Forsberg allowed five goals on 20 shots in the Blackhawks loss in Colorado on October 28th. Forsberg has struggled in his three starts this season, posting a 4.25 GAA and .895 SV% while going 0-1-2. He could be in tough against Hurricanes team that ranks as the top possession team in the NHL right now.
Darling stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Hurricanes’ win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Darling has now won two of his last four and has stopped 53 of 55 shots (.964 SV%) in his last two starts. Tonight he will be motivated against his former team and comes in at 2-1-2 with a 2.50 GAA and .905 SV% on home ice.
Ward allowed five goals on 27 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Colorado on November 2nd. With Scott Darling facing his former team tomorrow night, Ward will start the first game of the Hurricanes’ back-to-back tonight in Columbus. Ward has allowed a combined 10 goals on 102 shots (.911 SV%) in three appearances this season.
Kulemin suffered an injury vs. Edmonton on Tuesday and it looks like he is going to be sidelined for an extended period of time. The Islanders announced that he is out indefinitely and without a definitive timetable.
Halak gave up four goals on 19 shots in the Islanders loss in Washington on November 2nd. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Halak, who comes into Friday at 5-3-0 with a 2.83 GAA and .906 SV%. Dallas comes into tonight having won three of their last five games while averaging just 2.40 goals for per game.
Talbot allowed two goals on 34 shots in the Oilers’ win in New Jersey on Thursday. Talbot seems to be turning things around on their current road-trip, winning his first two starts while turning aside 68 of 71 shots (.958 SV%). Tonight he will start his 15th game of the season, putting him on pace for 77 starts. He will take on a Rangers team that comes in riding a five-game winning streak.
Slepyshev returned to the Oilers lineup on Thursday after a two-game absence, scoring a goal, but only lasted 10:27 TOI. He heads to the IR to create roster spot to recall Jesse Puljujarvi from Bakersfield (AHL).
Weber was a late scratch on Thursday but was back on the ice this morning and could be back on Saturday. Weber remains a question mark, but at least it doesn’t appear to be a serious injury.
Ritchie has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will be back in tonight vs. the Islanders. Ritchie has had a slow start to the year, collecting one goal and one assist in 12 games.
Faksa missed Monday’s game vs. the Jets with a lower-body injury he suffered last Saturday vs. the Sabres. He is expected to replace Jason Dickinson on the fourth line and comes in with three goals and four assists (seven points) in 14 games.
Puljujarvi, who had eight points (1G / 7A) in 28 games with the Oilers last year. He opened the season with Bakersfield, where he collected five points (1G / 4A) in 10 games. The Oilers are desperate for offence from someone other than Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Puljujarvi is expected to skate with Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Acciari has been sidelined since the season opener, but will return to the lineup tonight in Toronto. Acciari has six points (2G / 4A) in 49 career NHL games.
Marchand has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, but will return tonight in Toronto. Marchand will be back on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak and comes into play with eight goals and six assists (14 points) in 12 games this season.
Khudobin allowed one goal on 37 shots in the Bruins’ win over the Sharks on October 26th. Khudobin has sat for the last six games, mostly due to a minor lower-body injury but tonight he will start the first game of the Bruins’ home-and-home with the Maple Leafs. In for starts and one relief appearance, Khudobin has gone 3-0-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .926 SV%.
Ward allowed five goals on 27 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Colorado on November 2nd. With Scott Darling facing his former team tomorrow night, Ward will start the first game of the Hurricanes’ back-to-back tonight in Columbus. Ward has allowed a combined 10 goals on 102 shots (.911 SV%) in three appearances this season.
Murray stopped 24 of 25 shots in the Penguins win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. Murray has lost three of his last five starts while posting a 3.07 GAA and .893 SV%. It has been a sluggish start to the season for Murray, but he has no competition for starts so expect the Penguins to continue to ride him.
Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 25 shots in the Blue Jackets loss in New York on Monday. Bobrovsky has allowed at least three goals in each of his last four starts, posting a 3.37 GAA and .888 SV% and going 2-1-1 in the process. Tonight he is expected to face the Hurricanes for the second time this season—he stopped 37 of 38 shots in a 2-1 OT win.
Beaulieu has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury, but will return tonight vs. the Panthers. Beaulieu is expected to skate on the third pairing with Viktor Antipin and should see some power-play time. He has just two assists in eight games so far this season.
Tanev suffered a thumb injury in Calgary on Wednesday and is expected to miss at least 14 days as a result, but avoided surgery and a much longer timetable. Luckily for the Canucks they got Alex Edler back on the blueline last night.
Pitlick suffered an injury vs. the Sabres last Saturday and was set to miss his second straight game tonight. His move to IR created a roster spot for Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie to return to the lineup tonight.
