Budaj gave up three goals on 27 shots in the Kings’ loss to the Sharks on Wednesday. Budaj has lost his last two starts and is now 4-3-0 with a 2.47 GAA and .905 SV% in January. In his first start against the Islanders, Budaj turned aside 28 of 30 shots in a 4-2 win back in November.
Pavelec allowed three goals on 33 shots in the Jets’ win over the Coyotes on Wednesday. Pavelec allowed a goal on the first shot that he faced, but was able to settle in to earn his first win of the season. Despite a solid season debut, Pavelec draws a tougher test this afternoon with Vladimir Tarasenko and the Blues in town.
Brossoit, 23, was a sixth round pick of the Flames in 2011 and tonight he will face the team that drafted him for the first time. Brossoit has gone 9-8-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .908 SV% in 21 games with Bakersfield (AHL) this season. Tonight will be his seventh career NHL start—he’s gone 0-5-1 with a 3.34 GAA and .896 SV% in the first six.
Hanzal has missed the last two games due to a personal matter, but will play tonight vs. the Lightning. Hanzal is expected to centre the top line with Tobias Rieder and Radim Vrbata—he come into play with 15 points (9G / 6A) in 37 games this season.
Bourque suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of Thursday’s game and will be held out of the lineup in San Jose tonight. With Bourque day-to-day, Joe Colborne will draw back into the lineup tonight.
Barrie was a late scratch prior to Thursday’s game in Anaheim and was listed as day-to-day, but they’ve now upgraded him to game-time decision. Barrie’s status likely won’t be known until pregame warmups at 10:00 pm ET.
Jones gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Sharks’ win in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Aaron Dell started on Thursday, so they’ll come back to Jones tonight vs. the Avalanche. Jones has won four of his last five while posting a 2.61 GAA and .912 SV%. The 27-year-old is an absolute must-start against the Avalanche.
Martin, 21, was a third round pick (No.63 overall) in 2013 and will make his NHL debut tonight in San Jose. Martin comes to the NHL after going 15-9-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .915 SV% in 27 games with San Antonio (AHL) this season, but will be a risky spot-start tonight.
Grubauer allowed three goals on 11 shots after replacing Braden Holtby in the Capitals’ OT loss to the Penguins on Monday. Grubauer has seen a decent amount of action this season and has played very well. He comes into play with an 8-1-2 record, 1.96 GAA, .927 SV% and two shutouts in nine starts and two relief appearances.
Bishop allowed two goals on 21 shots in the Lightning loss in Anaheim on Tuesday. Andrei Vasilevskiy started on Thursday, but Bishop is expected to get back between the pipes tonight in Arizona. He has turned aside 74 of 79 shots (.937 SV%) in three starts since returning to the Lightning net.
Smith surrendered six goals on 35 shots in the Coyotes’ loss in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Smith has been giving up goals in bunches in January, resulting in a 1-3-1 record, 3.71 GAA and .886 SV%. The 34-year-old has allowed three or more goals in nine of his last 10 starts and shouldn’t be considered a strong fantasy option right now.
Bennett was a healthy scratch on Thursday, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Oilers. Bennett has been held off of the scoresheet for 10 games straight games and comes into tonight’s game with just 18 points (9G / 9A) in 47 games this season.
Gibson stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Ducks’ win over the Avalanche on Thursday. Gibson has won four of his last five games while stopping 138 of 143 shots (.965 SV%) including one shutout. In his first start against the Wild, Gibson stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 2-1 loss.
With Jake Allen struggling and back in St. Louis, Copley will get a chance to make his first career NHL start in Winnipeg this afternoon. The North Pole, Alaska native has gone 11-4-1 with a 2.32 GAA and .920 SV% with Chicago (AHL) this season. He has one career NHL appearance—he stopped five of six shots in Nashville on February 27th, 2016.
Reilly, 23, has no points in nine games with Minnesota this season and has spent the majority of the year in Iowa. With Jonas Brodin out, Reilly will replace Nate Prosser tonight and be paired with Christian Folin. Reilly had 15 points (4G / 11A) in 29 AHL games.
Neuvirth stopped all five shots that he faced after replacing Steve Mason in the Flyers’ loss in Washington last Sunday. Neuvirth will start the Flyers first game back from their bye week and it will be his first start vs. the Devils. The 28-year-old has gone 3-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and .893 SV% in four starts and two relief appearances on the road this season.
Dubnyk allowed three goals on 23 shots in the Wild’s win over the Coyotes on Thursday. Dubnyk has won five of his last six starts while posting a 2.51 GAA and .908 SV%. He is tied for second in the NHL in wins (24) and stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 2-1 win in Anaheim in his first start vs. the Ducks.
Condon stopped all 42 shots that he faced in the Senators’ shutout win in Columbus on Thursday. Condon has won four of his last five starts while posting a 2.42 GAA, .925 SV% and one shutout. That one loss came against the Maple Leafs, who he’ll face again tonight—that evening he allowed four goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 loss.
Lehtonen allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Stars’ loss in Brooklyn on Thursday. Lehtonen has gone 0-3-1 with a 3.44 GAA and .895 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances in January. The 33-year-old has gone 4-4-2 with a 2.56 GAA and .915 SV% on home-ice and is better left on your bench tonight vs. Washington.
Nelson, 24, has scored four goals with five assists (nine points) in 27 games with Rochester this season. He appeared in eight games with the Sabres earlier this season, but failed to record a point. He could draw into the lineup on Saturday because Jake McCabe is likely out due to a shoulder injury.
