Lehner allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Sabres’ loss to the Bruins on Saturday. Lehner has played very well this season, posting a 2.38 GAA and .922 SV% in 17 starts, but that has only translated into five wins. Tonight he starts in Washington—he is 4-4-1 with a 2.47 GAA and .921 SV% on the road so far.
Rask allowed one goal on 36 shots in the Bruins’ win in Buffalo on Saturday. After losing three of four, Rask turned in a stellar performance and is now tied for second in the NHL with 13 wins. Rask also carries the third best SV% (.941) and tonight he faces the Panthers for the second time, he stopped 33 of 34 shots in a 2-1 win in the first meeting.
Fleury allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Penguins’ win over the Red Wings on Saturday. Fleury has won his last two starts while turning aside 61 of 65 shots (.924 SV%), earning him a third straight start. He will be taking on a Senators team that has surprised this season and come in as winners of five of their last seven.
Krug was absent from the Bruins’ morning skate on Monday, but head coach Claude Julien said that Krug will try and give it a go tonight. Krug has had a hard time finding the back of the net in his first 25 games, scoring just one goal on 77 shots, but it’s only a matter of time before the puck starts bouncing the right way for the talented defenseman.
Chara has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but he will return to the lineup vs. the Panthers. Chara is expected to replace Joe Morrow in the lineup and comes into play with one goal and five assists (six points) in 19 games this season.
Hrivik, 25, has collected eight goals and nine assists (17 points) in 20 games this season. The 25-year-old winger has one assist in five career NHL games and he could make his season debut this week.
Holtby allowed one goal on 33 shots in the Capitals’ shootout loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday. Holtby has suddenly lost three in a row while posting a 2.68 GAA and .918 SV%. Tonight he faces a Sabres team that has lost three of their last five—Holtby is 6-4-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .914 SV% in 10 starts on home-ice this season.
Oshie will miss his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury, which mean Jakub Vrana will remain in the lineup vs. the Sabres.
Bugdoerfer, 27, has picked up seven assists in 22 games with Rochester this season and earned his first NHL call-up. The Sabres’ blueline got banged up over the weekend with Josh Gorges expected to miss some time and Taylor Fedun questionable for Monday’s game.
Goloubef, 27, was acquired from Columbus earlier in the season and has picked up just one assist in two games with San Antonio since the trade. Prior to the deal he had seven points (2G / 5A) in 16 games with Cleveland (AHL) and his call-up could be a lengthy one with Erik Johnson sidelined for 6-8 weeks.
Johnson sustained a broken fibula during Colorado’s loss to the Stars on Saturday. The Avalanche are already struggling and losing their top defenseman, who logs 22-plus minutes per night for at least six weeks is going to cripple them. With Johnson out, the Avalanche have recalled Cody Goloubef from San Antonio (AHL).
Marchessault was injured in Saturday’s loss in Ottawa and has been listed as day-to-day in advance of Monday’s game in Boston. With Marchessault’s status uncertain, Denis Malgin is expected to skate with Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr and Paul Thompson has been recalled from Springfield and could make his Panthers’ debut.
Thompson, 28, has collected six goals and nine assists (15 points) in 20 games with Springfield this season and has been recalled because Jonathan Marchessault is questionable for Monday’s game with a lower-body injury. Thompson has appeared in three career NHL games with the Devils, so Monday would be his Panthers debut.
