Smith has been sidelined by a back injury since February 12th and it requires surgery, which will end his 2020 campaign. Smith finishes the season with 11 points (4G / 7A) in 50 games.
Shaw has been out since November 30th and will miss the final 18 games of the season with lingering concussion issues. Missing such a lengthy period of time with a concussion is obviously not a good sign and hopefully, Shaw will be ready to return to the NHL at the start of the 2021 campaign.
Hagel was a sixth-round pick of the Sabres in 2016 but signed with the Blackhawks in 2018. The 21-year-old winger has scored 19 goals with 11 assists (30 points) in 55 AHL games this season and could be set to make his NHL debut on Saturday.
Blackwood allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Devils win over the Capitals last Saturday. Cory Schneider started the first two games of the week but Blackwood will face the Kings on Saturday afternoon. Blackwood is riding a six-game winning streak with an amazing 1.15 GAA, .970 SV% and two shutouts. Now he faces a Kings team that has gone 4-2-1 with 3.00 goals per game in their last seven games.
Bobrovsky surrendered four goals on 28 shots in the Panthers loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday. The veteran has been very inconsistent in the month of February, going 4-7-1 with a 3.33 GAA and .903 SV% in 12 starts. Today he’ll try and keep the Panthers in the playoff hunt with a win over the Blackhawks—he stopped 32 of 35 shots in a 4-3 win in his first start vs. Chicago.
Gibson allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Ducks win over the Oilers on Tuesday. Gibson has gone 3-3-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .901 SV% in the month of February. Tonight he faces the Penguins for the second time this season, he stopped 26 of 28 shots that he faced in a losing effort in the first meeting.
Murray allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Penguins loss in Washington last Sunday. Murray has lost four of his last five starts while allowing 14 goals on on 146 shots (.904 SV%). Murray comes into Friday's game at 8-7-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .881 SV% on the road this season.
Stalock stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Wild’s win in Detroit last night. Stalock will get the nod on back-to-back nights and for the fourth time in five games. Stalock is riding a three-game winning streak, allowing just eight goals on 80 shots (.900 SV%). Tonight he faces a Columbus team that has lost nine of their last 10 (1-4-5) while averaging 2.40 goals per game.
Rask allowed four goals on 30 shots in the Bruins 5-2 loss to the Flames on Tuesday. Rask’s last two starts have not gone very well, giving up a combined 10 goals on just 57 shots (.825 SV%). He’ll look to get back on-track against an Islanders team that he has played well against this season—going 1-0-1 while stopping 54 of the 58 shots (.931 SV%) that he’s faced.
Lehner was a surprising acquisition of the Golden Knights on Monday and will make his first start with his new team on Friday. Prior to being traded, Lehner went 16-10-5 with a 3.05 GAA and .918 SV% but goes from one of the worst defensive teams to one of the best. His debut will come against his former team, who he is 2-1-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .947 SV% against since leaving in 2019.
