Taormina will play his first game since December 17th, 2013 when he suits up as the Lightning’s seventh defenseman vs. Florida. Taormina had five points (2G / 3A) in 10 games this season.
Blunden will make his his season debut after being recalled because the Lightning are dealing with multiple injuries. Blunden has three goals and two assists in 12 games with Syracuse this season.
Marchessault has failed to record a point in two games with the Lightning this season. During his time in the AHL, Marchessault has nine points (6G / 3A) in 11 games with Syracuse. He will likely play on an all AHL fourth line with Mike Blunden and Matt Taormina, who will be serving as a seventh defenseman.
Vasilevskiy gave up three goals on 26 shots in the Lightning’s loss to the Sabres last Tuesday. Ben Bishop started the last two games, including a loss to the Panthers on Saturday. Vasilevskiy will get his shot at the Panthers tonight in Florida. He has a 2.37 GAA and .924 SV% in three starts but will have an extremely banged up lineup in front of him tonight.
There is no definitive word as to what is ailing Drouin, but he will miss his sixth game of the season. With Drouin out, the Lightning will go with seven defensemen as Matt Taormina will make his season debut.
Paquette has been in and out of the lineup this season due to injuries. Tonight will mark the 10th game of 20 that Paquette will have missed this year. With Paquette out, Mike Blunden will be in the lineup.
Johnson was hit high and hard by Panthers’ forward Dave Bolland on Saturday. He has been ruled out of tonight’s game, but the Lightning say it is not concussion related and he is not expected to miss an extended period of time. With Johnson out, Jonathan Marchessault will play.
Pulkkinen missed Saturday’s game in Boston with a minor undisclosed injury, but will return to the lineup tonight in Ottawa. Pulkkinen is expected to play o the third line with Andreas Athanasiou and Drew Miller. The young forward has had a difficult time hitting the net this season, but still has five goals and 33 shots, which shows how much he fires the puck.
Howard allowed three goals on 14 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Sharks last Friday. Howard has gone 1-4-1 with a 2.80 GAA and .909 SV% in his last five starts. He has had a difficult time collecting wins this season, but draws a fairly strong matchup tonight vs. a Senators team that has lost three of their last four.
Reimer made 43 saves on 45 shots in the Maple Leafs 4-2 win over the Canucks on Saturday. Reimer has been great as of late, winning three in a row while posting a 1.62 GAA and .952 SV%. He has clearly perched himself atop the Maple Leafs’ goaltending depth chart and will start his eighth game in Toronto’s last nine.
Andersen allowed four goals on 27 shots in the Ducks overtime loss to the Oilers last Wednesday. He lost both of his starts in extra time last week. With Anton Khudobin starting on Monday, look for Andersen to go on Tuesday vs. the Predators. Andersen enters play with a 0-4-1 record, 2.43 GAA and .928 SV% on the road this season.
Khudobin allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Ducks loss to the Islanders on Friday. Anaheim has a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, so Khudobin will start his second straight game tonight vs. his former team. Khudobin has posted a 3.09 GAA and .902 SV% in five starts this season.
Vasilevskiy gave up three goals on 26 shots in the Lightning’s loss to the Sabres last Tuesday. Ben Bishop started the last two games, including a loss to the Panthers on Saturday. Vasilevskiy will get his shot at the Panthers tonight in Florida. He has a 2.37 GAA and .924 SV% in three starts but will have an extremely banged up lineup in front of him tonight.
Backes has spent the majority of the season playing alongside mediocre wingers, but on Monday he was moved to the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen. Backes has just six points (3G / 3A) in 17 games this season, so moving him to the top line should help spark some production.
Ritchie, 19, a former top-10 pick had nine goals and three assists (12 points) in 12 games with San Diego before being recalled, will likely make his NHL debut on the Ducks second lineup with Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Stewart.
Shinkaruk, 21, was the Canucks’ first round pick (24th overall) in the 2013 draft and will make his NHL debut tonight in Montreal. He registered an impressive 10 goals and three assists (13 points) in 12 games before being called up.
Sutter will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury. With Sutter out Adam Cracknell will remain in the lineup. Sutter remains day-to-day.
Burrows is away from the team for personal reasons, believed to be the expected birth of his child. With Burrows out, Hunter Shinakruk will make his NHL debut vs. the Canadiens.
Markstrom stopped 42 of 45 shots that he faced to record the win in his season debut in Columbus last Tuesday. With Ryan Miller allowing seven goals in back-to-back losses over the weekend, it looks like the Canucks will turn to Markstrom tonight in Montreal. The matchup is an ugly one as the Canadiens rank second in the NHL with 3.50 goals per game.
Anderson made 33 saves on 34 shots in the Senators shootout loss to the Rangers on Saturday. It was a tough luck loss for Anderson, who has three of his last five. With Andrew Hammond out with an injury, look for Anderson to face the Red Wings for the second time this season. In the first meeting he was torched for five goals on 28 shots in a 5-3 loss.
