Crosby took part in the Penguins morning skate despite not being eligible to play tonight. Regardless of the ruling on his availability, Crosby said he probably wouldn’t have been ready to play tonight. Monitor his status tomorrow morning.
Letang was on the ice for the Penguins morning skate and it sounds likely that he will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Jets. Letang missed the Penguins final game before the All Star break with a head injury he suffered on a hit from Zac Rinaldo, which Rinaldo was suspended for eight games for.
With Raffl out, the Flyers have recalled Petr Straka and he will make his NHL debut tonight. Raffl is listed as day-to-day.
Mason is making great progress and will be back in the lineup tonight, but will serve as the back-up to Ray Emery. Look for him to get the call on Thursday vs. the Jets.
Straka, 22, was drafted in the second round (55th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has 11 goals and six assists (17 points) in 39 games with Lehigh Valley this season. He will make his NHL debut tonight with Michael Raffl out with an illness.
Khudobin made 34 saves on 35 shots in the Hurricanes win in Toronto in their final game before the All Star break. He has won four straight starts while points a 1.34 GAA and .950 SV%. He draws a rough matchup tonight vs. the Lightning and their league leading 3.21 goals per game.
Greiss allowed three goals on 40 shots in the Penguins loss to the Flyers last Tuesday. With Marc-Andre Fleury coming off of a busy week at the All Star game and the Pens having a back-to-back today and tomorrow, it will be Greiss tonight and likely Fleury tomorrow in Washington. Greiss is 4-2-3 with a 2.56 GAA and. 920 SV% this season.
Hornqvist, who just returned to the ice on Monday, apparently could be available tonight vs. the Jets. He took part in the morning skate and skated on a line with Beau Bennett and Brandon Sutter, which is a good sign that he could play tonight. Monitor his status during pre-game warmups at 6:30PM ET.
Greiss allowed three goals on 40 shots in the Penguins loss to the Flyers last Tuesday. With Marc-Andre Fleury coming off of a busy week at the All Star game and the Pens having a back-to-back today and tomorrow, it will be Greiss tonight and likely Fleury tomorrow in Washington. Greiss is 4-2-3 with a 2.56 GAA and. 920 SV% this season.
Luongo gave up two goals on 23 shots in the Panthers loss to the Canucks on January 19th. He has lost each of his last four starts while posting a 3.16 GAA and .895 SV%. Tonight, he will face a Red Wings team he has gone 2-0-0 with a 2.40 GAA and .931 SV% against this season.
Grabovski missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, but will be back in tonight vs. the Rangers. He is expected to replace Kyle Okposo on the Islanders’ top-line with Josh Bailey and John Tavares. Grabovski has registered six goals and eight assists (14 points) in 38 games.
Halak gave up four goals on 29 shots in the Islanders win over the Flyers before the All Star break. He has won four of five while posting a 3.03 GAA and .890 SV%. The Isles will need Halak to step-up with their second leading scorer Kyle Okposo out for the next month an a half. He has gone 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .957 SV% vs. the Rangers this season.
Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said it is unlikely that Gustavsson will be ready anytime soon, certainly not for this week’s game in Florida and Tampa Bay.
Howard skated for the first time since slightly tearing his groin on January 10th. He is just over two weeks into a 2-4 week timeline. Howard made the trip to Florida with the team and plans to skate every day, however, he was reluctant to predict a timetable for a return to the lineup. With Howie still out, Petr Mrazek will continue to get majority of the starts for the Red Wings.
Raffl is not participating in the morning skate because he is battling an illness, there is no word on his status for tonight’s game yet, but it doesn’t look good for Raffl.
Zadorov was in the Dominican Republic during the All Star break. He was unable to return in-time to make practice on Monday, so he has been suspended by the team. He will not play tonight, but is expected to join the team at some point during their road-trip this week.
Emery allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Flyers OT win over the Penguins prior to the All Star break. With Steve Mason not quite ready to go, Emery will start tonight vs. the Coyotes. Emery is 8-9-1 with a 3.27 GAA and .890 SV% on the season.
There was a chance that Mason could be available for tonight’s game, but he is splitting time with Rob Zepp at one end, while Ray Emery is in the starter’s crease, so it looks like Mason will miss his seventh straight game.
Hornqvist returned to the ice on Monday and his presence on the ice this morning is a sign that he could be available tonight, but that seems unlikely. Monitor his status after the A.M skate.
McElhinney allowed one goal on 17 shots after replacing the injured Sergei Bobrovsky last Wednesday. With Bobrovsky out for 4-6 weeks, McElhinney and Anton Forsberg will man the crease for the time being. McElhinney is 4-6-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .907 SV% entering play tonight.
