Lehner stopped 35 shots on 36 attempts in the Senators 2-1 win over Buffalo on Tuesday. Lehner enters play having won two of his last six starts with a 2.35 GAA and .927 SV%. Despite the solid numbers, he draws a very difficult matchup with the Penguins in town.
Cormier played just 4:54 in the only game he played during his recall. With the big deal the Jets made this morning, they had to make room for the extra players they acquired.
Kessel has seen his ice-time dimish in the last few games. He played just 14:31 on Saturday and then only 12:57 last night, while positing a minus-4 rating. He is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury, yet he has not come out of the lineup. He has just three goals and three assists in his last 18 games.
Bernier allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Maple Leafs loss to the Predators last Tuesday. James Reimer has received the nod in the last two games, but it will be Bernier who takes on the Islanders on Thursday. Bernier was victorious in his only start against the Isles and is 4-6-4 with a 2.30 GAA and .924 SV% on the road.
McMillan has just one goal and two assists to go along with a minus-18 rating in 50 games this season. Claiming Mark Arcobello off of waivers meant the Coyotes needed to clear a roster spot.
Arcobello will head to his fourth team in five months. Lets hope he has not been unpacking his bags, because he has went from Edmonton to Nashville to Pittsburgh and now to Arizona. Overall he has 15 points (8G / 7A) in 50 games between those teams.
Forbert, 22, was the Kings first round pick (15th overall) in 2010. The 6-foot-4, 218 lbs. blue liner has 11 points (2G / 9A) and a plus-15 rating in 46 games with Manchester this season.
Comeau was on the ice for the Penguins morning skate and said after the session that he was “hopeful” that he will return to the lineup tonight. It sounds like he will play, but we will not know for sure until pre-game warmups. He skated with Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist this morning.
Bobrovsky returned to the ice on Monday and skated again today, showing continuing progress in his return from a groin injury. He is nearly three weeks into a 4-6 week timeline, so you could potentially see Bobrovsky return by next weekend.
Lemieux, 18, was a second-round pick (31st overall) of the Sabres in last summer’s draft. The son of former NHLer Claude Lemieux, Brendan is a gritty forward who can put the puck in the net. He has 35 goals and 15 assists (50 points) in 46 games with the Barrie Colts (OHL) this season.
Armia, 21, was the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft. The 6-foot-3, 187 lbs. forward has great size and great skill. He had registered 10 goals and 15 assists (25 points) in 33 games so far in his second season with Rochester (AHL). There is no word whether he will report to St. John’s (AHL) or Winnipeg.
Stafford, who is a pending UFA at the end of the season, had nine goals, 15 assists (24 points) and a minus-18 rating in 50 games with the Sabres this season. He is a one-time 30-goal scorer and will likely fill Evander Kane’s role on the Jets’ third line.
Myers, 25, was the 12th overall pick in the 2008 draft. He has seemingly regressed at the same rate as his team in each of his first five and a half seasons in the NHL. He was asked to do a lot on a bad team and the move to Winnipeg should definitely help him. He is in the third year of a seven year deal and his fantasy value is now much higher than it was when he woke up this morning. This is a defenseman who had 48 points (11G / 37A) in his rookie season.
Bogosian, 24, was the third overall pick in 2008, but has had a hard time staying healthy early in his career. Bogosian has mixed 15 games this season and a total of 74 games (27.6% of games) since 2011-12. Injuries have slowed down his development, but the young blue liner has 13 points (3G / 10A) in 41 games this season. A change of scenery should help Bogosian, especially because he should play a massive role in Buffalo.
Crawford allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Blackhawks win in St. Louis on Sunday. Crawford has won three of his last four while posting a 1.73 GAA and .938 SV%. Tonight he will face a Canucks team he made 26 saves against in 4-1 loss back in November.
Kane, 23, is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier in the week. He is in the third year of a six-year deal with a $5.25M cap-hit. He is a dynamic, goal-scoring winger who will be a nice piece for the Sabres as they continue their rebuild. Kane has 109 goals and 113 assists (222 points) in 361 games in his first six seasons in the NHL. He makes for a nice keeper option, because you could see him on the wing with Connor McDavid next season.
Nordstrom, 22, registered two assists in 24 games with the Blackhawks. With Kris Versteeg returning tonight the Hawks needed to send Nordstrom back to Rockford. He has eight goals and five assists (13 points) in 17 games in the AHL.
Versteeg has missed five weeks with a hand injury he suffered in the Winter Classic. He will be back in the lineup tonight, but there is no word yet on which line he will play on. He had been playing with Brad Richards and Patrick Kane prior to the injury and has registered nine goals and 18 assists (27 points) in 34 games this season.
Fleury stopped all 21 shots that he faced in the Penguins 4-0 shutout win over the Flames last Friday. He was given Saturday off, but will be back in goal tonight riding a two-game shutout streak. He has stopped 43 straight shots two earn back-to-back shutouts, which gives him a league-leading eight on the year.
Lack stopped all 14 shots that he faced after replacing Ryan Miller in the Canucks loss to the Wild on Monday. With Miller struggling, Lack will start tonight in Chicago. He is 4-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .916 SV% in 12 starts and four relief appearances this season.
