
Gibson stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Ducks win over the Penguins on Sunday. He has been excellent since being recalled from the AHL, winning four of six while posting a 1.47 GAA and .944 SV%. He is forcing the Ducks to continue to play him and he makes for a great start tonight vs. the struggling Hurricanes.
Lindback allowed five goals on 18 shots in the Coyotes loss in Carolina on Sunday. With Mike Smith banged up, Lindback will start tonight vs. the Wild. Lindback has just one win in his last four starts while posting a 3.68 GAA and .877 SV%. He is a risky start whenever he gets the call and I would be avoiding him on Friday.
Nilsson surrendered three goals on 28 shots in the Oilers win over the Sharks on Wednesday. Nilsson has won four consecutive starts while posting a 1.93 GAA and .945 SV%. Instead of going with Cam Talbot vs. his former team, they will roll with the hot hand. Nilsson has gone 6-2-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .913 SV% at Rexall Place this year.
Schneider allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Devils shootout loss in Toronto on Tuesday. Schneider has gone 1-1-2 with a 2.42 GAA and .919 SV% in his last four starts and tonight draws a tough matchup vs. a Red Wings team that has gone 8-0-4 in their last 12 games. Schneider comes into play with a 5-5-3 record, 2.05 GAA and .921 SV% at home this season.
After replacing Kari Lehtonen on Tuesday, Niemi was granted the win despite not even facing a shot. Niemi has gone 5-1-2 with a 2.22 GAA and .912 SV% in his last seven starts plus Tuesday’s relief. Tonight he will take on a Flyers team who appears to be turning things around. They have gone 5-1-1 while averaging 3.14 goals per game over that span.
Tlusty has been out of the lineup since November 20th, but will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. Tlusty is expected to skate on the Devils’ second line with Joseph Blandisi and Kyle Palmieri. He has just three points (1G / 2A) in 16 games this season.
Farnham is battling a minor injury and his movement to IR is retroactive to Tuesday. He will miss at least the next two games and his movement to IR created a roster spot so that Jiri Tlusty could be activated from IR.
Gelinas was a healthy scratch on Tuesday, but will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. Gelinas has sat out frequently this season, posting just one goal and two assists in 17 games this year. He will replace Jon Merrill.
Merrill will be a healthy scratch for the second time in three games as Eric Gelinas will get back into the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. Merrill has no points and a minus-5 rating in 23 games this season.
Chaput had one goal in three games during his call up but sat out as a healthy scratch on Thursday. Chaput heads back to the AHL where he has 10 points (6G / 4A) in 19 games this season.
Howard allowed two goals on 40 shots in the Red Wings shootout loss in Washington on Tuesday. Howard was excellent but his shootout struggles continued. With Petr Mrazek starting last night, the Red Wings will go back to Howard tonight in New Jersey. The Devils have been impressive this season—Howard comes in at 2-0-2 with a 2.59 GAA and .920 SV% on the road.
Fleury made 24 saves on 26 shots in the Penguins win in Colorado on Wednesday. Entering Thursday, Fleury had lost three of four, so it was nice to see him get back in the win column. Fleury currently ranks fourth in the NHL in Wins (13), eighth in SV% (.926) and 12th in GAA (2.23). He draws a tough matchup with the Kings in town, but he has a career 1.95 GAA in nine games vs. L.A.
Dano has been a healthy scratch in the last four games and only has one goal and one assist in 13 games this season. Dano will work on his game with Rockford after basically losing his roster spot to Bryan Bickell.
Lundqvist gave up two goals on 25 shots in the Rangers loss in Vancouver on Wednesday. Lundqvist continues to play really well, having allowed just four goals on 86 shots (.953 SV%) in his last three starts, going 1-1-1 in that span. Tonight he could face his former backup Cam Talbot in Edmonton—King Henrik has gone 5-4-2 with a 2.05 GAA and .937 SV% on the road this season.