Niemi stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Sharks 2-1 win over the Flyers on Tuesday. After losing four in a row, Niemi has now won back-to-back games for the first time since October 26th/28th. He will make his second start of the year vs. Boston tonight—he allowed four on 32 shots in a 5-3 loss the first time around.
Kennedy has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but it looks like he will be back in tonight on a line with James Sheppard and Tye McGinn.
The Blackhawks have a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday so it doesn’t sound like he will play in either game. The next game would be Tuesday in New Jersey. Continue to monitor his closely because he is getting close.
Raanta stopped 40 of 41 shots in the Blackhawks 4-1 win over the Blues on Wednesday. It was a great way for Raanta to return to the crease and put a stamp on the Hawks’ starting gig while Corey Crawford is out. He is 2-2-0 with 1.77 GAA and .947 SV% on the year—tonight he faces the Habs at home where he is 2-0.
Jones stopped all 28 shots that he faced in the Kings 4-0 shutout win over the Wild on November 26th. Despite Jonathan Quick posting a shutout of his own in the Kings last games, it looks like Jones will go tonight, which would save Quick for Saturday vs. the Flyers. The matchup is a great spot-start setup for Jones.
Bogosian was reportedly injury while blocking a shot in the Jets win over the Oilers on Wednesday. Monitor Bogosian’s status during tomorrow’s morning skate, should he participate he should be available vs. Colorado.
Stajan has been medically cleared to play, but will be held out of the lineup tonight as he continues to try and improve his conditioning. Stajan has been sidelined since October 28th, but could be back on Saturday.
Lindbohm was recalled this morning and will be in the lineup in Nashville. There is no word on who is coming out, but our guess is that it will be Chris Butler. Lindbohm has eight points (4G / 4A) in 20 games with Chicago (AHL).
Boyle skated on Thursday after missing the last two games with an illness. He was featured on the top power-play unit in practice and he will likely be paired with Marc Staal on the Rangers second pairing when they take on Detroit on Saturday.
Suter missed Wednesday’s game and Thursday’s practice with an illness which has now been diagnosed as mumps. Despite mumps keeping many other players out for multiple games, head coach Mike Yeo would not rule Suter out for tomorrow, saying “it affects people differently.” While it is good to hear he might play tomorrow, the most likely scenario is that he sits and rests over the weekend since the Wild are off until Tuesday following tomorrow’s game.
Smith allowed four goals on 23 shots in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Calgary. Since November 8th, Smith has lost eight of nine while Devan Dubnyk has won three of four, yet the Coyotes continue to ride Smith hoping for him to rediscover his game—he was 80-51-25 with a 2.42 GAA and .921 SV% in his three previous seasons with Arizona.
Holtby allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Capitals loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. He has hit a bit of a rough spot, losing four of his last five with a 3.22 GAA and .895 SV%. He will look to get back on track tonight vs. the 8-13-3 Hurricanes—Holtby is 5-3-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .920 SV% on the road this year.
Lindbohm was sent down on Monday, mostly because the Blues were expecting to have Jay Bouwmeester back last night vs. Chicago. With Bouwmeester out, another defenseman may have suffered an injury last night and Lindbohm could be in tonight vs. the Predators.
Reinhart was recalled on Wednesday and with the Isles missing Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Johnny Boychuk, he will get into the lineup tonight. Reinhart failed to record a point with a minus-1 rating and two PIMS in three games earlier this season.
Robin Lehner is out with a minor undisclosed injury, so Hammond has been recalled to backup Craig Anderson tonight vs.the Islanders. Hammond has gone 5-8-2 with a 3.22 GAA and .910 SV% in the AHL.
The Senators have recalled Andrew Hammond from Binghamton (AHL) to backup Craig Anderson vs. the Islanders. Lehner is listed as day-to-day.
Goc missed the last two games with a foot injury he suffered early in the Penguins loss to the Hurricanes last Friday. He took part in the morning skate and told reporters that he feels good, it is up to the coaches whether he plays. The Penguins are really banged up right now, so the coaching staff doesn’t have much of a choice but to play Goc tonight.
Bournival has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since November 5th, so the Habs have sent him back to the AHL to get three games in over the weekend. Expect him to be recalled next week and return to the lineup soon.
Schneider turned aside 22 of 23 shots, but walked away with the loss as Marc-Andre Fleury posted the shutout at the other end. That is four straight losses for Schneider who has posted a 2.26 GAA and .924 SV% over that span, so it is hard to blame him. He is a risky start tonight in Toronto vs. a Maple Leafs team who is second in the NHL in scoring.
Rinne allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Preds’ 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Rinne, who will go head-to-head with Martin Brodeur tonight. Rinne has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .911 SV% in his two starts vs. the Blues this season.
