Goulbourne, 23, played in his first two NHL games before the Flyers break and returns as they get set to return to action on Saturday. Goulbourne isn’t a huge point producer but will be an effective fourth liner for Philadelphia—he has just 10 points (6G / 4A) in 34 games with the Phantoms this season.
Tanev missed the last two games after taking a puck to the mouth in Toronto last Saturday. Tanev has missed a lot of time due to injuries this season but provides a big boost to the Canucks blueline when he’s in. However, he doesn’t boast the best offensive numbers, having scoring just two goals with four assist in 27 games this season.
Markstrom allowed three goals on 36 shots in the Canucks loss in Washington on Tuesday. Markstrom has just one win in his last four starts but it isn’t for a lack of trying—he has posted a solid .919 SV% in those games while facing an average of 35 shots per game. The road has been hard on Markstom this year—he enters Friday at 4-5-3 with a 2.94 GAA and .897 SV% in 13 road appearances this season.
Burakovsky was expected to be in the lineup last night but was a late scratch due to an illness. The Capitals elected to keep him back in Washington for Friday’s game, recalling Travis Boyd from Hershey (AHL) to serve as their reserve forward.
Boyd has been recalled to serve as an extra forward in case something happens to one of the Capitals regular forwards prior to Friday’s game in Carolina. Boyd has 27 points (8G / 19A) in 37 games with the Capitals this season.
DeSmith has played 80 minutes with the Penguins this season, stopped 20 of the 24 shots (.833 SV%) that he faced. During his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton he has gone 12-5-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .915 SV%. DeSmith’s recall suggests that something is up with Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry.
Kukan, 24, was selected to play in his first AHL All-Star Classic this season after collecting one goal and 12 assists (13 points) in 28 games with Cleveland. He did not appear in an NHL games during his call-up.
Dalpe was called up and expected to play on Thursday but with Alexander Wennberg (back) returning to the lineup he served as a healthy scratch yet again. Dalpe has three goals and seven assists (10 points) in 14 games with the Monsters.
Hedman had to be helped off of the ice after suffering a lower-body injury in a knee-on-knee collision with Garnet Hathaway. Coach Jon Cooper said that the severity of Hedman’s injury wouldn’t be known until they can conduct tests on Friday. Hedman was unable to put weight on his leg, so it looks like it could force him to miss some time.
Wennberg has missed the last eight games with a back injury but will be back in the lineup tonight in Buffalo. Wennberg will assume a familiar role tonight as he starts at centre with Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno on his wings. After a breakout 2016-17 season, Wennberg has struggled this season and comes into tonight with just four goals and 12 assists (16 points) in 30 games. He will look to have a better second half, starting tonight.
Lowry will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury, meaning that Jack Roslovic will remain in the lineup and on the top power-play unit. This is a tough time for Lowry to get hurt because he was seeing his largest usage of the season with Mark Scheifele sidelined, however it doesn’t look like Lowry will miss too much time.
Hellebuyck stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Jets win over the Sharks on Sunday. Steve Mason started on Tuesday so they will come back to Hellebuyck tonight in Chicago. Hellebuyck has won five of his last six starts with a 1.98 GAA, .937 SV% and one shutout. In his first start against the Blackhawks, Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 30 shots in a 5-1 loss.
