Dupuis will play in his first game since last November. He battled a blood clot last year and has missed the first six games of this season with a lower-body injury. Dupuis will likely be eased back into action in the Penguins’ bottom six.
Fleury allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Penguins win over the Panthers on Tuesday. He has won three in a row, allowing just three goals on 82 shots (.963 SV%). Fleury has been excellent this season and it is only a matter of time before the Penguins find their offence and give him some goal support.
Dubnyk gave up three goals on 21 shots in the Wild’s loss in Anaheim on Sunday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Dubnyk, who has posted a 3.02 GAA and .885 SV% in four starts this season. On Thursday he will face a Blue Jackets team who is still searching for their first win.
Braden Holtby has started the first six games of the season, but they will turn to Grubauer on Friday in Edmonton. The 23-year-old beat out Justin Peters for the Capitals’ backup job and comes into Friday’s contest having gone 7-6-5 with a 2.44 GAA and .924 SV% in his first 16 NHL starts and four relief appearances.
Holtby allowed two goals on 19 shots in the Capitals win in Calgary on Tuesday. Holtby has won three in a row and four of his first five starts while posting a 2.04 GAA and .916 SV%. He plays behind the highest scoring team in the NHL and tonight he faces the Canucks who rank 18th in scoring with 2.50 goals per game.
Bergeron was listed as a game-time decision because his wife was expecting, but they had a baby boy this afternoon and Cam Neely confirmed that Bergeron will be available for this evening's contest. Bergeron has three goals and two assists so far this season.
Niemi stopped 34 of 35 shots in the Stars 2-1 win in Philadelphia on Tuesday. It was a great performance from Niemi, who sat for three games after allowing six goals in his previous outing. The Stars will likely roll with the hot hand all season and for now that is Niemi. He’ll face a Penguins team who are on a three-game winning streak, but have only averaged 1.67 goals per game so far.
Rask surrendered three goals on 23 shots in the Bruins win in Arizona on Saturday. The win was his first of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak for Rask. He comes into play tonight with an ugly 4.29 GAA and .851 SV% on the season, but draws a good matchup vs. the Flyers team struggling to score early on.
Ward allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Washington on Saturday. He played very well, but it was not enough to top the Capitals’ high octane offence. He will start for the fifth time in six games and comes in with a 3.30 GAA and .867 SV% in his first four outings. Tonight he faces an Avalanche team who is averaging 3.20 goals per game.
Lerg failed to record a point in his first game of the season and has been sent back to the AHL already. Micheal Haley will take his place on Thursday.
Goldobin registered his first NHL goal on Saturday vs. the Islanders. His one goal in three games was not enough to keep him around for now.
DeMelo had no points and a minus-1 rating in two games with the Sharks. He has been swapped with Mirco Mueller, who is expected play on Thursday.
Haley, 29, registered four goals and two assists (six points) in the first three AHL games of the season. His hot start earned him a call-up and he is expected to make his season debut on Thursday. However he has just two goals and one assist in 56 career NHL games.
Mueller, 20, has one assist in three games with San Jose (AHL) and is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday vs. Los Angeles. The 2013 18th overall pick has four points (1G / 3A) in 39 career NHL games.
Stastny has missed the last two games with what was previously called a “lower-body injury.” We now know that the injury is a broken right foot that will keep him out for at least five weeks. After five weeks he will be evaluated and another timetable will be released.
Keith is expected to miss 4-6 weeks so the Blackhawks have placed him on LTIR to open up a roster spot and give them some salary cap relief to fill that void for the next month or so. Keith’s placement on LTIR means he has to miss a minimum of 24 calendar days or 10 NHL games.
Stuart has been in and out of the lineup this season. After playing on Sunday he will come out tonight in favour of Brandon Gormley, who will be making his Avalanche debut.
Vasilevskiy had been skating but he will start practicing next week, which is a huge step in his return from a blood clot. He was originally expected to miss 2-3 months. If he returns at the front-end of that timetable, he would be back in the second week of November.
Jackman missed Tuesday’s game vs. the Lightning with an upper-body injury, but he was a regular participant in Wednesday’s practice which means that he could be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Gormley was a healthy scratch in the first five games of the season after being acquired from Arizona before the season started. Tonight he will replace Brad Stuart and play alongside Nick Holden. The 23-year-old was known for his offence in juniors and in the AHL, but has posted just four points (2G / 2A) in 32 career NHL games.
