Lehtonen stopped 30 of 33 shots in the Stars win over the Blues on Saturday. Lehtonen has had his fair-share of struggles this season, but the Stars offence is clicking and he has won five of his last eight with a 2.92 GAA and .900 SV%. He will be in tough tonight against a New York team who has won eight straight.
Rinne is coming off of a 26-save performance in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. He has won four straight and leads the league with 23 wins.
The Predators had placed Roy on waivers on Sunday and sent him to the minors this afternoon. The Oilers did not want to take on another contract, which is why they sent Arcobello to the Predators instead of just claiming Roy on waivers. Arcobello has 12 points (7G / 5A) in 36 games with the Oilers this season.
Roy, 31, who cleared waivers today, is now heading to the lowly Oilers. The Oilers did not want to add another contract so that is why they passed on him on waivers and then dealt Arcobello for him. Roy makes $400K (per NHLNumbers) more per year than Arcobello, but also has much more experience. He had 10 points (1G / 9A) in 26 games with the Predators.
Robidas will serve as a healthy scratch for the third time this season as the Maple Leafs seem to be limiting the work on the 37-year-old's body. Holzer has four assists and a plus-5 rating in 12 games this season.
Chris Phillips was expected to get back into the lineup tonight, but it was supposed to be for Patrick Wiercioch. There is no word whether Borowiecki is dealing with an injury or if he is a healthy scratch. Wiercioch will be in.
Palat missed the morning skate and was listed as a game-time decision, but his availability for warmups suggests that he will be in the lineup vs. the Maple Leafs.
Drouin missed Saturday’s game with an illness, but is on the ice for warmups and it looks like he will play. He was listed as a game-time decision, but he skated this morning and his availability in warmups are both signs that he will play.
Reimer allowed five goals on 32 shots in the Leafs 6-4 loss to the Panthers last night. He has allowed nine goals on 67 shots (.866 SV%) in his last two starts. He draws an awful matchup tonight in Tampa Bay.
Perry has been out since December 5th with a sprained knee. Despite skating again on Monday, neither Perry or coach Boudreau would commit to Perry playing tomorrow vs. the Sharks. Monitor Perry’s status during the Ducks’ morning skate tomorrow.
Backlund has been out since October 28th because of abdominal surgery. The Flames never gave a timetable for Backlund’s return, but he is hoping to join the team for practice tomorrow and will go from there.
Draisaitl did not practice on Monday and his status for Tuesday’s game vs. the Kings is up in the air. Monitor his status during the Oilers’ morning skate on Tuesday.
Nikitin has been out with a back injury since December 3rd. To make room for Nikitin, the Oilers sent Brad Hunt back to the AHL. Nikitin, who has five points (2G / 3A) and a minus-6 rating will likely be paired with Justin Schultz on Tuesday vs. the Kings.
Hunt had two assists and an EVEN rating in five games during his recall. He has a total of three points (1G / 2A) in 11 games with the Oilers this season. His demotion creates room for Nikita Nikitin to be activated from IR.
Granlund suffered a broken wrist in Saturday’s loss to the Jets. He underwent surgery this afternoon and is expected to be back in last January/early-February. With Granlund out, Charlie Coyle should see and increased workload.
Fleury made 31 saves on 34 shots in the Penguins’ 3-0 loss to the Capitals on Saturday. That is three straight losses and three straight games allowing three goals. It is hard to blame Fleury when you look at the Penguins roster right now, they are simply decimated by injuries. Regardless, Fleury should be a great start tonight in New Jersey. He is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .938 SV% vs. the Devils.
Kuemper missed his start on Saturday due to food poisoning but he said that he feels good and will be back in goal tonight. He allowed four goals on 29 shots in a loss to the Flyers in his last start. In five starts this month he is 1-3-0 with a 3.69 GAA and .864 SV%.
The Predators have a back-to-back tonight and tomorrow, but look for Rinne to get the start tonight vs. the Blackhawks and then either Rinne will go again or Carter Hutton will start tomorrow vs. the Blues. Rinne is coming off of a 26-save performance in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. He has won four straight and leads the league with 23 wins.
Roy, 31, will head back to the AHL for the first time since 2005-6 when he had 20 points (7G / 13A) in eight games with the Rochester Americans. He had 10 points (1G / 9A) in 26 games with the Predators this season.
Sharp has three goals and four assists (7 points) in nine games since returning from a leg injury, but tonight he will skate with Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith on the Hawks’ fourth line. With Brad Richards coming back someone had to be bumped down, but it is surprising to see it be Sharp.
