Varlamov stopped 39 of 40 shots in Colorado’s win over the Oilers on Saturday. Varlamov has won six straight starts while posting an impressive 0.99 GAA, .970 SV% and one shutout. The 27-year-old has turned things around in a big way, leading all NHL goalies with seven wins in December. Tonight he will go for a career-high seven-game winning steak against the 11-13-7 Maple Leafs.
Kuemper allowed two goals on 31 shots in the Wild’s win over the Canucks last Tuesday. When Devan Dubnyk got hurt, Kuemper impressed, going 2-0-2 with a 1.48 GAA and .938 SV% in four starts. Dubnyk started last night, but it looks like Kuemper will wrap up the Wild’s pre-Christmas schedule tonight against the sliding Canadiens.
Dubnyk allowed three goals on 39 shots in the Wild’s loss in Nashville on Saturday. Dubnyk has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .919 SV% since returning from a groin injury. Tonight he will make his third consecutive start and his second start against Dallas this season—he allowed three goals on 36 shots in an overtime loss in Dallas on November 14th.
Bourque has missed the last 12 games, but will replace Nick Foligno (undisclosed) in the lineup on Monday. Bourque has recorded just one assist with a minus-5 rating in 15 games this season.
Johnson missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, but will be back in the lineup tonight in Pittsburgh. Johnson has not registered a point and has posted a minus-6 rating in his last five games. With Johnson back in, Kevin Connauton will come out of the lineup.
Foligno will be scratched on Monday because of an undisclosed injury. With Foligno out, Rene Bourque will be back in the Blue Jackets lineup. Foligno’s absence also suggests that Brandon Saad could be back on the top line. Consider Foligno as day-to-day.
Korpisalo made 30 saves on 32 shot attempts in the Blue Jackets win over Philadelphia on Saturday. It was his first win of his NHL career and it was done in impressive fashion. He has posted a 2.94 GAA and .909 SV% in three starts and tonight he will face a Penguins team that will be without Sidney Crosby and that has lost five in a row while averaging just 1.20 goals per game.
Murray stopped 24 of 26 shots in the Penguins 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes in his NHL debut on Saturday. Murray fell behind 2-0 just 15 minutes into the game, but was able to close the door for the remaining 45 minutes, but it still wasn’t enough. He draws a solid matchup tonight vs. a Blue Jackets team that has won two in a row, but have lost five of their last seven.
Dzingel, 23, was a seventh round pick (204th overall) in 2011 and is getting his first taste of the NHL. Dzingel has registered 22 points (7G / 15A) in 26 games with Binghamton this season. The Ohio State standout could make his NHL debut on Tuesday vs. the Panthers.
Crosby suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday night and he will miss tonight’s game vs. the Blue Jackets. With Crosby out, Evegeni Malkin will be leaned on to play big minutes. Scott Wilson is expected make his season debut with Crosby out.
Mason surrendered two goals on 37 shots in the Flyers 3-2 shootout loss in Columbus on Saturday. Despite the loss it was another strong outing for Mason, who has now stopped 71 of the last 73 (.973 SV%) shots that he has faced. Tonight it looks like he will make his third straight start—he would face a Blues team that has won three in a row.
Ward stopped 37 of 38 shots in the Hurricanes 2-1 over the Penguins on Saturday. Starting on back-to-back nights, Ward was sensational, earning his 10th win of the season. Wards 3-1-0 with a 2.79 GAA and .903 SV% in December and tonight will be his second start vs. Washington—in their first meeting he surrendered four goals on 34 shots.
Strait has been a healthy scratch in the Islanders last four games, but he will replace Marek Zidlicky in the lineup on Monday. Strait has two assists and a minus-3 rating in 21 games this season.
Halak made 28 saves on 29 shots, but still walked away on the losing end of a 1-0 shutout loss in Arizona on Saturday. Louis Domingue shut the door on the Isles offence and Halak suffered his second straight loss. Halak is now 3-2-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .924 SV% in December and he should make for a strong start tonight vs. a Ducks teams that ranks last in the NHL in scoring.
Jordan was in Charlotte on a conditioning stint and scored three goals in four games. With his conditioning stint finished, Jordan was recalled, but is not expected to be in the lineup on Monday.
Mason surrendered two goals on 37 shots in the Flyers 3-2 shootout loss in Columbus on Saturday. Despite the loss it was another strong outing for Mason, who has now stopped 71 of the last 73 (.973 SV%) shots that he has faced. Tonight it looks like he will make his third straight start—he would face a Blues team that has won three in a row.
With Sidney Crosby likely unavailable for Tuesday’s game, the Penguins gave recalled Rust from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to serve as an extra forward. Rust has oe goal and three assists in 10 games with WBS this season. Unless someone in addition to Crosby doesn’t play, Rust isn’t expected to be in the lineup.
Karlsson was scratched from Sunday’s game because of the flu and he is in danger of missing Tuesday’s contest. With Karlsson out, the Sharks went with seven defensemen. Monitor his status prior to Tuesday’s game.
Boyle was crushed by Mark Borowiecki in Sunday’s game and hit his head off of the ice and had to be helped off of the ice. The immediate concern is a concussion and that would likely keep him out of Tuesday’s game vs. Vancouver.
Ceci left Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury and his status for Tuesday’s game is up in the air. There was no update on Ceci’s status on Monday, so monitor his status on Tuesday morning.
