Niemi gave up three goals on 24 shots in the Stars win in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Niemi has won three of his last four starts while posting a 2.28 GAA and .898 SV%. Tonight he will make his third start against the Avalanche—in the first two meetings, he has gone 0-2-0 with a 4.61 GAA and .791 SV%. The Avs come in having won five of their last seven.
Quick stopped 24 of 26 shots in the Kings win in Arizona on Tuesday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Quick, who will start his 43rd game of the season. Quick has gone 27-13-2 with a 2.19 GAA and .919 SV% in the season and made 30 saves in a 3-2 win in his first start against the Ducks.
Prust has been a healthy scratch in the last three games and cleared waivers on Wednesday. Prust had just seven points (1G / 6A) in 35 games this season.
Domingue gave up five goals on 25 shots in the Coyotes loss to the Kings on Tuesday. Domingue has lost two in a row, while giving up a combined 10 goals on 50 shots (.800 SV%). Things won’t get any easier for Domingue this evening—the Blackhawks are in town as one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Moore missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, but will return to the lineup on Thursday. He was activated from IR this afternoon and Damon Severson is expected to be a healthy scratch.
Jones allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Sharks loss in Anaheim on Tuesday. Jones has gone 7-1-1 in his last nine games and tonight he will start his 42nd game of the season. He will face a Blues team that has won four of their last six. Jones comes in at 14-4-2 with a 2.29 GAA and .921 SV% on the road.
Fehr suffered a lower-body injury on Tuesday and will miss at least one month. With Fehr out, the Penguins will likely recall a forward from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
The Penguins have a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, but Malkin will not be available. This is a tough blow for the Penguins, who also lost Eric Fehr on Tuesday, so they will need to recall a centre from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). Monitor Malkin’s status heading into next week.
Gazdic has not played since January 18th and only appeared in 28 games this season. With the emergence of Zack Kassian, Gazdic’s services were no longer needed.
Rinne stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Predators loss to the Blues on Tuesday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Rinne, who is now 19-16-7 on the season. Tonight will be his second start against the Flyers—he allowed three goals on 36 shots in a 3-2 OT loss in the first meeting.
Mason stopped 30 of 32 shots in the Flyers win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Mason, who starts his 30th game of the season tonight. Mason has gone 1-3-1 with a 3.32 GAA and .909 SV% in his last five road starts. Tonight he faces the Predators who had won four of their last five.
Davidson missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, but is expected to return tonight in Ottawa. Davidson has collected just five points (2G / 3A) in 34 games this season.
Schultz missed Tuesday’s game with an illness, but will be back in the lineup tonight in Ottawa. Schultz has just nine points (3G / 6A) in 36 games this season, but has one goal and three assists his last seven games.
Pulkkinen had just one assist in five games since returning to from injury, but will sit as a healthy scratch tonight with Riley Sheahan back in the lineup.
Sheahan missed yesterday’s game with an illness, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Panthers. Sheahan has not scored in seven games and comes in with 13 points (7G / 6A) in 49 games this season. With Sheahan back in, Teemu Pulkkinen will be a healthy scratch.
Kinkaid gave up four goals on 36 shots in the Devils loss in St. Louis back on January 12th. Cory Schneider started the last seven games, but they’ll go to Kinkaid tonight in Toronto. Kinkaid has gone 3-5-0 with a 2.61 GAA and .903 SV% on the year. Kinkaid makes for a strong spot start tonight vs. a struggling Maple Leafs squad.
Johnson allowed five goals on 32 shots in the Sabres loss in New York on January 25th. Robin Lehner started the last two games, including last night in Montreal, so they will turn to Johnson tonight on home ice. It will be his second start against his former team—in the first meeting he allowed three goals on 33 shots in a 6-3 win.
Howard allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Ducks on January 23rd. Howard is 0-4-3 in his last seven starts, hasn’t recorded a win since December 3rd and has given up at least three goals in six consecutive starts. Howard is enduring the worst stretch of his career and things don’t get any easier with the Panthers on the slab tonight.
Dubnyk was yanked after he allowed five goals on 30 shots in the Wild’s loss in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Dubnyk has not recorded a win since January 9th and has just two victories in 2016. Since the calendar turned to the new year, he is 2-6-2 despite posting a respectable 2.31 GAA and .920 SV%. The lack of wins in recent weeks can certainly be attributed to the Wild’s 1.90 goals per game in those 10 starts.
