Nelson, 23, was an undrafted Free Agent that signed with the Sabres. He has spent the last three season with Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he picked up 22 points (6G / 16A) in 40 games this season.
Fasching, 20, was a fourth round pick (118th overall) in 2013. He finished his third year at the University of Minnesota and will play in his first NHL game on Saturday. In 37 games with the University of Minnesota he picked up 20 goals and 18 assists.
Johnson allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Sabres win in Carolina on Tuesday. Johnson has won three of his last four games while posting a 2.20 GAA and .926 SV%. Johnson has been solid at First Niagara Center this season, going 9-5-3 with a 2.08 GAA and .925 SV%. He’ll face a Jets team that has won their last two, but have lost six of their last 10.
Holtby allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Capitals 4-2 win over the Senators on Tuesday. It looks like he will start the first game of the Capitals’ back-to-back tonight in New Jersey. Holtby has won three of his last four starts while posting a 2.36 GAA and .913 SV%. He has faced the Devils three previous times this season, going 3-0-0 with a 2.61 GAA and .889 SV%.
Greiss allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Islanders loss to the Flyers on Monday. J-F Berube got the nod on Wednesday, but they’ll go back to Greiss tonight in Tampa Bay. He has lost five of his last six starts (1-4-1) while posting a 2.67 GAA and .913 SV%. He has struggled since Jaroslav Halak went down but tonight he will face a Lightning team that he beat back in November.
Sundqvist, 22, was a healthy scratch last night and returns to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he has 17 points (5G / 12A) in 44 games this season. He has just one assist in 12 games with Pittsburgh this year.
Vasilevskiy gave up two goals on 22 shots in the Lightning’s loss in Toronto on March 15th. Ben Bishop started the last four games, including last night, so the Lightning will come back with Vasilevskiy on the back-to-back. In one start and one relief appearance against the Panthers this season, Vasilevskiy has stopped 23 of 24 shots (.958 SV%).
Filppula will miss his fifth straight game with an upper-body injury despite being on the ice for the morning skate. Monitor his status prior to tomorrow’s game vs. the Panthers.
Callahan took part in Friday’s morning skate, but will not be in the lineup vs. the Islanders. Callahan will miss his third straight game and remains day-to-day. Monitor his status before tomorrow’s game vs. the Panthers.
Leivo, 22, had one goal in three games during his call-up. Leivo has five goals in 12 games with the Maple Leafs and heads back to 40 points (14G / 26A) in 45 games with the Marlies.
Friday is the first game of a back-to-back for the Capitals, so there is no telling who will get the nod. They lead the NHL and have the conference clinched, so expect Holtby and Grubauer to split the set.
Bishop allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Lightning’s 6-2 win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. He has won three of his last four starts while posting a 1.51 GAA, .953 SV% and two shutouts. Bishop starts at home vs. the Islanders—he allowed three goals on 22 shots in a 3-2 loss in his first start vs. the Isles and has gone 16-10-3 with a 2.10 GAA and .921 SV% at Amalie Arena.
Markstrom stopped 47 of 48 shots in the Canucks 2-0 loss to the Jets on Tuesday. Ryan Miller got the nod last night and they’ve been alternating games, so look for Markstrom to start tonight in St. Louis. Markstrom has lost his last three starts while posting a 2.71 GAA and .922 SV%. It will be his first start vs. the Blues, but his 13th on the road—he is 6-4-3 with a 2.15 GAA and .936 SV% in the first 12.
Lehtonen gave up two goals on 32 shots in the Stars win in Chicago on Tuesday. Lehtonen has won his last three starts while posting a 1.67 GAA, .937 SV% and one shutout. He has had a really strong month, going 6-1-1 in eight March starts and tonight he starts in Arizona—he is 11-3-2 with a 2.78 GAA and .912 SV% o the road this season.
Quick allowed two goals on 18 shots in the Kings loss in Minnesota on Tuesday. He has had a rough start to the week, losing both starts while allowing a combined five gaols on 45 shots (.889 SV%). He has not faced the Jets this season, but has gone 16-8-2 with a 2.07 GAA and .932 SV% in 26 starts on the road this year.
Rinne allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Predators win over the Kings on Monday. Rinne has won three in a row and five of his last six starts while posting a 2.18 GAA and .923 SV%. Tonight he will make his third start vs. the Canucks—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .912 SV% in the first two meetings.
Rask allowed two goals on eight shots before being removed from yesterday’s game due to an illness. Jonas Gustavsson finished the rest of the game, but Rask must be feeling better today as he will start vs. the Panthers. Rask has gone 3-0-0 with a 1.96 GAA and .945 SV% in three starts against Florida this season.
Allen allowed five goals on 26 shots in the Blues loss in Edmonton on March 16th. Allen started every game while Brian Elliott was out, but Elliott has returned to post three consecutive shutouts, but Allen will start on the tail-end of a back-to-back. He has allowed a combined nine goals in his last two starts and draws a tough matchup vs. the NHL’s top team.
Elliott stopped all 37 shots that he faced in the Blues shutout win over the Sharks on Tuesday. After missing nearly one month with a lower-body injury, Elliott returned to the crease to post back-to-back shutouts, stopping all 56 shots that he has faced. He draws an excellent matchup tonight against a Vancouver team that has lost six straight games while averaging just 0.83 goals per game.
