Johansson left Saturday’s game in New York after blocking a shot and will come out of the lineup tonight vs. the Kings. With Johansson out, Drew Stafford is expected to draw back in up front.
Lehner allowed three goals on 45 shots in the Sabres loss in St. Louis on Sunday. Lehner has lost five of his last six starts while posting a 2.84 GAA and .919 SV%. Lehner has had his struggles this season, but has been good at KeyBank Center, going 3-6-1 with a 2.02 GAA and .932 SV% in nine starts and two relief appearances.
Fleury has been sidelined by a concussion since October 13th but it looks like he is ready to return to the Golden Knights crease tonight. Prior to getting hurt, Fleury was 3-1-0 with a 2.48 GAA and .925 SV% in four starts. The Golden Knights were able to go 16-8-1 without Fleury, so he should make for a great fantasy option going forward.
Grubauer stopped all 18 shots that he faced replacing Braden Holtby in the Capitals loss in Brooklyn last night. The Capitals may go back to Grubauer tonight after another strong outing. In his last three appearances, Grubauer has turned away 66 of 68 shots (.971 SV%). Don’t expect the Capitals to announce a starter until they get to the rink closer to game time.
The Ducks were unable to provide an update on Perry’s status postgame but they can’t seem to get out of their own way. The Ducks just got Ryan Getzlaf back yesterday and they played just 3:49 TOI together before Perry exited the game. Expect an update on Perry’s status prior to Thursday’s game in St. Louis.
Kerfoot played just 7:41 TOI before leaving last night’s game in Pittsburgh with a lower-body injury. With the Avalanche back in action on Tuesday, Kerfoot should be considered questionable at best. Expect the Avalanche to update Kerfoot’s status closer to game-time.
Condon allowed four goals on 38 shots in the Senators 4-3 overtime loss in Los Angeles last Thursday. Craig Anderson allowed five goals in San Jose on Saturday so they’ll go back to Condon tonight as the Senators lengthy road trip continues. Condon has gone 2-2-2 with a 3.22 GAA and .906 SV% on the road this season.
Varlamov allowed three goals on 42 shots in Colorado’s win in Florida on Saturday. With Jonathan Bernier starting last night, Varlamov will start tonight in Washington. In his first start against the Capitals, Varlamov stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 6-2 win in mid-November.
Elliott stopped 36 of 37 shots in the Flyers win in Vancouver last Thursday. Elliott has won three in a row while turning away 103 of 108 shots (.954 SV%). The veteran netminder will look to stay hot tonight vs. the Maple Leafs—he stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 4-2 win in Toronto back in late-October.
Schmaltz has picked up five goals and 14 assists (19 points) in 24 games with San Antonio this season. The 2012 first round pick (No.25 overall) has two assists in nine career NHL games and could make his season debut on Tuesday. Schmaltz has been called up because Alex Pietrangelo was moved to IR this morning.
The Blues moved Pietrangelo to IR but did not announce how long he is expected to be out. The move to IR means that he will have to miss at least the next two games, but is eligible to play Saturday vs. the Jets. The Blues used his roster spot to call up Jordan Schmaltz.
Howard was pulled after allowing four goals on 10 shots in the Red Wings 6-1 loss to the Blues on Saturday afternoon. After a great outing vs. the Jets earlier in the week, Howard turned in his second stinker in three games. In his last five starts, the 33-year-old has allowing a whopping 20 goals on 106 shots (.811 SV%).
Holtby stopped 27 of 29 shots in the Capitals win over the Rangers last Friday. Holtby has won five of his last six starts while posting a 2.34 GAA and .926 SV%. Tonight he is expected to face the Islanders for the second time this season—he allowed three goals on 38 shots in a 4-3 win in the first meeting.
