Thornton will miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury, but the Sharks are hopeful that he will be able to return at some point during their three-game road-trip. That would leave him to return either Tuesday in Minnesota or Thursday in St. Louis. Monitor his status as the week progresses.
Halak made 22 saves on 23 shots in the Islanders win over the Flames on Friday. Halak has won his last seven starts with a 1.68 GAA and .927 SV%. He is red-hot once again and draws a must-start matchup tonight with the Islanders in Edmonton to take on the lowly Oilers.
Scrviens stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Oilers shootout loss to the Avalanche on Friday. Scrivens is 6-13-7 with a 3.05 GAA and .896 SV% this season. He is hard to trust with any matchup, but he should definitely be left on the bench against the high-scoring Islanders.
Rask allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Bruins overtime loss to the Senators last night. Rask and the B’s have lost three of their last four, so they will put their number-1 net minder back between the pipes for his second game in as many nights. He has started on back-to-back nights twice this season. He is 0-2-0 with a 3.99 GAA and .851 SV% in those games.
Draisaitl, 19, opened the season as the Oilers’ second line centre. The experiment did not really go as planned. He registered nine points (2G / 7A) in 37 games and now heads back to the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. It is best for Draisaitl’s development, especially in a tough year for Edmonton.
Bishop was pulled after he allowed three goals on 10 shots in the Lightning’s loss to the Penguins on Friday. It was a rough outing for Bishop, but he will get a chance to bounce back tonight vs. his former team in Ottawa. Bishop is 1-0-1 with a 1.44 GAA and .951 SV% vs. the Senators this season.
Gudas will miss his third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. He remains day-to-day; his next chance to return is Tuesday in Montreal.
Lehner allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Senators loss to the Canadiens on December 20th. He has sat for the last four straight games, but he will be back in tonight when the Sens host the Lightning. Lehner is 1-1-0 vs. Tampa Bay this season and 2-2-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .910 SV% at home.
Skinner missed Friday's game with an illness, but will be back in the lineup this afternoon vs. the Bruins. Skinner has not recorded a point while posting a minus-5 rating in his last five games. He has 16 points (8G / 8A) in 33 games this season.
Khudobin allowed one goal on 19 shots in the Hurricanes win over the Devils on December 23rd. It was his first win of the season after losing his first 10 outings. Tonight he will far a Bruins team who have lost three of their last four, including a shootout loss yesterday. Khudobin is 0-3-0 at home despite positing a 2.06 GAA and .924 SV%.
Neil has been out since suffering a knee injury on December 11th vs. the Kings. He returned to the ice for the Senators optional morning skate ahead of their game vs. the Lightning. He was originally expected to miss “at least a few weeks” —he is already three and a half weeks removed from the injury so he appears to be right on schedule.
Lehner allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Senators loss to the Canadiens on December 20th. He has sat for the last four straight games, but should be back in tonight when the Sens host the Lightning. Lehner is 1-1-0 vs. Tampa Bay this season and 2-2-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .910 SV% at home.
Martin Brodeur started last night, so Elliott will get the nod tonight in San Jose. He allowed three goals on 47 shots in a loss to the Predators in his return from a knee injury on Tuesday. He has been great this year going 8-5-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .931 SV%, but draws a rough road matchup tonight.
Giroux was listed as a game-time decision and the Flyers said that he would take warmups, but he is not on the ice for warmups and will not play vs. the Devils. With Giroux and Scott Laughton out, the Flyers will go with seven defensemen.
Reimer allowed three goals on 41 shots in the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 loss to the Lightning on Monday. Reimer has sat the last two games, including last night, so he will start the second game of the back-to-back. The Winnipeg native was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots in his only start at MTS Centre last season.
Bickel served as a healthy scratch last night, but will be back in at forward tonight in Dallas. He has one assist in eight games and despite averaging just 5:56 TOI, the Wild are actually 5-2-1 with Bickel in the lineup.
Zucker will return to the lineup tonight after missing the last four games with an illness. With Zucker coming back in, Justin Fontaine will take a seat. Zucker ranks third on the team in goals with 12 in 32 games.
Kuemper stopped 34 of 35 shots in the Wild’s win over the Maple Leafs last night. Despite the busy evening, he will be in goal again tonight vs. the Stars. Kuemper has gone 3-0-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .935 SV% in his first three starts against Dallas this season.
Schneider allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Devils 3-1 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday. He was given last night off, but will be in goal tonight vs. the Flyers. He finished December at 3-8-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .924 SV%—as you can tell, not really his fault. The Devils averaged 1.50 goals per game with Schneider in net last month.
Martin will miss his eighth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury, but the Penguins are hopeful that Martin can return next Wednesday vs. the Bruins.
