Holtby gave up two goals on 36 shots in the Capitals overtime loss in Winnipeg on Saturday. This game never even would have made it to OT if it weren’t for Holtby, who was sensational yet again. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak—he now sits at 16-4-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .928 SV% on the season and is a must-start every night.
Kemppainen left Monday’s game in the first period and did not return. The first year forward will not travel with the team to Montreal and is listed as day-to-day. Jimmy Hayes will work his way back into the lineup with Kemppainen out.
Gagner will miss his seventh consecutive game on Tuesday and was placed on IR yesterday, but did skate this morning. He is day-to-day with no timetable for a return.
Sparks turned aside 27 of 28 shots in the Maple Leafs 4-1 win in St. Louis on Saturday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Sparks, who was torched for six goals in his previous outing. Sparks now holds a 2-1-0 record, 2.34 GAA and .920 SV% in his first three NHL games. Tonight he faces a New Jersey team that is 4-4-2 in their last 10 and 19th in the NHL in scoring.
Ullmark allowed four goals on 46 shots in the Sabres shootout loss to the Red Wings last Tuesday. Chad Johnson started the last two games, including last night’s contest, so look for Ullmark to go tonight in Vancouver. He has a 2-0-2 record with a 2.16 GAA and .937 SV% on the road this season.
Gustavsson was pulled after giving up three goals on 11 shots in the Bruins’ OT loss to the Flames on Friday. It was Gustavsson’s first bad game of the season and tonight it looks like they will give Tuukka Rask a night off as Gustavsson stars vs. the Predators. Nashville has been a funk for the last two and a half weeks, going 2-5-2 over their last nine.
Bjugstad still is not practice and will miss his fifth straight game with an upper-body injury on Tuesday. His lack of practice suggests that he will not be back this week.
Ullmark allowed four goals on 46 shots in the Sabres shootout loss to the Red Wings last Tuesday. Chad Johnson started the last two games, including last night’s contest, so look for Ullmark to go tonight in Vancouver. He has a 2-0-2 record with a 2.16 GAA and .937 SV% on the road this season.
Couture has been out since October 13th because of a broken fibula, but he was activated from IR, which suggests that he will return to the lineup on Tuesday. The Sharks would not confirm that Couture would play vs. the Flames, so we will await word after Tuesday’s morning skate.
Rinne allowed five gaols on 36 shots in the Predators overtime loss in Detroit on Saturday. Carter Hutton got the nod last night, so Rinne will go tonight in Chicago. Rinne has lost six of his last seven starts and he has struggled on the road, going 3-4-3 with a 2.98 GAA and .887 SV% away from home this year.
Crawford made 30 saves on 31 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Jets on Sunday. The win snapped a brief two-game losing streak for Crawford, who sits at 12-7-2 on the year. Tonight he takes on Pekka Rinne and the Predators at home, where he is 7-3-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .931 SV% on the season.
Vermin had one assist in five games with the Lightning during his call-up, but his assignment to the AHL suggests that Ondrej Palat could be back in the lineup on Thursday. It could also be a paper move to save money because the Lightning had three days off in between games.
Daley will miss Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Sunday vs. the Jets. With Daley out, David Rundblad will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last 17 games. Daley is listed as day-to-day.
Zajac will miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury and could be in danger of missing more. Consider him day-to-day.
Jones suffered an injury on Friday, but will not miss anytime, he will play tonight vs. the Sharks. Jones is skating on the Flames’ first line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. He has 10 points (7G / 3A) in 26 games this season.
Russell missed practice for the second straight day and he is in danger of missing his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Monitor Russell’s status during the Flames’ morning skate on Tuesday.
Allen allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Blues loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Allen has given up a combined seven goals on 44 shots (.841 SV%) in his last two starts. He has been shaky recently, but will get the call again on Tuesday. Allen has gone 6-4-1 with a 2.22 GAA and .918 SV% at home and draws a good matchup vs. the Coyotes.
Berra made 27 saves on 28 shots in Colorado’s win in New Jersey on December 1st. Semyon Varlamov started the last three games, but Berra will start tonight vs. the Penguins. In Berra’s first start against Pittsburgh, he allowed four goals on 30 shot in a 4-3 loss. The Pens come in having lost four of their last five while averaging just 2.40 goals per game.
Martinsen was a healthy scratch in the last two games, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. Minnesota. Martinsen has one goal and two assists in his first 12 games.
Grigorenko has no points in his last games and will come out of the lineup in favour of Andreas Martinsen on Monday. Grigorenko had been play with Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla, which seems like the perfect fit for him, but Patrick Roy is clearly searching for more out of the young centre.
