Dubnyk surrendered three goals on 29 shots in the Wild’s 3-2 loss to the Canucks on Monday. He has come back to earth recently, allowing a total of six goals on 56 shots (.893 SV%) in his last two starts. In his first start against the Flames with Minny, he stopped all 30 shots that he faced in a 1-0 shutout win.
Porter has been sidelined since December 29th, but he will return for one of the Blues games this weekend. He has one goal and one assist in 14 games this season.
Nichushkin, who had hip surgery on November 18th, visited with his doctor last weekend and was told it would still be 4-6 weeks before he can play in an NHL game. “He’s skating before and after practice,” GM Jim Nill said. “We’ll take it slower and just make sure he’s ready for each step.”
Hemsky has missed the last two games, but he said earlier in the week that he was hopeful that he would be able to play on Thursday. Taking part in practice on Wednesday is a good sign that Hemsky will be available on Thursday vs. the Sharks.
Marincin served as a healthy scratch on Monday, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. Boston He has no points and a minus-5 rating in five games since being recalled over a week ago.
Hendricks missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but he will be back in tonight vs. the Bruins. Hendricks will replace Luke Gazdic on the Oilers fourth line. He has 13 points (7G / 6A) in 51 games this season.
Vanek made it through the entire skate and said that if he can “deal with the pain and still contribute” that he will play tonight vs. the Flames. Unless something changes between now and warmups, it looks like Vanek will play, but consider him a game-time decision.
Varlamov stopped four of five shots through two periods in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Coyotes. He was pulled in favour of Reto Berra for the third period after he didn’t face a single shot in the second period. It was a much needed break for Varlamov, who will be back in goal vs. the visiting Kings. Since the All Star break, Varly has gone 3-2-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .927 SV% at home.
Smith missed Tuesday’s game against the Panthers and will miss at least the next two games. The next game he would be eligible to return for would be next Thursday vs. the Flyers.
Phaneuf still is not ready to return to the Maple Leafs lineup, so he will miss at least Friday’s game in Carolina and Saturday’s game vs. Winnipeg.
Gibson gave up five goals on 28 shots in the Ducks 5-3 loss to the Capitals on Sunday. Despite the rough outing, Frederik Andersen is not quite ready, so Gibson will make his third consecutive start. He will take on a Lightning team who has gone 3-3-2 while averaging 3.13 goals per game in February.
Fasth was placed on IR this morning and the only update the Oilers had was that he is out indefinitely. Expect him to miss at least a few weeks and he is likely still undergoing tests to determine a more accurate timeline for his return.
Emery surrendered four goals on 24 shots in the Flyers 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. He has gone 2-1-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .905 SV% since Steve Mason went down. He has been relatively strong and makes for a great start tonight with the Sabres in town. He made 21 saves in a 2-1 win in Buffalo on Sunday.
Howard blanked the Canadiens for the first 57 minutes of Monday’s game. He finished the night with 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-0 loss. He has played well since returning from a groin injury, but still has not won a game. He draws a rough matchup in Chicago, but he made 25 saves in a 4-1 win in their first meeting.
Scrivens allowed one goal on 14 shots in the Oilers win over the Devils on February 9th. He missed the last four games with a hamstring issue, but will be back in goal tonight vs. the Bruins. In three starts since the All Star break, Scrivens has gone 2-1-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .896 SV%. In his first start against Boston, he allowed four goals on 31 shots in a 5-2 loss.
Talbot gave up five goals on 43 shots in the Rangers 6-5 win over the Islanders on Monday. Since Henrik Lundqvist went down, Talbot has gone 5-1-1 but he can thank an offence who has averaged 4.14 goals over that span. His 3.01 GAA and .900 SV% are not pretty numbers, but with the offence support he is getting, he is a good candidate to get his 10th win of the season tonight vs. Vancouver.
Lundqvist was on the ice before the Rangers practice this afternoon. Today was the first time that he has skated since suffering the neck injury on February 2nd. He is nearly two weeks into a three-week timetable, so it looks like he is right on schedule in his recovery.
Washington will play three of the next four games at home, so they don’t really need a seventh defenseman right now. If one of their six regular blue liners gets banged up, expect Oleksy to be recalled once again.
There is no word on what is ailing Byron, but if he is unable to go, Brandon Bollig is expected to be back in the lineup. Monitor Byron’s status during pre-game warmups.
