Kassian skated on his own on Saturday but is participating in his first practice since suffering a finger injury on November 25th. Kassian is targeting a post-Christmas break return to the Canucks lineup and it would appear as if he is on track for that.
Perry was targeting a return for Monday and his availability for Sunday’s practice keeps that option open, but he skated as an extra which suggests that he likely won’t be back until after the Christmas break. The Ducks have gone 5-2-0 without Perry in the last seven games.
Liles has missed the last three games with an illness, but will return tonight vs. the Rangers. He has one goal and six assists in 22 games this season. He will replace Michal Jordan in the lineup and skate with Tim Gleason.
Pavelec allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Jets 5-1 blowout win over the Sabres on Tuesday. The Jets goalie rotation will continue, so Pavelec will be in goal vs. the Flyers, who are coming off of a 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs last night. The Flyers are as inconsistent of a hockey team as you will find in the NHL, so it is hard to predict what kind of matchup this is for Pavelec.
Zepp has been all over the map in his hockey career, but will finally make his NHL debut at the age of 33. He has gone 8-5-4 with a 2.70 GAA and .918 SV% in 17 games with Lehigh Valley (AHL) this season. A couple of backups are getting starts tonight, so there are better spot-start option than Zepp in his first career NHL game.
Khudobin allowed five goals on 23 shots in the Hurricanes loss to the Flyers last Saturday. In nine games he has posted a 3.11 GAA and .892 SV% and still has not recorded a victory on the season. After Cam Ward lost in a shootout last night, it will be Khudobin tonight in the second game of a home-and-home vs. the Rangers.
Schaller, 24, has eight goals and 10 assists (18 points) in 29 games for Rochester this season. He has been recalled to replace Patrick Kaleta, who was injured in Saturday’s game.
Pysyk, 22, has one goal and nine assists (10 points) in 28 games with Rochester this season. He has been recalled as insurance for Tyler Myers, who is questionable for tonight’s game because of a lower-body injury. Pysyk has 12 points (2G / 10A) in 63 career NHL games.
Rask allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Bruins 2-1 loss to the Jets on Friday. It was Rask’s fourth straight loss and sixth in his last seven games. Over that seven games stretch (1-4-2), Rask has posted a 2.96 GAA and .903 SV%. However, he should have no trouble getting back on track and back in the win column tonight with the Sabres in town. He is a must-start.
There is no word on what caused Hansen to collapse, but the Canucks go all good news regarding Hansen’s condition at the hospital. “Everything checked out,” head coach Willie Desjardins said post-game, so this is obviously great news for the Canuck forward. Expect him to be held out of Monday’s game vs. Arizona.
Tampa Bay did not provide any details on Garrison’s injury, so the nature and severity of the injury are a complete mystery. The Lightning are off until Tuesday, so monitor his status leading up to that game vs. the Penguins.
Myers left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and did not return. With Myers injured, the Sabres are expected to recall a defenseman from Rochester for tonight’s game vs. the Bruins.
MacDonald served as Carey Price’s back-up in the Canadiens win over the Senators on Saturday. Montreal is off until Tuesday, so either MacDonald or Dustin Tokarski will be recalled to serve as Price’s backup vs. the Islanders.
Shugg, 22, did not record a point and had two penalty minutes in three games with Carolina during the first recall of his career. He heads back to Charlotte, where he has nine goals and two assists (11 points) in 17 games.
Semin has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but will be back in the lineup on Sunday in New York. It has been a struggle all year for Semin, who has just six points (1G / 5A) and a minus-9 rating in 21 games. The Hurricanes sent Justin Shugg back to the minors to make room for Semin.
Lehtonen stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Stars’ 2-1 victory over the Flames on Friday. This had to be coming sooner or later—Lehtonen has finally gotten hot for the Stars, winning four of his last five with a 1.80 GAA and .930 SV%. He started the year 9-6-5 and now sits at a nice 13-7-5 as we near the Christmas break. Look for things to continue tonight in Edmonton vs. a disastrous Oilers team.
Reimer stopped the only shot that he faced after replacing Jonathan Bernier in the Maple Leafs blowout loss to the Flyers on Saturday night. Heading into tonight, Reimer has won each of his last two starts in shootouts, while posting a 1.85 GAA and .949 SV%. There are better spot-start option than him tonight, with the Leafs in Chicago to take on the Hawks.
Pickard stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Avs’ 5-1 win over the Sabres last night. Head coach Patrick Roy made the decision at the start of the week to start Pickard in all three games this week—after two games, it looks like it was a great plan. He has stopped 75 of 77 shots (.974) and gone 1-0-1. Tonight he faces a Red Wings team who have averaged just 1.00 goals per game on a six-game losing skid.
Gardiner is on the ice for warmups, but he is skating as an extra, which suggests that Gardiner will be out and Korbinian Holzer will be in.
Pacioretty was injured on Thursday, but it looks like he won't miss a game and will play tonight vs. the Senators.
