Ericsson has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury, but will be back in the lineup on Thursday. Ericsson is not an viable fantasy option having only scored one goal with four assists in his first 32 games.
Mrazek stopped all 11 shots that he faced after Jimmy Howard was pulled for the second straight game on Tuesday. Mrazek has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV% in December and should see the bulk of the starts going forward with Howard struggling. Tonight he faces the Penguins at home, where he has gone 6-3-3 with a 2.15 GAA and .923 SV% this season.
Kostka did not play in Wednesday’s game after being recalled because Marc Methot was good-to-go. Kostka has one goal and 11 assists (12 points) in 23 games this season.
Mrazek stopped all 11 shots that he faced after Jimmy Howard was pulled for the second straight game on Tuesday. Mrazek has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV% in December and should see the bulk of the starts going forward with Howard struggling. Tonight he faces the Penguins at home, where he has gone 6-3-3 with a 2.15 GAA and .923 SV% this season.
Clendening has been a healthy scratch in the last four games and with Kris Letang back in the lineup, he won’t see time any time soon. He heads to WBS to get some reps in. He has just one assist in nine games with the Penguins this season.
Backstrom left after playing just 14:35 (averages 19:16) and did not return to the Capitals’ bench after leaving. Because the Capitals have a back-to-back, Backstrom’s status for Thursday’s game is up in the air. They won’t have a morning skate, so expect an update closer to puck-drop.
Ness has been recalled because the Capitals will be without John Carlson for the next few games, so Ness will likely serve as the seventh defenseman on their upcoming five-game road trip.
Carlson was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, but will not miss at least a couple of games with a lower-body injury. This is a huge blow to the Capitals blueline, who will get Aaron Ness from Hershey (AHL) to act as their seventh defenseman while Carlson is out.
Beagle will be out for an “extended period of time” because whatever his upper-body ailment is, requires surgery. Beagle will be moved to IR so the Capitals can recall a forward from Hershey (AHL).
Neuvirth was scheduled to start in San Jose last night, but ended up giving the start to Steve Mason because he was under the weather.
Ramo stopped 20 of 21 shots in the Flames 1-0 defeat on Tuesday. Ramo did all he could, but John Gibson was perfect at the other end and snapped the Flames’ home winning streak. Ramo won’t want to see December end after going 7-3-0 with a 2.19 GAA and .923 SV% this month. Tonight he faces a Kings team that has gone 3-0 while outscoring their opponent 14-5 during their road trip.
Varlamov allowed two goals on 28 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Coyotes on Sunday. After winning six straight, Varalmov has now lost his last two games, while giving up a combined eight goals on 49 shots (.837 SV%). Tonight he will look to close out 2015 with a win, but it won’t come easy with the Blackhawks in town. Varlamov posted a 29-save shutout in his first start vs. Chicago (Dec. 15).
Dubnyk allowed one goal on 29 shots in the Wild’s win over the Red Wings on Monday. He was not even scheduled to start, but filled in admirably for Darcy Kuemper, who is now out with a concussion. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for Dubnyk, who is 4-3-0 with a 1.88 GAA and .938 SV% in December. He will face the Blues for the third time—he is 1-0-1 in the first two meetings.
Allen allowed three goals on 33 shots in the Blues win over the Predators on Tuesday. He has now won three in a row and five of his last six and will get a chance to close out the 2015 section of the Blues’ schedule tonight vs. Minnesota. Allen has an impressive 2.08 GAA and .927 SV% on the season and comes in at 1-1-0 with a 2.44 GAA and .900 SV% in two starts vs. the Wild this year.
Domingue allowed three goals on 22 shots after replacing Anders Lindback in the Coyotes loss to Chicago on Tuesday. Since being called up, Domingue has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.66 GAA and .915 SV%. Tonight he draws a nice matchup against a Jets team that ranks 21st in the NHL in scoring on the road (2.37 G/PG) this season.
Apologies folks I was out and about thinking that James Reimer would get the start as expected. He ended up bering scratched due to tightness, so Bernier gets the call after being torched last night.
Neuvirth allowed three goals on 32 shots in a win over Carolina on December 15th. Steve Mason started the last four games, but Neuvirth will start tonight in San Jose. Neuvirth is 3-1-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .932 SV% in December. He starts on the road, where he has gone 3-3-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .927 SV% this season.