Nieves left Friday’s game vs. the Red Wings with a lower-body injury and will be kept out of the lineup vs. the Canucks despite taking the ice for Saturday’s practice. Nieves is day-to-day and will be replaced by David Desharnais today.
McDonagh is battling a strained abdomen muscle and is set to miss another game this afternoon vs. the Canucks. With McDonagh still out, Steven Kampfer will remain in the lineup.
Lundqvist stopped 40 of 41 shots in the Rangers overtime win over the Red Wings on Friday. It was an excellent outing for King Henrik, who has won three straight while posting a 0.67 GAA, .979 SV% and one shutout. This afternoon he is expected to face the Canucks at home-ice, where he is 8-3-2 with a 2.38 GAA and .919 SV% this season.
van Riemsdyk has recorded just two assists in 18 games so far this season and based on Saturday’s practice he will be replaced by Klas Dahlbeck in the lineup this afternoon.
Dahlbeck has been a healthy scratch for most of the season, but it looks like he will play in his fifth game with the Hurricanes this afternoon. Dahlbeck has no points in four games and is expected to replace Trevor van Riemsdyk in the lineup today.
Di Giuseppe has appeared in the last five games with the Hurricanes, but it looks like he will be replaced by Josh Jooris vs. the Predators this afternoon. Di Giuseppe had one assist in those five games, but averaged just 9:27 TOI/GM.
Jooris came out of the lineup vs. the Maple Leafs on Friday, but based on Saturday’s practice he will replace Phil Di Giuseppe vs. the Predators this afternoon. Jooris has two goals and two assists in 15 games this season.
Puljujarvi has two assists in eight games since being recalled from Bakersfield (AHL) but it looks like he will be scratched tonight in Boston. This seems like a strange decision since the Oilers are looking for offence on the wings and Puljujarvi is one of their most promising wing prospects.
Pakarinen has been a healthy scratch for the last four games but is expected to play Sunday in Boston. Pakarinen has just one assist in 16 games this season.
Klefbom missed Friday’s game in Buffalo because of the flu, but it looks like he will return to the lineup tonight in Bosotn. Klefbom has had a really disappointing first quarter of the season, posting just six points (2G / 4A) and a minus-14 rating in 22 games—however his 55.2 CorsiFor% and 3.0 shooting percentage on 67 shots (3.1 S/PG) suggests there are better days ahead.
Slepyshev has missed the last eight games with a lower-body injury, but he is listed as “probable” for Sunday’s game in Boston. Slepyshev is expected to skate on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Patrick Maroon tonight and comes into play with two points (1G / 1A) in 10 games this season.
Khaira has been playing the best hockey of his young career recently, but he will come out of the lineup tonight for the second time in six games. Khaira has two goals and two assists (four points) in his last six games, but will be replaced by Anton Slepyshev tonight.
Spooner recently returned to the Bruins’ lineup but he was absent from Saturday’s practice, which has clouded his status for Sunday’s game vs. the Oilers. Spooner has one assist in two games while averaging just 10:32 TOI/GM since returning to the lineup, but he may not be available for Sunday’s contest.
Szwarz has split his 2017-18 campaign between the NHL and AHL and has collected three assists in nine games with Boston. During his time with Providence, Szwarz has eight points (5G / 3A) in six contests. He is expected to take Peter Cehlarik’s (knee) spot in Sunday’s lineup.
Cehlarik’s knee got banged up in Friday’s game vs. the Penguins, so Jordan Szwarz was called up on Saturday and is expected to take Cehlarik’s spot against the Oilers. Consider Cehlarik as day-to-day and questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. the Lightning.
Subban stopped all three shots that he faced after replacing Maxime Lagace in last night’s overtime win over San Jose. Subban was really good this season before getting hurt, posting a 1.84 GAA and .938 SV% in three starts and last night’s relief appearance. He’ll be in a decent spot against the Coyotes tongiht.
Quick allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Kings loss to Winnipeg on Wednesday. The loss extended his personal losing streak to six games—he has posted a 3.34 GAA and .899 SV% over that stretch. Tonight will be his second start against the Ducks—he stopped 33 of 36 shots in a 4-3 OT win in their first meeting.
Miller returned as John Gibson’s backup last night after missing five games with a lower-body injury. With Gibson facing the Jets last night, Miller will go tonight in Los Angeles. He has played well in his first season with the Ducks, posting a 1.87 GAA and .943 SV% in four starts.
Budaj allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Lightning’s win in Los Angeles on November 9th. With Andrei Vasilevskiy being a workhorse all season Budaj hasn’t played much but it looks like he’ll get his fourth start tonight in Pittsburgh. This is normally not the best building for a spot-start, but the Penguins offence has been lacklustre so far this season.
