Rask allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Bruins win in Pittsburgh on Friday. Rask has won five straight starts while posting a 0.80 GAA and .972 SV%. He is red hot right now and with Jonas Gustavsson starting on Sunday and Rask skipping today’s optional morning skate, look for Rask to get back into the net vs. the Blues. St. Louis comes in as winners of three of their last four.
Haula has served as a healthy scratch for the last three games, but he will get back into the lineup, likely for Jarret Stoll on Tuesday. Haula has just two goals and two assists (four points) in 28 games this season.
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, so it will be Kuemper to wrap up the Wild’s pre-Christmas schedule tonight against the sliding Canadiens.
Elias was a healthy scratch on Sunday, but the Devils were on the tail-end of a back-to-back and head coach John Hynes said it was more of a maintenance day for Elias than a healthy scratch. There is no word on who will come out of the lineup for Elias, but we will find out during the Devils’ morning skate in Detroit.
Gibson allowed one goal on 19 shots after replacing Frederik Andersen in Monday’s loss in Brooklyn. The Ducks will wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule with a back-to-back tonight in New York. Gibson is 4-4-1 on the year but 0-2-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .905 SV% on the road this season. He is a great young goalie, but the lack of Ducks’ scoring will limit the amount of wins he collects.
Hutchinson stopped all seven shots that he faced after replacing Connor Hellebuyck in last night’s loss in Edmonton. Hutchinson will make his first start since December 6th tonight in Calgary. Tonight will be Hutchinson’s 10th road start—he has gone 2-6-1 with a 3.05 GAA and .896 SV% on the road this season.
Rinne allowed two goals on 22 shots in the Predators win over the Wild on Saturday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Rinne, who is now 3-4-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .903 SV% in December. Despite his recent struggles, Rinne makes for an excellent start tonight. He will face a Canadiens team that has lost seven of their last eight games.
Andersen stopped 21 of 22 shots that he faced in the Ducks win in New Jersey on Saturday. It was a nice return to the crease for Andersen, who will get a second straight start tonight, in the first game of the back-to-back. Andersen is 5-7-4 with a 2.46 GAA and .915 SV% on the year.
Grubauer was rewarded with the win after coming in and stopping all seven shots in Thursday’s victory over the Lightning. Grubauer has gone 3-2-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .901 SV% this season, but could make for a strong start behind the powerful Capitals offence. The Hurricanes come in having won three of five.
Hellebuyck surrendered two goals on 28 shots in the Jets win over the Rangers on Friday. Hellebuyck has been impressive since being recalled from the AHL, going 5-2-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .925 SV% in seven starts. Tonight he will make his fifth consecutive start. He’ll face an Oilers team that has lost three straight while being outscored 13-3.
Lehtonen surrendered three goals on 27 shots in the Stars loss to the Flames on Thursday. Lehtonen is 2-1-0 with a 2.86 GAA and .898 SV% in December and tonight he will face the Wild for the second time—he was victorious in the first meeting and he comes in with a 7-0-0 record, 2.00 GAA and .931 SV% on the road this season.
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.
Schneider made 38 saves on 39 shot attempts in the Devils’ 2-1 shootout loss in Boston on Sunday. The extra time defeat moved Schneider to an even 3-3-3 with a 2.29 GAA and .923 SV% in the month of December. Tonight he will make his second start of the season vs. Detroit. He won the first in come-from-behind overtime fashion in New Jersey—tonight will be in Detroit. Schneider is 8-3-2 with a 2/04 GAA and .936 SV% on the road.
Bolland had one assist in two games with Portland during his conditioning stint. He returns to the Panthers, but will not play on Tuesday—the highly paid centre has just five points (1G / 4A) in 25 games this season and just 28 points (7G / 21A) in 78 games since signing a five-year, $27.5M deal in July 2014.
Ference continues to battle a lingering hip issue and has been moved back to IR after not playing since being activated last Monday.
Markstrom allowed two goals on 31 shots in the Canucks loss in Philadelphia last Thursday. Ryan Miller started the last two games, but it will be Markstrom tonight in Tampa Bay. Markstrom is 1-3-3 with a 2.76 GAA and .911 SV% this season and tonight will be his seventh start of the season. He will take on a Lightning team that has won three of four while averaging 3.75 goals per game.
Hellebuyck surrendered two goals on 28 shots in the Jets win over the Rangers on Friday. Hellebuyck has been impressive since being recalled from the AHL, going 5-2-0 with a 2.14 GAA and .925 SV% in seven starts. Tonight it looks like he will make his fifth consecutive start. He’ll face an Oilers team that has lost three straight while being outscored 13-3.
