Scott was suspended for striking Ducks forward Tim Jackman in the jaw in Monday’s loss. Jackman was briefly knocked unconscious but eventually left the ice with assistance and didn’t return to the game. He is eligible to return to the lineup on January 5th in Winnipeg.
Backstrom was the Wild’s confirmed starter for tonight’s meeting with the Flyers, but he came down with an illness prior to warmups and will be replaced by Darcy Kuemper.
Lehtonen was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots in the Stars win over the Oilers on Sunday. It was an ugly way for Lehtonen to snap a three-game winning streak and despite Anders Lindback leading them in a comeback, it looks like it will be Lehtonen tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. In his first start vs. Toronto he allowed five goals on 40 shots in a 5-3 loss.
Tonight Hutton will get his fourth start of the season. He allowed three goals on 19 shots in a loss to the Senators on November 20th. He is 0-2-1 with 2.32 GAA and .914 SV% this season.
Rask allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Sabres. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Rask, who is now 2-4-2 with a 2.96 GAA and .902 SV% in December. He draws a tough matchup tonight vs. the Predators, but he is 10-4-2 at TD Garden this season.
Kuemper was pulled after he allowed three goals on 14 shots in a loss to the Predators on Saturday. He has struggled as of late, going 1-2-0 with a 3.55 GAA and .864 SV% in four starts in December.
The original expectation was that Comeau’s injury was relatively serious and coach Johnston’s comments confirmed that. He will likely miss at least two weeks with an upper-body injury. The injury woes continue for the Penguins.
Fleury gave up three goals on 37 shots in the Penguins shootout loss to the Panthers last night. The loss snapped a four game winning streak for Fleury, who is first in shutouts (6), tied for second in wins (19), fourth in SV% (.932) and fifth in GAA (2.00).
The Predators official website has Hutton listed as their probable starter, so it looks like he will get his fourth start of the season. He allowed three goals on 19 shots in a loss to the Senators on November 20th. He is 0-2-1 with 2.32 GAA and .914 SV% this season.
Vasilevskiy stopped 45 of 47 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Islanders on Saturday. Since his recall he has turned aside 68 of 71 shots (.958 SV%). As good as he has been, he doesn’t draw the best spot-start matchup tonight, but you can take a risk because the Penguins are really banged up.
Hansen was expected to be in the lineup last night, but he ended up being held out of the lineup. He underwent a few more tests on Tuesday and has been cleared to return to the lineup on Sunday in Anaheim.
Burakovsky will play in his first game since December 13th. He went down to Hershey for a brief conditioning stint, but will return to the Capitals lineup tonight.
Holtby allowed one goal on 39 shots in the Capitals win over the Senators last night. He will make his 11th consecutive start tonight in New York. He comes into play tonight with an impress 7-1-2 record, 1.97 GAA and .933 SV% in December.
Comeau suffered an undisclosed injury in Monday’s game and he will not play on Tuesday. There is no word on the nature or severity of Comeau’s injury, but the early belief is that it is something that will keep him sidelined for an extended period of time. His immediate placement on IR is also a bad sign.
Halak has not practiced for the last two days for what is being called "maintenance days", but the Islanders have recalled Kevin Poulin to back-up Chad Johnson, which means that Halak must be dealing with a minor injury.
Poulin has been recalled to backup Chad Johnson vs. the Canadiens. Jaroslav Halak has been given maintenance days the last two days, so he must be dealing with a minor injury that will make him a scratch tonight.
Cammalleri has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury, but he will be returning to the lineup tonight vs. Carolina. Cammalleri has missed a total of 12 games due to injury this season, but still leads the team in goals with 11.
Gormley, 22, has not suited up for the Coyotes since November 16th. He missed time with a lower-body and then went down to Portland (AHL) for a brief conditioning stint. He will replace David Schlemko on the Coyotes blue line tonight.
Dubnyk allowed three goals on 29 shots after replacing Mike Smith in last night’s loss to the Canucks. Dubnyk will get the call tonight having posted a 1-2-1 record, 3.36 GAA and .910 SV% in the month of December. In his first two starts vs. his former team, he has gone 2-0-0 with a 0.96 GAA and .970 SV%.
Uher, 21, was the Penguins fifth round pick (144th overall) in 2011. Uher has recorded four goals and five assists (9 points) in 29 games with WBS this season. He has been recalled because Blake Comeau is out tonight.
