Braun will miss the season finale on Saturday, which will force John Scott back to the blue line for the first time in his time with the Sharks. Braun finishes the season with a goal and 22 assists (23 points) in 70 games.
After missing the start of the season because of shoulder surgery, Bennett, 18, went back to the OHL where he tallied 11 goals and 13 assists (24 points) in 11 games with Kingston. He is expected to make his debut on a line with David Wolf and Drew Shore.
Stalock surrendered five goals on 25 shots in the Sharks loss to the Stars on Monday. Antti Niemi started on Thursday, but Stalock will start this season finale in Los Angeles. Stalock has gone 8-8-2 with a 2.60 GAA and .902 SV% in 18 starts this season. He will face a Kings team who have lost three in a row and have been eliminated from the playoffs as well.
Zuccarello missed the last two games, but will be back in the lineup this afternoon in Washington. Zuccarello’s return is good news for the Rangers who now know they will have him for game 1 of the playoffs.
Franson has appeared in 78 games this season, but that will be all as he will be held out tonight’s game with an upper-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day.
Fisher will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. He will not be alone tonight as a number of key Predators players will be given the night off. Fisher is listed as day-to-day.
Josi will be held out of the season finale despite playing all 81 games leading up to today. I’m sure playing all 82 games doesn’t mean much when you can take a much needed day-off before the playoffs. Josi had a splendid season, scoring 15 goals (tied for 6th among defenemen) and 55 points (t-5th).
Weber is reportedly day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but this smells like rest for Weber, who missed three games late in March with a lower-body injury. Weber had no points but 15 shots on goal in three games since returning from that injury.
While a number of Red Wings are being given the night off for rest reasons, it is believed that Smith will be a legitimate healthy scratch after taking a dumb penalty in Thursday’s OT loss to the Canadiens. Alexey Marchenko will replace Smith.
Kronwall has only missed one game this season, but he will miss his second game of the season tonight to get some rest prior to the playoffs. Kronwall finishes the year with his third highest point total having scored nine goals and 35 assists (44 points) in 80 games.
The Red Wings will give their 34-year-old captain the night off tonight in Carolina. With the playoffs locked up the Wings have earned the luxury to rest their important players. Zetterberg finishes the season with 17 goals and 49 assists (66 points) in 77 games this season.
Datsyuk, who has been hampered by a lower-body injury will be held out of the lineup during the season finale on Saturday. He has two goals and three assists in his last three games and should be ready to go for game 1.
Weal, 22, has 19 goals and 46 assists (65 points) in 70 games with Manchester this season. With the Kings out of the playoffs, Weal will likely make his NHL debut on Saturday. He was a third round pick (70th overall) in 2010.
Hammond stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Senators 3-0 win over the Rangers on Thursday. No surprise that he will start this afternoon having won five of the last six and going 19-1-2 with a 1.82 GAA and .939 SV% since being recalled. He will look to close out a miraculous run by clinching a playoff spot with a point this afternoon.
Mrazek allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Capitals last Sunday. He has lost four in a row while posting a 2.98 GAA and .898 SV%. He has struggled recently, but Jimmy Howard allowed a couple of weak goals on Thursday, so they will go back to Mrazek in the season finale.
Marchessault, 24, has 23 goals and 41 assists in 64 games with Syracuse this season. He will probably suit up tonight while the Lightning give one of their forwards a rest.
Rask surrendered four goals on 30 shots in the Bruins 4-2 loss to the Panthers on Thursday. He has lost two straight at the worst time. In those two games he has allowed a combined seven goals on 63 shots (.889 SV%). He will need to win tonight if the Bruins are going to make the playoffs—he has gone 2-1-0 with a 3.54 GAA and .868 SV% vs. Tampa Bay this season.
Piskula, 30, has one goal and 16 assists (17 points) in 65 games with Milwaukee this season. He has no points in 12 career NHL games, but will make his season debut tonight with Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Cody Franson all out with injury.
Seguin showed up late for a practice on Friday and will be a healthy scratch on Saturday as a result. Seguin will finish the season with 37 goals and 40 assists (77 points) in 71 games.
Dubnyk finally got a night off on Thursday, but will get back in the cage for the regular season finale on Saturday. He recently snapped a three-game losing streak and will make his third start of the season vs. the Blues tonight. Dubnyk is 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .944 SV% in his first two starts vs. St. Louis.
