Fucale, 22, has been recalled to serve as Charlie Lindgren’s backup on Tuesday with Antti Niemi (lower-body) out. Fucale has gone 8-3-0 with a 3.10 GAA and .891 SV% in 12 games with Laval this season.
Antti Raanta was scheduled to start on Monday but was a very late scratch due to some tightness. Hill’s call-up suggests that Raanta is going to miss at least one game and Hill will backup Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday. Hill has gone 14-10-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .911 SV% with Tucson this season.
Valiev, who was acquired in the Tomas Plekanec trade before the deadline, had one assist in one game with Laval (AHL) before being called up to the Canadiens. Valiev will make his Montreal debut on the third pairing with Jordie Benn.
The lower-body injury will shut Niemi down during the best stretch of his 2017-18 season. There’s not word on how long he will be sidelined, but the Canadiens will turn to Charlie Lindgren and Zach Fucale in the meantime.
Criscuolo played just 4:29 TOI last night before suffering an upper-body injury. Criscuolo will miss at least one month, which is more of a tough break for Rochester (AHL) than it is the Sabres.
Bellemare has missed the last seven games with a wrist injury, but will be back in the lineup tonight in Columbus. Bellemare has 13 points (5G / 8A) in 56 games in the Golden Knights’ bottom-6. He is expected to replace Tomas Hyka in the lineup.
Luongo stopped 39 of 40 shots in the Panthers win over the Flyers on Sunday. The 38-year-old is riding a five-game winning streak, stopping 170 of 182 shots (.934 SV%) in the process. Luongo has been excellent since returning from injury and tonight he will face the Lightning for the first time since opening night—he allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 5-3 loss that night.
Seeler missed Monday’s practice with some “soreness” and he will miss Tuesday’s game vs. the Hurricanes as well. The rookie defenseman has two assists in 11 games with the Wild since being recalled and all be replaced by Gustav Olofsson tonight.
Johnson allowed three goals on 41 shots in the Sabres win over the Maple Leafs on Monday. Johnson has won three straight while posting a 1.65 GAA and .949 SV%, so tonight he will start for the fourth time in five games. Tonight the Sabres will host a Flames team that has lost four in a row (0-3-1).
Coreau has been up with the Red Wings since Petr Mrazek was traded to the Flyers and tonight he will make his season debut and 15th career NHL game. Coreau was 5-4-3 with a 3.46 GAA and .887 SV% with the Red Wings last year and has gone 20-10-4 with a 2.47 GAA and .916 SV% with Grand Rapids (AHL).
Kinkaid allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Devils loss in Carolina on Friday. Kinkaid has played very well as of late, winning five of his last seven starts while posting a 2.11 GAA and .933 SV%. The Canadiens are in town and Kinkaid has gone 6-3-0 with a 2.43 GAA and .902 SV% on home-ice this season.
Lindgren allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Canadiens win over the Islanders on Saturday. Lindgren has been great since being recalled from Laval (AHL), stopping 55 of 58 shots (.948 SV%). Lindgren has gone 2-1-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .950 SV% in three games on the road this season.
Berube allowed two goals on 10 shots after replacing Anton Forsberg in the Blackhawks loss in Anaheim on Sunday. Since being recalled, Berube has allowed a combined nine goals on 81 shots (.889 SV%) in three appearances. He will be in tough tonight vs. an Avalanche team that has gone 4-1-2 while averaging 3.71 goals for per game in their last seven games.
Mason allowed four goals on 22 shots in a overtime win in Manitoba (AHL) during his conditioning stint. Tonight he will make his first NHL start since January 9th and comes into the game at 3-6-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .897 SV%. He will take on a Rangers team that has won three in a row but will be without Mika Zibanejad.
Dubnyk allowed one goal on 29 shots in the Wild’s win over the Red Wings on Sunday. Dubnyk has won five of his last six starts while posting a 2.69 GAA and .904 SV%. Tonight he will take on the Hurricanes for the first time this season—he is an impressive 18-3-5 with a 2.15 GAA and .930 SV% at the Xcel Energy Center this season.
Coreau has been up with the Red Wings since Petr Mrazek was traded to the Flyers and tonight he will make his season debut and 15th career NHL game. Coreau was 5-4-3 with a 3.46 GAA and .887 SV% with the Red Wings last year and has gone 20-10-4 with a 2.47 GAA and .916 SV% with Grand Rapids (AHL).
Grzelcyk was a healthy scratch for the last two games but with Charlie McAvoy (knee) out for the next four weeks, Grzelcyk will draw back in tonight vs. the Red Wings. He has 11 points (2G / 9A) and a plus-19 rating in 43 games this season.
Acciari has just one goal in his last 16 games so he will come out of the lineup tonight with Tommy Wingels replacing him. Expect Acciari to draw back in vs. the Flyers on Thursday.
Wingels was a healthy scratch on Saturday and is expected to be back in tonight vs. the Red Wings. Wingels has one goal and one assist in his first two games since joining the Bruins at the trade deadline.
Zibanejad is day-to-day with an illness, so David Desharnais will take his spot on the Rangers top line. Monitor Zibanejad’s status heading into Thursday’s game in Tampa Bay.
