Boychuk participated in the Islanders morning skate and was back skating with Nick Leddy on the Islanders second-pair. This suggests he will be back in after missing Saturday’s game and Brian Strait will come out of the lineup.
Halak stopped all 19 shots the Coyotes fired at him in the Isles’ 1-0 win on Saturday. Halak has won each of his last two starts and now sits at 5-4-0 with a 2.87 GAA and .905 SV%. It won’t always be pretty for the 29-year-old, but he is getting the job done more often than not right now. He draws a nice matchup against an Avalanche team who have dropped six of their last eight.
Holtby stopped 38 of 40 in the Capitals win over the Blackhawks last Friday. After the win, Holtby was given Saturday night in Carolina off. Friday’s W snapped a three-games personal losing streak for the 25-year-old net minder. He draws a great matchup against a Blue Jackets team who has been decimated by injury and outscored 35-15 during their eight-game losing streak.
Winnik missed the last two games with a neck injury that he suffered last Thursday. He was back at practice on Tuesday, skating on a line with David Clarkson and Nazem Kadri, which is a good sign for his availability on Wednesday vs. the Bruins.
Luongo allowed four goals on 30 shots in the Panthers 4-1 defeat to the Flyers on Thursday. He had started 10 of the Panthers first 11 games, so he was given Saturday afternoon off, but should be back in tonight vs. the Sharks. He doesn’t draw a great matchup, but Bobby Lu has posted a 2.38 GAA and .925 SV% in four home starts, so you could definitely do worse.
Lundqvist stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Oilers on Sunday. He has alternated wins and losses in his last six starts, so he is hoping that trend continues into Tuesday’s clash with the Penguins. It will be his first start vs. Pittsburgh of the year—he was 2-1-1 with a 2.88 GAA and .898 SV% against them a season ago.
Jordan was recalled to fill-in for either John-Michael Liles or Tim Gleason on Monday, but both were able to suit up.
Booth has not made his Maple Leafs debut yet and he is behind schedule in his return, but getting on the ice is finally a step in the right direction. He is six weeks removed from the fractured foot, but is probably still two weeks away from playing.
Varlamov allowed five goals on 37 shots in the Colorado’s 5-2 loss to the Canucks last Tuesday. Varly was given Thursday off after starting the seven previous games and ended up sitting for two in a row because Reto Berra was rewarded an extra start after playing well vs. Toronto. Varlamov gets back between the pipes with a 2-4-4 record, 2.75 GAA and .925 SV%.
Krug was listed as a game time decision but is on the ice for warmups, taking line rushes with Zach Trotman, so it looks like he will be back in the lineup after a four-game absence.
The Red Wings are off until Friday so they have sent Petr Mrazek back to Grand Rapids to play some games, expect McCollum to switch places with Mrazek before Friday's contest.
The Red Wings are off until Friday, so sending Mrazek back to Grand Rapids allows him to play games and not just sit with the Red Wings. Expect him to be recalled in-time to backup Jimmy Howard on Friday.
Moss has not played since October 23rd because of an upper-body injury. He has not been upgraded from week-to-week, but is supposed to be re-evaluated by doctors on Tuesday.
This is the first time we have seen it reported that Grabner has skated since having surgery to remove a hernia in early October. He was originally expected to miss 4-6 weeks and this marks the four week point.
Ward stopped 29 of 31 shots in 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Friday. Ward extended his winning streak to four games, while allowing just six goals on 107 shots (.944 SV%) over that span. He has reemerged among the NHL’s top goalies as of late and after sitting on Saturday, he will look to make it five in a row tonight vs. the Flames.
The Kings had to play with only five defensemen on Saturday because Robyn Regehr is out with an injury and they do not have enough cap room to recall a defenseman from the AHL. If they sign McBain to a league minimum deal ($550,000) they will have enough cap-room to put him on the roster.
Wilson suffered an undisclosed injury in Saturday’s game and did not return. The Predators did not have an update on Wilson after practice, so consider him questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Oilers.
Crawford stopped 32 of 34 shots in the Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Sharks on Sunday. Since returning to the Hawks’ crease just over a week ago, Crawford has posted a losing record (2-3-0), despite registering a 1.83 GAA and .936 SV%. Uncharacteristically Chicago has struggled to score goals through the first month but don’t let that deter you from starting Crawford.
Regehr missed Saturday’s game after suffering an undisclosed injury in practice on Friday. It would be very surprising to see Regehr in the lineup on Tuesday, which would likely mean the Kings will have to go with five defensemen again. However, Jamie McBain is with the team on a professional tryout and should the Kings sign him to a league minimum deal, he would be eligible to play under the salary cap.
Goligoski took a maintenance day on Monday because he has been playing through an injury as of late. Monitor his status during the Stars’ morning skate tomorrow.
