Anderson allowed two goals on 27 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Wednesday. Anderson has been rock-solid in goal since returning from an undisclosed injury. He has won two of three while posting an impressive 1.96 GAA and .944 SV%. Anderson will face the Sens who he is 1-0-1 against this season.
Heatley was a healthy scratch in the last two games, but will be back tonight with Nino Niederreiter out with an upper-body injury. Heatley is far from his #50in07 performance having recorded just 12 goals and 15 assists (27 points) in 74 games this season. Expect him to skate on the Wild's fourth line.
Niederreiter left Sunday's game in the first period and did not return. He was able to practice, but the Wild will play it safe with him and rest him tonight with veteran Dany Heatley sitting in the press box the last few games. Niederreiter is day-to-day.
Howard stood on his head stopping 33 of 35 shots in a 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday. The Red WIngs really had no business winning this game, but Howard kept them afloat throughout. He makes for an excellent start tonight vs. the Sabres, especially with Pavel Datsyuk returning to the Wings lineup.
Pavelec stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 2-1 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Pavelec who had lost his last two games while giving up eight goals. With Al Montoya still sidelined, Pav is their only legit option tonight vs. the Penguins. Pavelec has struggled at the MTS Centre, going 11-13-5 with a 3.28 GAA and .889 SV% this season.
Budaj stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the Bruins on March 24th. He sat and watched the four games, but will be back in goal tonight in Ottawa. He has yet to face the Senators, but they have lost a couple of key players to injury making Budaj a reasonable spot-start on Friday.
Lieuwen stopped 33 of 35 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Devils on Tuesday. The win was Lieuwen's first as he moved to 1-2-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .913 SV% in five appearances. Despite the nice outing vs. the Devils, the facts are that he is a Sabres netminder taking on a great St. Louis team tonight.
Martin was a full participant in the Penguins' morning skate where he played on the top power-play unit. Martin has missed the last 18 games, but has two goals and 10 assists in 33 games this season.
"Looking forward to a game on Friday! I am in..." Datsyuk announced on Twitter. After missing 16 games, Datsyuk will return on a line with Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader tomorrow vs. the Sabres. Head coach Mike Babcock will likely ease Dats back into the lineup, but expect to see him on the top power-play unit for sure.
Lieuwen stopped 33 of 35 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Devils on Tuesday. The win was Lieuwen's first as he moved to 1-2-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .913 SV% in five appearances. Despite the nice outing vs. the Devils, the facts are that he is a Sabres netminder taking on a great St. Louis team tonight.
Schneider gave up two tallies on 27 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres. In his last three games (one relief) Schneider has managed to post a 1.10 GAA and .950 SV%, so the losses can't be pinned on him. The Devils chances are slim, but they are still alive in the playoff race and tonight's meeting vs. the Capitals could not have any more meaning.
Pavelec stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 2-1 win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Pavelec who had lost his last two games while giving up eight goals. With Al Montoya still sidelined, Pav is their only legit option tonight vs. the Penguins. Pavelec has struggled at the MTS Centre, going 11-13-5 with a 3.28 GAA and .889 SV% this season.
It seemed rather obvious by watching the collision that Luongo likely suffered a concussion. Take "slight" concussion as you may, but it cost him the last three games and there is no guarantee he will be back tomorrow. Monitor his status during Friday's morning skate.
Jackman's injury is not believed to be serious, but will keep him out of the lineup tonight. With Jordan Leopold returning after an 18-game absence, the Blues are likely playing it safe with their rugged defenseman. He could be back by Saturday.
Steen has been labeled as day-to-day by head coach Ken Hitchcock. He will be replaced by Dmitrij Jaskin in the lineup tonight. The Blues will take on the Avalanche on Satruday, monitor Steen's status leading up to that game.
Alfredsson missed Wednesday's win over the Bruins and did not skate again this morning. The Red Wings are in action on Friday, so his status for that game looks rather cloudy. The Red Wings have a plethora of young talent on the club right now, so they will likely let Alfie rest until he is 100 per cent.
Datsyuk has missed the last 16 games with a knee injury. The Red Wings young AHL call-ups have done an excellent job putting the Wings in a good spot to make the playoffs despite missing Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Datsyuk was skating on a line with Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader this morning which suggests he will return tomorrow. Monitor his status during the gameday skate, but all signs are pointing towards his return. Datsyuk had 15 goals and 18 assists (33 points) in 39 games this season.
Khudobin allowed one goal on 31 shots in a 4-1 win over the Penguins on Tuesday. He has won three of his last seven starts despite holding the opposition to 1.71 goals per game. Tonight, he will start against a Dallas team who have won five of their last six games.
Lehtonen stopped all 35 shots that he faced in a dominant 5-0 win over the Capitals on Tuesday. The Stars were in control of this one from the get-go making it an easy for Lehtonen to win his third in a row and fifth in his lat six games. In that six-games stretch he has posted a 1.67 GAA and .950 SV%.
Byron has recorded four goals and three assists in his last 11 games, but will not take on the Lightning tonight. He will be replaced by Ben Hanowski.
