Alex Chiasson will replace Connolly in the Capitals lineup tonight vs. the Hurricanes but it is not a knock on Connolly’s game according to head coach Barry Trotz. “[He] has been playing fine” but Trotz is just trying to keep everyone involved—Chiasson sat on Tuesday.
Darling surrendered five goals on 28 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Boston last Saturday. It has been a struggle for Darling this season and he has watched Cam Ward a lot recently. Darling comes into tonight’s game having lost three straight while giving up an incredible 16 goals on 93 shots (.828 SV%).
Smith allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Flames win in Minnesota on Tuesday. Smith has won four in a row while allowing just 10 goals on 132 shots (.924 SV%). Tonight he will look for his fifth straight win against the top team in Tampa Bay—he is 7-3-3 with a 1.96 GAA and .944 SV% on the road this season.
Smith allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Flames win in Minnesota on Tuesday. Smith has won four in a row while allowing just 10 goals on 132 shots (.924 SV%). Tonight he will look for his fifth straight win against the top team in Tampa Bay—he is 7-3-3 with a 1.96 GAA and .944 SV% on the road this season.
Darling surrendered five goals on 28 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Boston last Saturday. It has been a struggle for Darling this season and he has watched Cam Ward a lot recently. Darling comes into tonight’s game having lost three straight while giving up an incredible 16 goals on 93 shots (.828 SV%).
Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Lightning’s win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. The win snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Vasilevskiy, who will make his 36th start of the season tonight. Vasilevskiy comes in tied for second in the NHL in GAA (2.10) and SV% (.933) but is the runaway leader in wins (27) so far.
Ullmark has appeared in 21 career NHL games but it looks like he will make his season debut tonight vs. Columbus. The Sabres believe Ullmark has a bright future ahead of him, so they’ll give him a shot tonight after he has gone 17-5-1 with a 2.27 GAA, .928 SV% and two shutouts in 26 games with Rochester (AHL). While he might be the Sabres goalie of the future, he will be in tough against Sergei Bobrovsky tonight.
Ullmark has appeared in 21 career NHL games but it looks like he will make his season debut tonight vs. Columbus. The Sabres believe Ullmark has a bright future ahead of him, so they’ll give him a shot tonight after he has gone 17-5-1 with a 2.27 GAA, .928 SV% and two shutouts in 26 games with Rochester (AHL). While he might be the Sabres goalie of the future, he will be in tough against Sergei Bobrovsky tonight.
Grubauer allowed one goal on 38 shots in the Capitals win over the Canucks on Tuesday. With Braden Holtby starting last night, Grubauer will start the tail-end of the home-and-home with the Hurricanes. Dating back to the start of December, Grubauer has gone 2-0-2 with a 1.05 GAA, .965 SV% and one shutout in his last five games.
Holtby allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Capitals win over the Blues on Sunday. Philipp Grubauer gave him the night off on Tuesday, but Holtby will be back in tonight vs. the Hurricanes—he has won four straight while posting a 2.87 GAA and .910 SV%. One of those wins came against the Hurricanes, who he’ll face again tonight—he allowed four goals on 38 shots in the 5-4 OT victory.
Dermott had one assist while averaging 14:12 TOI/GM in his two-game stint with the Maple Leafs. The Leafs bye week starts on Thursday so Dermott heads back to the Marlies to keep playing but could return to the big club after their break.
Gauthier had no points with seven shots and a minus-4 rating while averaging 8:27 TOI/GM during his five-game call-up. Gauthier heads back to the Marlies to continue playing while the Maple Leafs are on their bye week. Expected the fourth line centre to return to the team after their break.
Bogosian was tangled up in practice on Wednesday and it is believed that he suffered an ankle injury that will cost him at least one month. Brendan Guhle was recalled earlier this week and now it looks like he’ll be here to stay while Bogosian is on the shelf.
The Blue Jackets had a few days off so Korpisalo went down to get a start because Sergei Bobrovsky is on a roll right now. Korpisalo stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 1-0 loss to Milwaukee (AHL)—Juuse Saros was doing the same thing for the Predators and he stopped all 27 shots that he faced in a great AHL goaltending duel.
Dauphin spent the first two seasons of his professional career in Arizona but spent the first three months of this season in the Blackhawks organization. Dauphin had four goals and 10 assists (14 points) in 33 games with the IceHogs and will likely report to Tucson (AHL).
Panik signed a big contract with the Blackhawks ($2.8M AAV) but has yet to replicate last year’s numbers. The 26-year-old winger showed he can put up solid numbers and will likely play a big role in Arizona. He heads to the desert with six goals and 10 assists (16 points) in 37 games this season.
Clendening was originally drafted by the Blackhawks in 2011 and played with the until the start of the 2014-15 season. The 25-year-old has two points in five games with the Coyotes this season and has picked up five points (1G / 4A) in 21 AHL contests.
Duclair reportedly asked to be dealt out of Arizona and they granted his wish. Duclair has nine goals and six assists (15 points) in 33 games with the Coyotes this season, but has yet to live up to expectations to this point in his career. Duclair is still young and could become a capable goal-scorer in this league and will look to start fresh in Chicago. The Blackhawks don’t have a lot depth on the wing, so Duclair could earn a sizeable role at some point.
With Brent Seabrook back in the Blackhawks lineup tonight, the Blackhawks will roll with seven defensemen and 11 forwards and Panik will be the forward that takes a seat.
Forsberg stopped 25 of 27 shots in the Blackhawks win in Ottawa last night. After Jeff Glass started four in a row, Forsberg has turned in two straight good starts, stopping 57 of the 60 shots (.950 SV%) that he faced. He has not faced the Wild this season, but has gone 1-1-1 with a 1.50 GAA and .955 SV% on home-ice.
