Gibson will make his first start since the season opener on October 9. He made two appearances in the AHL last weekend, where he posted a 1-1-0 record with a 3.05 GAA and .902 SV%. Gibson is an elite prospect and with a great future ahead of him. He has an average matchup against the Blue Jackets who played last night.
Lack stopped 14 of 15 shots in a relief effort of Ryan Miller on Tuesday. Tonight will be Lack's second start and third appearance of the season, he has a 3.13 GAA and .872 SV% so far this season. He takes on an Avalanche team who rank 28th in the NHL with 1.71 goals per game.
Jaskin, 21, has one goal and three assists (four points) in four games with Chicago this season. In 20 career NHL games, he has two points (1G / 1A). They placed Paul Stastny on IR to make room for Jaskin.
Stastny has skated the last two days, but has yet to start shooting the puck. He remains week-to-week and his designation to IR allowed the Blues to recall Dmitrij Jaskin from Chicago, but he is eligible to return to the lineup whenever he is healthy.
Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 37 shots in a 5-4 comeback win over the Sharks last night. With Curtis McElhinney on IR expect Bob to go again tonight in Anaheim. It is a tough matchup, but Bobrovsky is rocking a 2.37 GAA and .923 SV% going head-to-head with a rookie, it would be hard to put him on your bench.
Stalock allowed four goals on 29 shots in a the Sharks 4-0 loss to the Rangers last Sunday. Antti Niemi gave up nine goals in his last two starts, so Stalock could earn himself a few more starts next week with a strong outing vs. the Sabres this afternoon… and that should not be too hard.
Jokipakka, a seventh-round pick (195th overall) in 2011, played three seasons in Finland’s top league and made his North American debut last season with the Texas Stars. He was a key piece for that Texas team that won the 2014 Calder Cup. Jokipakka was paired with Jamie Oleksiak during Friday morning’s skate, meaning that Kevin Connauton is the expected healthy scratch on the blue line.
Grabovski skated on the Islanders second line at practice this morning and said he felt good after the skate. He will participate in the morning skate on Saturday and if he feels good, he will be in the lineup. Grabo has missed three games, but will skate on a line with Frans Nielsen and Cory Conacher tomorrow if he is available.
It is a good sign that Stastny is back on the ice, but he is plagued by a shoulder injury, so don't get too excited until he starts shooting the biscuit. He will miss his third game in a row on Saturday and his week-to-week status has not changed.
Ramo stopped 20 of 22 shots in a overtime loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. After opening up the season with two wins, Ramo has dropped each of his last two starts while posting an .896 SV%. With Jonas Hiller playing brilliantly, Ramo will need to continue to keep the puck out of his cage, but needs to rack up W's.
Hayes had no points, a minus-2 rating and 10 shots in four games during his call-up. No word on if someone is coming the other way.
Bolland will miss his third straight game with the lower-body ailment that he suffered last week. With Bolland sidelined, Brandon Pirri will remain in the lineup.
Luongo allowed three goals on 33 shots in a 4-3 overtime win against the Avalanche on Tuesday. With three days off between games, the Panthers will go back to Bobby Lu who has stopped 56 of 59 shots (.949 SV%) in his back-to-back wins. He draws a favourable matchup vs. the Coyotes.
Khudobin allowed three goals on 26 shots in a loss to the Jets on Tuesday. Cam Ward started in the Hurricanes shutout loss to the Flames last night, so Khudobin gets the nod tonight in Edmonton. He has a 2.64 GAA and .912 SV% in three starts, but Carolina is still searching for their first win of the season.
Kane is skating without equipment testing his injured knee. The Jets announced on Thursday that Kane is progressing well and was expected to skate over the weekend, but he is on the ice this afternoon, which is a great sign in his recovery.
Staal has been out for nearly two weeks because of an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes are taking on the Oilers tonight, but Staal is not expected to be in the lineup yet. They have three days off in between games so he will likely get the weekend off and could be back next Tuesday.
Fasth has been out since October 14th because of a groin injury. With Fasth out, the Oilers have been relying heavily on Ben Scrivens. Groin injuries are tricky when it comes to goalies, but a return to the ice on Sunday would be a step in the right direction.
Scrivens stopped 32 of 34 shots in a 3-2 victory over the Capitals on Wednesday. Scrivens stole this one for the Oilers and has now won two in a row after losing his first three starts. He draws a great matchup tonight against Carolina--the only team in the NHL who still don't have a win.
Killorn will not play on Friday but he is progressing well, but still does not have a timetable for his return. Monitor his status prior to Saturday's game.
Gudas missed the last four games with a lower-body injury he suffered on October 13. With Luke Witkowski going back to the AHL it is a guarantee that Gudas will be back in the lineup on Friday. He will skate on the second pair with Jason Garrison.
