Howard allowed three goals on 30 shots in the Red Wings loss in Los Angeles on January 11th. Howard is 0-3-3 with a 3.63 GAA and .893 SV% in his last six starts and hasn’t registered a win since December 3rd. With Petr Mrazek starting last night the Wings will turn to Howard tonight vs. the Ducks. The Ducks come in ranked last in the NHL with 1.37 goals per game on the road.
Varlamov stopped 33 of 34 shots in Colorado’s shootout win over the Blues last night. Varlamov has won three consecutive starts while posting a 0.98 GAA and .970 SV%. Tonight will be his third start without rest—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA and .942 SV% in the first two. It is always risky to start a goalie on back-to-back nights, but even more so against the Stars.
Howard allowed three goals on 30 shots in the Red Wings loss in Los Angeles on January 11th. Howard is 0-3-3 with a 3.63 GAA and .893 SV% in his last six starts and hasn’t registered a win since December 3rd. With Petr Mrazek starting last night, it looks like Howard will go tonight vs. the Ducks. The Ducks come in ranked last in the NHL with 1.37 goals per game on the road.
Michalek suffered a broken finger in the Senators loss to the Islanders. Michalek already missed over one month with a fractured index finger, so this is nothing new for the veteran forward. Expect Michalek to miss multiple weeks once again.
Rinne made 26 saves on 27 shots in the Predators win in Winnipeg on Thursday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Rinne, who is now 17-15-7 with a 2.54 GAA and .903 SV% on the season. Tonight, Rinne make his second start vs. the Oilers—he stopped all 31 shots that he faced in a 2-0 shutout win in their first meeting.
Tlusty will undergo wrist surgery and will miss the remainder of the regular season. Tlusty has already missed 18 games this season and will finish the season with just four points (2G / 2A) in 30 games.
Ferland is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will come out of the lineup on Sunday. With Ferland out, Lance Bouma will return to the lineup in Ferland’s spot.
Niemi allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Stars win over the Oilers on Thursday. It was Niemi’s first win since December 31st and 17th of the season. Tonight he will start vs. the Avalanche for the second time this season—he was torched for six goals on 28 shots in a 6-3 loss in Colorado back in October.
Jones stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Sharks win in Arizona on Thursday. Jones has won five consecutive starts while posting a 1.76 GAA and .939 SV%. The Sharks and Jones have caught fire and this afternoon they face a Wild team that has hit skids recently. Minnesota is coming off of a shutout win, but have lost five of their last six.
Kuemper stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Wild’s shutout win over the Kings on Thursday. With Kuemper coming off of a shutout and Devan Dubnyk losing his last four, Kuemper will get a second straight start. Kuemper has gone 2-0-3 with a 1.83 GAA and .935 SV% on the road this season and shut the Sharks out back in mid-December.
Kuemper stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Wild’s shutout win over the Kings on Thursday. With Kuemper coming off of a shutout and Devan Dubnyk losing his last four, it looks like Kuemper will get a second straight start. Kuemper has gone 2-0-3 with a 1.83 GAA and .935 SV% on the road this season and shut the Sharks out back in mid-December.
Quick allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Kings loss to the Wild on Thursday. Quick has gone 5-2-1 with a 1.99 GAA And .924 SV% in January and tonight is looks like he will face the Coyotes for the fourth time this season—Quick has gone 1-2-0 with a 3.34 GAA and .865 SV%. It has been a struggle vs. the young Coyotes, but Quick remains a strong option tonight.
Talbot allowed three on 35 shots in the Oilers 3-2 loss in Dallas on Thursday. Talbot has gone 4-3-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .938 SV% in eight starts this month. Tonight will be Talbot’s second start vs. the Predators—he allowed two goals on 26 shots in a 2-0 loss back in October. Nashville comes in having lost six of their last eight.
Ramo stopped 27 of 29 shots in the Flames win in Columbus on Thursday. After sitting for three in a row, it was a nice performance from Ramo, who earned himself a second straight start. It looks like the Flames will ride the hot hand, so tonight Ramo faces the Hurricanes in Carolina. Ramo is 6-8-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .913 SV% on the road this season.
Sheary was expected to be a healthy scratch on Saturday, but Chris Kunitz was a late scratch, so Sheary will be in the lineup vs. the Canucks. Sheary will likely skate on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist—he has two goals and one assist in 14 games this season.
Kunitz missed Friday’s practice but he was expected to be in the lineup this afternoon. He took part in warmups but ended up being a late scratch due to his lower-body injury.
Calvert has been sidelined with a knee injury since December 29th, but will be back in the lineup on Saturday. Calvert has just six goals and one assist in 39 games this season and is expected to return on the Blue Jackets’ fourth line.
Foligno has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury, but will return to the lineup tonight in Boston. Foligno is nowhere near his 2014-15 self, but does have 25 points (6G / 19A) in 39 games.
