Russell missed Tuesday’s game, but head coach Bob Hartley said that Russell could be back tomorrow vs. the Blackhawks. This is good news that the injury is not serious and Russell should be back in the lineup soon. Russell has eight assists in 19 games this season.
McDonagh, who skated for the first time since being injured on Tuesday, was back on the ice by himself on Wednesday. McDonagh said that he is “coming along” and confirmed that he is on track to return in about two weeks. McDonagh should miss about 5-7 more games.
Kassian, who has missed the last five games, was activated from IR on the weekend and will play tonight in Edmonton. Kassian has two goals and two assists in 13 games this season.
Ramo stopped 23 of 25 shots in the Flames 4-2 victory over the Senators last Saturday. He sat during the last two games, but will be back in between the pipes tonight vs. New Jersey. Ramo has been strong at home—1-1-1 with a 2.34 GAA and .909 SV% and gets a Devils team on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Hiller stopped 24 of 27 shots in a win over his former team on Tuesday. Hiller has been collecting wins, but has allowed three or four goals in each of his last five starts. Tonight he draws a tough matchup against a Blackhawks team who are starting to find their scoring touch.
Mrazek will make his season debut tonight after posting a 3-2-0 record with a 3.25 GAA and .876 SV% in six games with Grand Rapids. He is a career 3-5-0 with a 1.80 GAA and .926 SV% in the NHL. He is a young up-and-coming goaltender who had a great preseason, who could make for a nice spot-start tonight vs. the Jets.
Crawford allowed two goals on 24 shots in a win over the Stars on Sunday. With three days off between games, Crawford will make his ninth straight start tonight in Calgary. He has won four of his last eight with a 2.00 GAA and .930 SV%. Don’t hesitate to start him vs. a surprising Flames bunch.
Miller allowed five goals on 23 shots in a 5-0 loss to the Coyotes on Friday. Miller is a fantastic 11-3-0 on the season, but has struggled in his last three starts, going 1-2-0 with a 4.39 GAA and .826 SV%. However, he remains a must-start, especially tonight against an Oilers team he is 10-0 against in his career.
Marchand missed Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day which puts his status for Friday’s game in jeopardy. With Marchand out, Matt Fraser was skating in Bruins’ top-6 again this morning.
Brodin will miss his fourth straight game on Thursday. He is eligible to come off of IR tomorrow, but he is not quite ready to return to the lineup. Philly is the start of a three-game road trip, he could join the team in Tampa Bay for Saturday’s game.
The clot was identified during testing Monday, after Dupuis had complained of discomfort in his chest. “Pascal had a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his lung,” said Dr. Dharmesh Vyas, the Penguins’ team physician. "This is the second such incident that we know of for Pascal. The treatment is at least six months of blood thinners, during which time he will not be able to play hockey. Other than that, his condition is stable.” Dupuis previously was diagnosed with a blood clot in January 2014, shortly after he suffered torn ligaments in his knee. He was on blood thinners for six months while also recovering from surgery and rehabilitating his knee.
Sbisa is not taking part in line rushes this morning, which suggests that he will miss his fourth straight game with an undisclosed. With Sbisa out, Yannick Weber will remain in the lineup.
Missing practice this afternoon does not bode well for Datsyuk’s status for Thursday’s game in Winnipeg. He continues to be hampered by a groin injury and remains day-to-day for the time being.
Schenn will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury he suffered on November 8th. He was on the ice for today’s morning skate, but still won’t play. He is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game vs. the Wild.
MacDonald was on the ice for the morning skate but still won’t be in the lineup tonight vs. the Rangers. He has been out since October 22nd, but is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game vs. the Wild.
Laughton, 20, was the Flyers first round pick (20th overall) in 2012. He had registered 11 points (6G / 5A) in 13 games prior to yesterday’s recall. He will skate on the Flyers’ third line with Vincent Lecavalier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Nordstrom was in the lineup on Sunday and was sent down and recalled as a ‘paper move’. He was back at practice on Wednesday and skated on the fourth line. Expect him to be in the lineup on Thursday.
With Trevor van Riemsdyk out for 3-4 months, the Blackhawks have recalled Clendening. He has four points in 16 AHL games this season, which gives him 22 goals and 87 assists (109 points) in 163 AHL games. He is an offensive threat from the blue line that should seen second unit power-play time when he gets into the lineup for his NHL debut.
Lehner allowed five goals on 30 shots in a loss to the Maple Leafs on November 9th. He has faced a ton of rubber in the early part of the season. His opponents are firing an average of 34.5 shots per game but the Predators rank 20th in that department. However, they have won five of six and are coming off of a NINE goal game vs. the Leafs.
Scrivens surrendered two goals on 28 shots in the Oilers 2-1 loss to the Coyotes on Sunday. Scrivens has lost five straight starts and has not recorded a win since October 27th. He comes in with a 0-3-1 record, 2.82 GAA and .905 SV% in the month of November. He draws a tough task tonight with the Canucks in town.
