Hoffman missed Friday’s practice because of a lower-body injury, which puts his status for Saturday’s game in doubt. Monitor Hoffman’s status during the morning skate, but if he can’t play look for Curtis Lazar to move up in the lineup.
Reinhart will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. With Reinhart still sidelined, Andrew Ference will remain in the lineup.
Smid will play in his first game since last January. He has been sidelined with a neck injury, but will make his season debut tonight vs. the Red Wings. Smid is not a fantasy option, having recorded only 72 points in 561 career games.
Bernier allowed on goal on 35 shots but still came away on the losing end of a 2-1 shootout final on Wednesday in Buffalo. Bernier is still searching for his first win despite posting a 2.39 GAA and .924 SV% in his first four starts. He will be hard-pressed to pick up the W tonight as he goes head-to-head with Carey Price.
Price stopped all 38 shots that he faced in the Canadiens shutout win over the Blues on Tuesday. It was Price’s sixth straight win and second shutout of the season. If there were any questions whether or not he could duplicate last season’s performance, he has answered them in the first six games of the season—Price is a must-start in all formats.
Gustavsson allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Bruins win in Colorado on October 14th. Tuukka Rask has struggled in his last two outings, so it looks like Gustavsson will start toninght on Long Island. It is not the best matchup for a spot-start, the Islanders have averaged 3.50 goals per game so far in 2015-16.
Pavelec allowed four goals on 41 shots in the Jets loss to the Blues last Sunday. He has alternated wins and losses through his first four starts of the season and currently owns a 2.52 GAA and .926 SV%. Pavelec draws a difficult matchup this evening as he gets set to face a Lightning team who has averaged 3.29 goals per game.
Barkov was forced to leave Thursday’s game after blocking a shot with his hand. There was no update on Barkov’s status, but he was spotted leaving the arena with his hand wrapped in a bandage. The Panthers can’t afford to lose Barkov for an extended period of time, but if they do, expect Rocco Grimaldi to be recalled. Expect the Panthers to update Barkov’s status by Saturday morning.
Schwartz reportedly had to be helped off of the ice by his teammates after crashing legs-first into the net. We saw Logan Couture suffer a serious injury in practice last week and it looks like Schwartz might be the latest victim of practice injuries. Stay tuned, but it doesn’t look good for Schwartz.
Shattenkirk has been practicing this week and appears close to returning to the lineup, but his status for Saturday’s contest remains unknown.
Fabbri returned to practice this afternoon as he nears a return from a concussion that he suffered on October 10th. He has missed the last five games, but monitor his status before Saturday’s game.
Johnson stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Sabres shootout win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Johnson has won two of his first five starts while posting a 2.35 GAA and .906 SV%. Tonight he makes for a risky start as he gets set to face then undefeated Montreal Canadiens.
Froese has scored three gaols in four games with the Marlies so far this season. After being moved to the AHL last season, the 24-year-old had 18 goals and 24 assists (42 points) in 46 games. The former fourth round pick could make his NHL debut on Saturday with Tyler Bozak still sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Halak stopped all 37 shots that he faced in the Islanders shutout win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Halak has won each of his first two starts while stopping 59 of 62 shots (.952 SV%) and will make his third consecutive start tonight. He will take on a Boston team who has allowed a tonne of goals while averaging a league-high 3.67 goals per game.
Arvidsson, 22, scored one goal in three games with the Predators after making the team out of training camp, but he will head back to the AHL for a little more seasoning. He had 22 goals and 33 assists (55 points) in 70 games with Milwaukee last season.
Lieu wen did not get into a game during his call-up and it looks like he was only with the team as a place holder for Linus Ullmark to go to Rochester and get some game experience in North America.
Ullmark, 22, came over from Sweden in the offseason and he has had a strong start to his North American career. He has gone 1-2-0 with a 2.72 GAA and .932 SV% in three starts with Rochester and could make his NHL debut on Saturday vs. the Devils.
Ward stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Hurricanes shutout win in Colorado on Wednesday. He has won two of his last three starts and sits at 2-3-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .895 SV% on the year. Ward will make his fourth consecutive start tonight and he will go up against the Kings—Los Angeles is currently 27th in the NHL in scoring, averaging just 1.67 goals per game.
Hiller allowed two goals on 12 shots after replacing Karri Ramo in Tuesday’s loss to the Capitals. With Ramo being sent down on Thursday, Hiller has a chance to carve out a larger role, but he has to play well. He enters play on Friday with a 1-2-0 record, 3.72 GAA and .867 SV%.—he’ll take on a Red Wings team that has lost three straight.
Jonathan Quick started the first five games of the Kings’ season but he was torched by the Sharks on opening night, so they will turn to Enroth to make his season debut tonight in San Jose. The 27-year-old netminder was 18-26-2 with a 3.07 GAA and .904 SV% between the Sabres and Stars in 2014-15.
