Sbisa is a little dinged up so Jon Merrill will replacing him in the lineup tonight vs. the Penguins. After tonight the Golden Knights are off until Sunday, so that may be enough time for Sbisa to get back into the lineup.
Merrill will play for the first time in five games as he draws in for the injured Luca Sbisa tonight vs. the Penguins. Merrill has barely played this season, collecting just one assist in five games.
Crawford allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Since returning from a lower-body injury, Crawford has won three in a row while stopping 92 of 97 shots (.949 SV%). He has a tough assignment tonight in Winnipeg—Crawford is 5-3-1 with a 2.13 GAA and .936 SV% on the road this season.
Fleury stopped 35 of 37 shots in the Golden Knights shootout loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. It was an exceptional return to the crease for the veteran netminder, who will get a shot at his former team tonight in Vegas. Fleury has been great in his first five starts in a Golden Knights uniform, going 3-1-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .930 SV%. Tonight will be a special night for him but it is a tough matchup.
Callahan missed Tuesday’s game in St. Louis and is a game-time decision for tonight’s game in Arizona. Callahan is not a big fantasy asset anyways as he’s collected just six points (1G / 5A) in 28 games this season.
Vasilevskiy stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Lightning’s shutout win in St. Louis on Tuesday. Vasilevskiy has now won four in a row while stopping 103 of 110 shots (.936 SV%). Vasilevskiy is on-pace for 68 starts and 54 wins—which would blow away the NHL record of 48 (Martin Brodeur—2007 & Braden Holtby—2016). Vasilevskiy is a must-start tonight in Arizona.
Varlamov allowed four goals on 22 shots in Colorado’s loss in Washington on Tuesday. Varlamov has gone 1-4-0 with a 3.33 GAA and .895 SV% in five starts and one relief appearance in December. The one win came against the Panthers, who he will face again tonight—he stopped 39 of 42 shots in a 7-3 win in Florida last Saturday.
Price was yanked after allowing four goals on 14 shots in the Canadiens loss to the Oilers last Saturday. After winning five in a row upon his return to the crease, Price has now lost there in a row while allowing a combined 11 goals on 90 shots (.889 SV%). Despite his recent struggles, Price has a good matchup tonight with the Taylor Hall-less Devils in town.
Gibson allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Ducks win over the Hurricanes on Monday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Gibson, who will make his 25th start of the season tonight in St. Louis Two weeks ago Gibson stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 3-2 win in St. Louis.
Brossoit allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Oilers blowout win in Columbus on Tuesday. Brossoit has been excellent in his last three appearances, going 2-1-0 while allowing just five goals on 76 shots (.934 SV%). The young netminder is still searching for his first win on home ice this season but will be in tough tonight with the Predators in town.
Jagr will miss his fifth consecutive game with a lower-body injury tonight vs. San Jose. The Flames signing of Jagr has not worked out as they would have hoped so far as the veteran has only appeared in 17 games, collecting just one goal and six assists.
Smith stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Flames’ shootout loss in Minnesota on Tuesday. It was an excellent outing for Smith, who has now stopped 71 of the last 75 shots (.947 SV%) that he has faced in his last three starts. Tonight the Flames will dos the Sharks at the Scotiabank Saddledome where Smith is 7-7-0 with a 3.11 GAA and .896 SV% this season.
Cousins has been out of the lineup for the last five games but will replace Zac Rinaldo tonight vs. the Lightning. Cousins has recorded just three goals and one assist (four points) in 23 games this season.
Rinaldo is under the weather so he won’t play tonight vs. the Lightning. Nick Cousins will replace him in the lineup.
Dell stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the Sharks shutout win over the Senators last Saturday. Dell has won three straight starts while stopping 86 of 88 shots (.977 SV%). Tonight he will face the Flames as the Sharks kick-off a back-to-back in Western Canada. Dell is 3-1-1 with a 2.14 GAA and .927 SV% on the road this season.
Varlamov allowed four goals on 22 shots in Colorado’s loss in Washington on Tuesday. Varlamov has gone 1-4-0 with a 3.33 GAA and .895 SV% in five starts and one relief appearance in December. The one win came against the Panthers, who he will face again tonight—he stopped 39 of 42 shots in a 7-3 win in Florida last Saturday.
Raanta stopped 33 of 34 shots in the Coyotes 1-0 loss to the Blue Jackets last Saturday. It was a nice return to the crease for Raanta, who has stopped 99 of the last 103 shots (.961 SV%) he has faced dating back to before his injury. Raanta has a rough matchup tonight with the Lightning in town—he is 1-2-1 with a 2.38 GAA and .926 SV% on home ice.
Lappin has picked up 12 goals and six assists (18 points) in 23 games with Binghamton this season. The 25-year-old returns to the Devils with Taylor Hall (lower-body) not in Montreal. He had seven points (4G / 3A) and a minus-17 rating in 43 games with New Jersey last season.
Despite being placed on IR and listed as week-to-week earlier today, the Wild also announced that Dubnyk will travel on their upcoming trip. Just because he is travelling doesn’t mean he will play, but it’s a good sign that he shouldn’t be sidelined for an extended period of time.
Parise returned to the ice on Wednesday and will travel with the team on their road trip that starts Sunday in Chicago. Parise will not make his season debut on the trip, but the fact that he will travel and practice with the team is a big step in his recovery.
