goals in 16 games this season.
Dalpe had one assist in 9:01 TOI while filling in for Riley Nash in Thursday’s win over the Panthers. His return to the AHL suggests that one of or both of Nash and Artemi Panarin will be back on Saturday.
Berube was recalled to serve as Joonas Korpisalo’s backup on Thursday because Sergei Bobrovsky was sick. Returning to the AHL suggests that Bobrovsky will be back on Saturday.
Carlsson is expected to see some time as the Blue Jackets No.6 defenseman at some point this season. Carlsson has picked up one goal and five assists (six points) in 12 games with Cleveland this season.
Elliott stopped 23 of 25 shots before leaving Thursday’s game vs. the Devils with what looked like a groin injury. Alex Lyon was recalled on Friday morning, suggesting that Elliott will miss some time.
Lyon has gone 2-2-0 with a 3.54 GAA and .910 SV% in four starts with the Phantoms this season. Lyon has been recalled because Brian Elliott left Thursday’s game with an apparent groin injury. Lyon would likely share the crease with Calvin Pickard if Elliott misses time.
Blais was recalled to serve as a reserve forward on the Blues’ two-game road-trip with Brayden Schenn going on IR. Blais has just two goals in nine games with the Rampage this season.
Chara looked to be in a lot of pain after twisting his knee in Colorado on Wednesday. Returning to Boston in the middle of the road-trip suggests that he will be out for an extended period of time. At the very least, he is out for the rest of the road-trip (three games) as Boston doesn’t return home until next Friday vs. the Penguins.
Sparks allowed five goals on 34 shots in the Maple Leafs loss in Boston last Saturday. Sparks is 2-1-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .879 SV% in three starts this season, making him a risky option whenever he gets the nod. Tonight he faces a Ducks team that is 5-3-3 on home-ice this season.
Grubauer gave up seven goals on 37 shots in Colorado’s loss in Vancouver on November 2nd. Grubauer has struggled in his first five games with the Avalanche, posting a 3.56 GAA and .893 SV%. Tonight he will get a chance to face his former team with the Capitals in town. Washington comes in having lost three of their last four.
Elliott allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Flyers loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Elliott, who is now 3-4-0 with a 2.76 GAA, .911 SV% and one shutout on home-ice this season. In his first start vs. New Jersey, Elliott stopped 19 of 21 shots in a 5-2 win in mid-October.
Korpisalo allowed four goals on 19 shots in the Blue Jackets 5-4 shootout loss to the Rangers on Saturday. Korpisalo has struggled in his last three starts, allowing a combined 10 goals on 56 shots (.821 SV%). With Bobrovsky sick, Korpisalo will make his eight start of the season tonight. The 24-year-old allowed four goals on 41 shots in a 5-4 win in his first start vs. the Panthers.
