Lehner stayed down for a bit, then got up, talked to trainers and stayed on for only about five more minutes before leaving for the locker room. With Lehner getting hurt look for Craig Anderson to return to the net on Friday.
Zatkoff, who was originally drafted by the Kings in 2006, spent four seasons with their AHL affiliate in Manchester before moving to Pittsburgh last season. In his last start, he stopped 21 of 24 shots in a 4-3 OT win over the Lightning. He has won three of four with a 2.32 GAA and .929 SV%. He would face an L.A team who have won four in a row.
Mitchell should be considered questionable for Thursday's game after the Sabres recalled Johan Larsson from Rochester. Expect Larsson to simply slide into Mitchell's spot alongside Cody Hodgson and Cory Conacher.
Myers who had just returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing five games with an elbow injury, suffered an upper-body injury in his first game back and will likely "miss some time" according to Sabres head coach Ted Nolan. With Myers out, Rasmus Ristolainen has been recalled from Rochester.
Ristolainen was just sent back to Rochester because Tyler Myers was ready to go Tuesday. However, Myers suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday's contest, thus Ristolainen has been recalled and will likely dress tonight.
Larsson, 21, started the season with the Sabres, but only had one assist in 21 games. It has been a different story in the AHL, where he has totalled 39 points (15G / 24A) in 45 games.
Varlamov stopped 29 of 31 shots in a 3-2 OT win over the Canucks on Thursday. The win was his 36th of the season, which moved him into a tie with Antti Niemi for the most in the NHL. He has won eight of his last 11 over the last month, posting a 2.56 GAA and .927 SV% in the process.
Howard allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. One of the goals was highly questionable as the net was off it's moorings, but ruled a goal regardless. Overall, Howard continues to make big saves but give up a could goals mostly due to lack of talent on the Wings blueline. He will look to lock down two points tonight when Detroit hosts the Habs.
Luongo made 37 saves on 39 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Senators on Tuesday. Bobby Lu made 20 saves in a scoreless first period and then held down the fort as the Panthers came back from down 2-0 to win. Tonight, he faces a Hurricanes team who looked awful on Tuesday vs. the Islanders.
Rask allowed a single goal on 22 shots in Monday's 2-1 shootout loss to the Canadiens. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Rask, but it was still a strong outing for fantasy's number-1 goalie. Tonight, he faces Chicago having gone 7-1-1 with a 1.75 GAA and .938 SV% in March.
After leaving Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury, Backstrom did not practice on Wednesday, but has rejoined his teammates this morning. The Capitals are back in action on Saturday, so barring a setback it looks like Backstrom should be good-to-go. Monitor his status as Saturday's clash with the Bruins approaches.
“Bobby has been dealing with the discomfort of this injury since it was sustained in November,” said Senators general manager Bryan Murray. “Both Bobby and our medical staff were hopeful that we could hold off from having surgery until the completion of the season, but he aggravated the condition last Saturday in Dallas to the point that surgery is now the only option.” Ryan recorded 48 points, including a team-high 23 goals, 45 penalty minutes and a plus-7 rating over 70 games in his first season with the Senators.
In the meantime, Thomas Greiss will continue to start.
Greiss stopped 23 of 25 shots he faced in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Penguins. It was a big win for Greiss because the starter's job appears to be his for the foreseeable future with Smith's status still uncertain. Tonight, he faces a New Jersey team who have lost four of six while only scoring 2.16 goals per game over that span.
Varlamov surrendered four goals on 33 shots in a 5-4 win in Nashville on Tuesday. Varlamov now ranks second in the NHL in Wins (35), eighth in SV% (.924) and 22nd in GAA (2.51). He has yet to face Vancouver, but comes into play tonight having gone 21-9-3 in his previous 33 starts at Pepsi Center.
Hackett took the loss on Tuesday despite stopped 33 of 35 shots in Montreal. In his first two starts with the Sabres, Hackett has impressed many by posting a 1.51 GAA and .958 SV%. On Thursday, he faces a Predators team who are 25th in the league in scoring (2.41 G/G).
Miller stopped 22 of 25 shots in Tuesday's win over the Maple Leafs. Miller has now given up 10 goals in his last three starts and strangely enough has a lower SV% with the Blues (.913) than he did with the Sabres (.923). However, that can largely be attributed to the volume of shots he faced in Buffalo. On Thursday, he takes on a Wild team who are 3-3-4 in their last 10 games.
With eight healthy defensemen on the Ducks' roster, head coach Bruce Boudreau will rest one of their regular D-men each game down the stretch as the Ducks prepare for a run at the Stanley Cup. Sami Vatanen is expected to slide into the lineup for Beauchemin.
Hiller allowed two goals on 30 shots in a 6-2 win over the Panthers on Sunday. Hiller will get a chance for revenge after being yanked in his last start vs. the Flames. He allowed three goals on five shots before being put on the bench. He comes into play tonight at 2-2-2 with a 3.19 GAA and .887 SV%.
Zetterberg said he can not practice with contact for eight weeks, which would be April 21st. Zetty is still hoping to be back for the playoffs should the Red Wings get there.
