Andrighetto has been sidelined since December 31st, but will return on the Avs’ fourth line on Thursday. Andrighetto, who will replace Nail Yakupov in the lineup, has 18 points (6G / 12A) in 37 games this season.
Schmidt will miss his fourth straight game but will join the team in Buffalo on Friday and is expected to re-join the lineup on Saturday. With Schmidt still out, Brad Hunt will remain in the lineup in Detroit.
Smith was hurt in Tuesday’s game in Columbus and will come out of the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. With Smith out, Tomas Tatar, who is making his return to Detroit, will skate on the top line with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. There’s no word on how many games Smith is expected to miss.
Zibanejad missed Tuesday’s game vs. the Jets, but will draw back in tonight in Tampa Bay. Zibanejad will take his spot on the Rangers top line and return with 19 goals and 15 assists (34 points) in 57 games this season.
Varlamov allowed two goals on 27 shots in Colorado’s loss in Chicago on Tuesday. Varlamov has lost two in a row while allowing a combined six goals on 58 shots (.897 SV%). The 29-year-old will go head-to-head with Joonas Korpisalo in Columbus—he has gone 6-9-3 with a 3.32 GAA and .894 SV% on the road in 2017-18.
Tanev was a healthy scratch after being activated from IR but will draw in for Mark Scheifele tonight in New Jersey. Tanev will be playing in his first game since February 3rd and returns to the lineup with 12 points (4G / 8A) in 46 games this season.
There’s no word what is ailing Perreault but he is a game time decision for Thursday’s game in New Jersey. The Jets will already be without Mark Scheifele, so missing Perreault will put them down two top-9 forwards vs. the Devils.
Hutchinson will come up and backup Connor Hellebuyck in New Jersey after Steve Mason suffered a lower-body injury in today’s morning skate. Hutchinson’s stay with Winnipeg will be determined by how serious Mason’s injury is.
Mason posted a 31-save shutout in his return to the Jets crease on Tuesday but is already out with another injury after suffering a lower-body injury in Thursday’s morning skate. Michael Hutchinson has been recalled from the AHL and will backup Connor Hellebuyck in New Jersey.
Scheifele was hurt in New York on Tuesday and will not play tonight vs. the Devils. Scheifele’s injury will force the Jets to shuffle their lines, but Blake Wheeler will stay on the wing this time.
Hellebuyck allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Jets win in Carolina on Saturday. Steve Mason gave him the night off on Tuesday, so Hellebuyck will return to the crease tonight in New Jersey. Hellebuyck stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 5-2 win in his first start vs. the Devils in mid-November.
Rutta has had a nice offensive season, picking up six goals and 13 assists (19 points) in his first 43 NHL games. Rutta is also expected to return to the Blackhawks lineup on Thursday—he missed the last four games with a lower-body injury.
Hyka was up on an emergency recall last week but has been officially recalled for tonight’s game in Detroit. The 24-year-old has one goal and one assist in six games with the Golden Knights and 34 points (12G / 21A) in 35 games with the Wolves. Hyka will skate on a line with Erik Haula and David Perron.
Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 49 shots in the Lightning’s overtime win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Vasilevskiy has won two in a row despite allowing a combined 10 goals, but faced a whopping 92 shots in those two games. He will face a Rangers team that has torn it down—Vasilevskiy is 22-4-2 with a 2.66 GAA and .915 SV% on home ice.
Turris was rested on Tuesday but is expected to replace Kevin Fiala (rest) in the lineup tonight. Turris has picked up nine goals and 19 assists (28 points) in 49 games since being traded to the Predators.
The Predators are rotating through their lineup and resting players and it looks like tonight is Fiala's turn to take a seat. Kyle Turris is expected to draw back in for Fiala after he was rested on Tuesday.
Josi is expected to miss his fourth consecutive game tonight vs. the Ducks. The Predators have been rotating people out of the lineup to give them rest, so they’re definitely not going to rush Josi back in. He was on the ice for the morning skate, but skated as an extra.
Rinne stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Predators shutout win over the Stars on Tuesday. Rinne is riding a seven-game winning streak, allowing just 13 goals on 226 shots (.942 SV%). Tonight he faces the Ducks for the third time this season—he is 2-0-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .932 SV% in the first two meetings with Anaheim.
Rask allowed four goals on 26 shots in the Bruins win over the Penguins last Thursday. Anton Khudobin started the last two games but it looks like Rask will return from a minor lower-body injury tonight vs. the Flyers. The 30-year-old stopped all 28 shots that he faced in a 3-0 shutout in early-December.
Rask allowed four goals on 26 shots in the Bruins win over the Penguins last Thursday. Anton Khudobin started the last two games but it looks like Rask will return from a minor lower-body injury tonight vs. the Flyers. The 30-year-old stopped all 28 shots that he faced in a 3-0 shutout in early-December.
