Bortuzzo was injured early in the third period of Thursday’s shootout loss to the Red Wings. Bortuzzo will miss 10 days, but Bortuzzo was in an out of the lineup anyways, so this isn’t a big loss for St. Louis.
Spezza has missed the last two games, but he was in the morning skate and could return to the lineup on Saturday. There is no official word that Spezza will play, so consider him a game-time decision.
Markstrom allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Canucks loss in Los Angeles last Saturday. Ryan Miller has started the last three games, including last night, so Markstorm is expected to start tonight vs. Washington. Markstrom has won three of his first four games while posting a 1.95 GAA and .923 SV%.
Elliott allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Flames win over the Senators on Friday. Elliott lost three straight games to start the season with a 4.72 GAA and .839 SV%, but has rattled off three straight wins in a row with a 1.63 GAA and .944 SV% since. This is a lot more like the Elliott we’ve grown accustom to seeing, but he will be in tough tonight vs. Washington.
Holtby allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Capitals loss in Edmonton on Wednesday. Holtby has lost two in a row and has won just two of his first five starts with a 2.38 GAA and .910 SV% and tonight he will face a Flames team that has won three in a row. In addition to a nice little winning streak, Calgary ranks seventh in the NHL in scoring (3.22 GF/PG).
Talbot stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Oilers’ shutout win over the Canucks on Friday. Talbot is off to a sensational start to 2016-17. He currently leads the NHL with seven wins and has posted a stellar 2.17 GAA, .934 SV% and two shutouts in the process. Don’t hesitate to get him into your lineup, even against a Senators team that is eighth in the NHL in goals for (3.14 GF/PG).
Grubauer stopped all 18 shots that he faced in a shutout win over the Avalanche on October 18th. It was a great season debut for Grubauer, who will make his second start of the season tonight in Vancouver. Grubauer makes for an excellent spot-start option against a Canucks team that has lost four in a row while averaging 1.25 goals per game.
Rinne allowed three goals on 45 shots in the Predators’ loss in Los Angeles on Thursday. Rinne has lost four in a row while posting a hideous 3.60 GAA and .908 SV%. Rinne and the Predators are off to a tough start and he draws a difficult matchup against the 5-3-0 San Jose Sharks, who are somehow ranked 24th in the NHL in scoring (2.38 GF/PG).
Megna played just 6:38 in the Canucks’ loss to the Oilers last night. With Megna out, the Canucks may have to play defenseman Alex Biega at forward vs. the Capitals on Saturday.
Grubauer stopped all 18 shots that he faced in a shutout win over the Avalanche on October 18th. It was a great season debut for Grubauer, who will make his second start of the season tonight in Vancouver. Grubauer makes for an excellent spot-start option against a Canucks team that has lost four in a row while averaging 1.25 goals per game.
Crawford gave up two goals on 32 shots in the Blackhawks’ win in New Jersey on Friday. The win was his second of the year and snapped a brief two-game losing streak. It hasn’t been an ideal start for Crawford, who has a 2.85 GAA and .904 SV% in his first six starts. Tonight he faces a Kings team that is 4-4-0 despite averaging just 2.38 goals for per game (t-24th).
Graovac has not recorded a point in five career NHL games, but had three goals and one assist in six games with Iowa before his call-up. He will make his season debut on the Wild’s fourth line on Saturday.
Lehtonen allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Stars’ loss to the Blue Jackets last Saturday. Antti Niemi started the last two games, but they’ll go back to Lehtonen tonight in Minnesota. The matchup is a difficult one. The Wild are 3-3-1 but rank fourth in the NHL in scoring (3.50 G/PG).
Allen allowed one goal on 27 shots in the Blues shootout loss to the Red Wings on Thursday. Allen has won three of six starts while posting a 2.13 GAA and .908 SV% to start the 2016-17 season. Tonight he will take on a Kings team that has won four in a row—all needed overtime or a shootout—even without Jonathan Quick between the pipes.
Budaj allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Kings OT win over the Predators on Thursday. Budaj has won four in a row while posting a 2.21 GAA and .901 SV%. Even without Jonathan Quick, the Kings are making it easy enough on Budaj and they’re still winning. Budaj is facing just 23 shots per game, but remains a risky start tonight in St. Louis.
Hudler has missed the last five games with an illness, but says he is feeling much better and is likely to return to the lineup tonight. In order for Hudler to play, he will need to be activated from IR first.
Stone suffered an upper-body injury recently and left Saturday’s morning skate early. Head coach Dave Tippet said that Stone is questionable and a decision will be made later. Consider Stone a game-time decision.
Dubnyk stopped all 38 shots that he faced in the Wild’s shutout win in Buffalo on Thursday. Dubnyk has posed back-to-back shutouts, stopping all 65 shots that he has faced. Dubnyk has had an excellent start to the season, winning four of his first six starts with a 1.67 GAA and .944 SV%. Dallas is 3-3-1 with 2.57 goals per game this year.
Domingue allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Coyotes’ win over the Flyers on Thursday. It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough for Domingue to get his first win of the season. Domingue’s 4.74 GAA and .857 SV% do not give you a lot of confidence and they shouldn’t. Leave him on your bench or on the waiver wire tonight.
Ward allowed two goals on 30 shots in the Hurricanes’ win over the Rangers on Friday. It was Ward’s first win of the season and he now sits at 1-2-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .872 SV% in his first four starts of 2016-17. Tonight he will go up against a Flyers team that has lost three of their last four, despite averaging 3.00 goals per game.
