Kuznetsov is expected to make his NHL debut on Monday vs the Penguins. The Caps are likely to ease him into NHL action on the fourth line. Depending on how he performs, he has the skills to become a potential top-6 difference-maker for Washington. He is worth speculative add in keeper leagues, but likely won't have a big impact in standard leagues.
Paille left after being crunched by Panthers defenseman Ed Joavanovski. He battled a back injury earlier in the season, there is a chance this latest injury could be related to that back ailment. If he is going to miss time, Jordan Caron would be re-inserted into the Bruins lineup. They are off until Wednesday so they have time to evaluate Paille.
McElhinney allowed two goals on 15 shots after replacing Sergei Bobrovsky in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Blackhawks. Monday will mark McElhinney's first start since January 28, when he took the loss vs. Ottawa. He will face a Stars team who will likely have to go with Tim Thomas due to Kari Lehtonen's head injury. Starting Monday leaves Bob for the Red Wings on Tuesday.
Enroth stopped 43 of 44 shots to earn his fourth victory of the year on Thursday. It was Enroth's best game of the season by a long shot. He was given the following night off, but will need a similar performance tonight with the Blackhawks in town. The matchup is terrible, I would advise you to look elsewhere.
Ballard played just 10:32 on Saturday and was a minus-1. He had not recorded a point in his last six contests while Prosser has been more steady defensively.
Nilstorp, 30, has been recalled because Kari Lehtonen is likely unavailable for Monday's game so Nilstorp will serve as Tim Thomas' backup. Nilstorp has posted a 21-12-4 record for Texas this season with a 2.58 GAA and a .915 SV%. His 21 wins are currently tied for the third-most in the AHL. He made his NHL debut in 2012-13 appearing in five game for Dallas, registering a 1-3-1 record with a .897 save percentage and a 3.09 goals against average.
Perreault has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury. Perreault and Rickard Rakell took turns centering a line with Patrick Maroon and Teemu Selanne. “He’s progressing a lot quicker than we thought he would,” said Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau of Perreault. “I think sometime this week he’ll be playing.”
Head coach Bruce Boudreau says he doesn’t want to rush the 37-year-old back into the lineup, especially with back-to-backs against the Avalanche and LA Kings on Friday and Saturday. Boudreau says playing him on Tuesday, March 18 against the Washington Capitals is more likely.
Bryzgalov is expected to make his Wild debut on Sunday when Minnesota faces the Blues. He was 5-8-5 with a 3.01 GAA and .908 SV% with Edmonton before being traded. While those numbers are far from pretty, he goes from a team who gave up the sixth most shots in the NHL (32.3) to the team who allows the sixth least shots (28.0). However, the matchup vs. St. Louis forces you to look at your other options.
Quick stopped 17 of 18 shots in a win over the Jets on Thursday. Quick has not allowed more than one goal in each of his last five starts (all wins). He has posted a 0.80 GAA and .964 SV% during his five-game winning streak. He has a good chance to make it six in a row when he takes on the Oilers tonight.
Stajan and his wife lost their newborn son who was born on March 3. He has missed the last four games and there is no word when he plans to return to the team. With the Flames way out of the playoff race and with the unimaginable grief that Stajan and his family must be dealing with, there is no reason for him to rush back to the lineup.
Johnson stopped 23 of 24 shots in a win over the Panthers on Tuesday. With Tuukka Rask getting the call last night, Johnson will get another crack at the Panthers tonight. However, this time around Roberto Luongo will be standing at the opposite end of the ice. If you are in need of a spot-start, Johnson looks like your only option.
Luongo stopped all 25 shots that he faced in his Panthers re-debut on Thursday. He was already the Panthers' all-time leader in shutouts, so his 27th shutout with Florida even furthers his lead. He draws a pretty difficult matchup against the Bruins, although Tuukka Rask will get the night off.
Dougie Hamilton will serve as a healthy scratch while Meszaros makes his debut after being acquired by the Bruins on Wednesday. While shuffling in-and-out of the lineup in Philly, Mez had five goals and 12 assists (17 points) in 38 games.
Thomas stopped all six shots he faced after replacing the injured Kari Lehtonen on Saturday. He entered the game while it was 3-3 and the Stars took the lead with under five minutes in the third, earning Thomas his firs win with Dallas. With Lehtonen battling a head injury, Thomas looks to be in line to start vs. the Blue Jackets.
Sbisa injured his knee after playing just 2:56 on Friday and did not return. He will take a seat while Mark Fistric draws back into the lineup. Consider Sbisa day-to-day for now.
Stastny “tweaked” his back Saturday against the Blues. He missed a late November game at home against the Blues because of back spasms, but was in the lineup three days later. So, the hope is he’ll have the same fast recovery, but we’ll see.
Miele is undersized at 5-foot-8, 175 lbs. but has been great with Portland this season. Miele has recorded 23 goals and 35 assists (58 points) in 56 games.
Lehtonen was run over by Wild forward Erik Haula in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Wild. It was an ugly looking collision that caused Lehtonen to hit his bare head off of the cross bar. Ruff also said that Lehtonen is not doing well this morning, so the immediate concern is a concussion. The move to get Tim Thomas at the deadline looks even smarter at this point.
Quick stopped 17 of 18 shots in a win over the Jets on Thursday. Quick has not allowed more than one goal in each of his last five starts (all wins). He has posted a 0.80 GAA and .964 SV% during his five-game winning streak. He has a good chance to make it six in a row when he is expected to take on the Oilers tonight.