For the first time in his 15 year career. He played a season-low (likely a career-low) 5:56 in the Flyer loss to the Rangers on Saturday. Philadelphia is struggling mightily right now and Vinny has just one assist in his last nine games.
Mason allowed three goals on 24 shots in the Flyers loss to the Rangers on Friday. After a 46-game shutout, Mason has dropped his last two starts with a 3.94 GAA and .842 SV%. As much as the Flyers are struggling, things haven’t been great for the Sharks either—they are 3-5-2 in their last 10.
On Tuesday Stalock will serve as Antti Niemi’s backup for the second straight game. “He still needs a little more practice work,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He’s capable of going in to back up, but we want him to have a chance to be successful. McLellan is holding out hope that Stalock will be completely ready to go by Thursday, but if not Thursday certainly by the weekend.
Niemi surrendered four goals on 34 shots in the Sharks win over the Ducks on Saturday. The win snapped a four-game losing skid for the Finnish net minder. Niemi went 3-5-2 with a 2.48 GAA and .908 SV% in November, but has a juicy matchup to start December—the Flyers have lost eight of nine.
Jokinen missed Friday’s game with an illness but will be back in lineup tonight in Columbus. With Jokinen back in, Shawn Thornton will take a seat. Jokinen has no points in his last four games.
Luongo said that he could have started last night, but with an easier matchup vs. the Blue Jackets, the Panthers went with Al Montoya, which leaves Bobby Lu for tonight in Detroit. Luongo’s numbers in November were nearly the exact same as his October numbers—he went 4-3-3 with a 2.33 GAA and .928 SV% in 10 starts.
Gilbert served as a healthy scratch in the Canadiens last two games, but will be back in the lineup tonight in Colorado. He will replace Bryan Allen who has suited up in all four games since coming over from Anaheim. Gilbert has three points (1G / 2A) in 23 games.
Martinez was on the ice for Kings’ practice on Monday and said that his finger is getting better everyday, but he still does not know when he will be available to return to the lineup.
Ramo stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Flames 3-0 shutout win over the Coyotes on Saturday. He has posted back-to-back shutouts while stopping all 58 shots. Tonight he will face Arizona again, this time at home—while it would be unfair to expect a third straight shutout, he makes for a nice spot-start.
Rask allowed a single goal on 36 shots in Friday’s overtime win over Winnipeg. The win snapped a short two-game losing streak and got Rask to 11-6-1 with a 2.31 GAA and .919 SV% on the year. Tonight he draws a tough matchup on the road against the Ducks—Rask is 2-3-0 away from Boston this year.
Price surrendered two goals on 25 shots in a loss to the Sabres on Friday. He was given Saturday night off, but gets back between the pipes tonight vs. the Avalanche. He has been great this season, going 13-5-1 in his first 19 starts. He stopped 32 shots in a 3-2 win in his first start vs. Colorado.
Smith allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Coyotes loss to the Avalanche last Tuesday. He was given Saturday night off, but will be back in the crease tonight in Edmonton. Smith has lost seven straight starts and has just four wins on the year, but one of them came in a 23-save performance in a 7-4 win over the Oilers on October 15th.
Stoner is reportedly improving, but will still miss his fifth straight game with the mumps virus. Monitor his status prior to Wednesday’s contest.
Enstrom has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, but is expected to skate on Tuesday and if all goes well he will play on Wednesday. Monitor his status over the next few days. Enstrom has one goal and eight assists in 22 games.
Little is expected to skate tomorrow and if all goes well he will be in the lineup on Wednesday. He suffered a leg injury late in Friday’s game vs. the Bruins. Monitor his status over the next few days.
Bobkov, 23, has been recalled to backup Frederik Andersen tonight because Jason LaBarbera is out with an upper-body injury. Bobkov has gone 1-4-0 with a 4.70 GAA and .842 SV% with Norfolk this season.
Gaborik’s injury is not believed to be serious, but missing today’s practice makes him questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Boston. Monitor his status during tomorrow’s game day skate.
Bishop stopped 26 of 27 shots in the Lightning’s 4-1 victory over the Senators on Saturday. He has now won three in a row and five of his last six starts with a 2.03 GAA and .914 SV%. He will face the Rangers for the third time in the last two weeks—he won both of them.
Lundqivst stopped 21 of 23 shots in the Rangers’ 5-2 win over the Flyers on Saturday. It was a nice bounce-back performance for King Henrik, who allowed four goals in his previous start. He faced the Lightning in that game and will take on that high-octane offence again tonight—this time in New York.
Schneider allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Devils loss to the Islanders on Saturday. He has lost his last three starts with a 2.65 GAA and .916 SV%. Tonight, Schneider draws a brutal matchup in Pittsburgh—in his first start vs. the Penguins he was pulled after allowing five goals on 23 shots.
