Boychuk missed Saturday’s game in Carolina, but returned Monday in Boston. He’ll come back out of the lineup again tonight as he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The veteran defenseman will be replaced by Scott Mayfield.
Greiss stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Islanders’ shutout win in Boston on Monday. Greiss will make his eighth consecutive start and comes in having gone 3-2-2 with a 2.27 GAA, .930 SV% and one shutout in his last seven. He will take on a Stars team that is sitting at .500 and ranks 14th in the NHL in scoring (2.74 GF/PG).
Staal continues to make progress in his return from a concussion, that has kept him out of the lineup for the last five games. Staal remains questionable for Thursday’s game in Toronto, but could be back Sunday in Detroit.
Brodin fractured his finger on Tuesday and after being evaluated it was determined that the Wild blueliner will miss at least one month. With Brodin out, Nate Prosser will draw into the lineup on Thursday.
Rask was pulled after he allowed three goals on 15 shots in the Bruins’ loss to the Islanders on Monday. Rask has gone 3-3-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .888 SV% in his first seven starts of January. Tonight he will make his second start of the season vs. the Red Wings—he stopped all 24 shots that he faced in a 1-0 shutout win in the first meeting.
Condon allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Senators’ win in St. Louis on Tuesday. Condon has won three of his last four starts despite posting a 3.03 GAA and .898 SV%. Tonight he will take on a Blue Jackets team that sits atop the NHL standings and comes in on a three-game winning streak. Condon is 5-4-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .894 SV% on the road.
Jones allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Sharks’ win over the Jets on Monday. Jones has won three of his last four despite allowing a combined 11 goals on 124 shots (.911 SV%). Tonight he will face the Kings for the fifth time this season—he has gone 2-1-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .937 SV% in the first four meetings of the season.
Puempel was on the ice on Wednesday and said after the skate that he is “feeling good” but will remain in New York while the Rangers head to Toronto. With Jesper Fast out and Puempel not ready to go, look for Oscar Lindberg to draw into the lineup tomorrow.
Couture did not travel to Los Angeles for Wednesday's game because they thought it best to keep him home as he gets over a bug. With Couture out, Melker Karlsson will move into the top-6. Monitor Couture's status prior to Thursday's home game vs. the Lightning.
Pickard allowed one goal on 36 shots in Colorado’s win over the Islanders on December 6th. Semyon Varlamov started the last three games, but will be shut down through the All Star break, so Pickard gets the nod Thursday in Anaheim. Tonight the will face a Ducks team that has won four of their last five (4-0-1) and sit at the top of the Pacific Division.
Martin, 21, has gone 15-9-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .915 SV% in 27 games with the Rampage this season. He has spent a lot of time with the Avalanche, but has never appeared in an NHL game. With Semyon Varlamov out through the All-Star break, Martin is expected to see some playing time this time around.
Varlamov continues to battle a groin injury and will miss at least the next four games as he is shut down until after the break. With Varlamov out, Calvin Pickard will start on Thursday and Spencer Martin has been recalled to serve as their No.2.
Brodin will see a hand specialist on Wednesday and will miss a number of weeks, but they will determine whether it will be 2-3 weeks or four-plus weeks. Brodin’s absence leaves the Wild to replace nearly 20 minutes on the back-end; Nate Prosser will likely draw into the lineup on Thursday.
Budaj surrendered two goals on 29 shots in the Kings’ loss to the Lightning on Monday. Budaj has gone 4-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .908 SV% in his first six starts in January and tonight he will face the Sharks for the fourth time this season. The veteran has gone 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .914 SV% in the first three meetings between the two.
Werenski was held off of the ice on Wednesday and his status for Thursday’s game remains up in the air. Monitor Werenski’s status tomorrow, but because the Blue Jackets rarely hold a morning skate, there might not be an update on Werenski’s status until closer to puck-drop.
Talbot turned aside 21 of 22 shots in the Oilers’ win over the Coyotes on Monday. Talbot has won three consecutive games while posting a 1.29 GAA and .939 SV%. Tonight, Talbot will make his league leading 42nd start and it will come against a Florida team that ranks 27th in the NHL in scoring (2.28 GF/PG). Talbot has gone 12-8-1 with a 2.33 GAA and .919 SV% on home-ice this season.
Murray allowed seven goals on 28 shots in the Penguins 8-7 overtime win vs. the Capitals on Monday. You rarely see a goalie allow seven goals and walk away with the win and almost never see him start the next game, but that will be the case tonight in Montreal. The 22-year-old has gone 6-4-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 SV% on the road this season.
Fast suffered an injury Tuesday vs. the Stars and will miss at least one week with an upper-body injury. Expect Oscar Lindberg to draw into the lineup for Fast on Thursday.
Rielly left Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury after crashing into the boards and retired to the dressing room after playing just 2:57 TOI. Rielly is day-to-day and will not play Thursday, which means that Frank Corrado will draw into the lineup for the second time this season.
Hanzal will be held out of the lineup on Wednesday, which means that Josh Jooris will draw back into the lineup in Winnipeg. With Hanzal out, Alex Burmistrov is expected to centred the top line and Peter Holland the second line.
