Rask surrendered three goals on 23 shots in the Bruins win in Arizona on Saturday. The win was his first of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak for Rask. He comes into play tonight with an ugly 4.29 GAA and .851 SV% on the season, but draws a good matchup vs. the Flyers team struggling to score early on.
Ward allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Washington on Saturday. He played very well, but it was not enough to top the Capitals’ high octane offence. He will start for the fifth time in six games and comes in with a 3.30 GAA and .867 SV% in his first four outings. Tonight he faces an Avalanche team who is averaging 3.20 goals per game.
Lerg failed to record a point in his first game of the season and has been sent back to the AHL already. Micheal Haley will take his place on Thursday.
Goldobin registered his first NHL goal on Saturday vs. the Islanders. His one goal in three games was not enough to keep him around for now.
DeMelo had no points and a minus-1 rating in two games with the Sharks. He has been swapped with Mirco Mueller, who is expected play on Thursday.
Haley, 29, registered four goals and two assists (six points) in the first three AHL games of the season. His hot start earned him a call-up and he is expected to make his season debut on Thursday. However he has just two goals and one assist in 56 career NHL games.
Mueller, 20, has one assist in three games with San Jose (AHL) and is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday vs. Los Angeles. The 2013 18th overall pick has four points (1G / 3A) in 39 career NHL games.
Stastny has missed the last two games with what was previously called a “lower-body injury.” We now know that the injury is a broken right foot that will keep him out for at least five weeks. After five weeks he will be evaluated and another timetable will be released.
Keith is expected to miss 4-6 weeks so the Blackhawks have placed him on LTIR to open up a roster spot and give them some salary cap relief to fill that void for the next month or so. Keith’s placement on LTIR means he has to miss a minimum of 24 calendar days or 10 NHL games.
Stuart has been in and out of the lineup this season. After playing on Sunday he will come out tonight in favour of Brandon Gormley, who will be making his Avalanche debut.
Vasilevskiy had been skating but he will start practicing next week, which is a huge step in his return from a blood clot. He was originally expected to miss 2-3 months. If he returns at the front-end of that timetable, he would be back in the second week of November.
Jackman missed Tuesday’s game vs. the Lightning with an upper-body injury, but he was a regular participant in Wednesday’s practice which means that he could be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Gormley was a healthy scratch in the first five games of the season after being acquired from Arizona before the season started. Tonight he will replace Brad Stuart and play alongside Nick Holden. The 23-year-old was known for his offence in juniors and in the AHL, but has posted just four points (2G / 2A) in 32 career NHL games.
Glass was placed on waivers on Tuesday, but went unclaimed so the Rangers will send him to Hartford. Glass had no points in two games and was a healthy scratch in the last three games.
Ellis missed Tuesday’s game vs. Tampa Bay, but he was back at practice this afternoon and was skating with his usual partner Mattias Ekholm, which suggests that he could be back in the lineup on Thursday vs. Anaheim.
Talbot gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Oilers win over the Flames on Saturday. He was given the second game of the back-to-back off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. Detroit. The Red Wings are currently tied for ninth in the NHL with 3.00 goals per game. Talbot enters with a 2.54 GAA and .908 SV% in four starts.
Stepan missed Wednesday’s practice because he had his wisdom teeth removed, but he is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday vs. the Coyotes. Stephan has three gaols, one assist and 20 shots on goal in seven contests this season. Monitor his status during Thursday’s morning skate to be sure he plays.
Reinhart missed Tuesday’s practice and today’s gameday skate so he will be held out of the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. He is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and will be replaced by Andrew Ference.
Lundqvist allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Rangers’ shootout loss to the Devils on Sunday. He was given Monday night off, so he will be back in goal tonight vs. the visiting Coyotes. Lundqvist enters play on a three-game losing streak and sits at 3-2-1 with a 2.16 GAA and .931 SV% on the season.
Ramo was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots last night and has posted a 4.38 GAA and .879 SV% in three starts this season. The Flames opening night starter has been placed on waivers and will either be claimed by another team or be sent to Stockton (AHL). The Flames were already carrying three goalies, so with Ramo now out of the picture they will turn to the duo of Jonas Hiller and Joni Ortio.
