Smith allowed four goals on 23 shots in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Calgary. Since November 8th, Smith has lost eight of nine while Devan Dubnyk has won three of four, yet the Coyotes continue to ride Smith hoping for him to rediscover his game—he was 80-51-25 with a 2.42 GAA and .921 SV% in his three previous seasons with Arizona.
Holtby allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Capitals loss to Vancouver on Tuesday. He has hit a bit of a rough spot, losing four of his last five with a 3.22 GAA and .895 SV%. He will look to get back on track tonight vs. the 8-13-3 Hurricanes—Holtby is 5-3-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .920 SV% on the road this year.
Lindbohm was sent down on Monday, mostly because the Blues were expecting to have Jay Bouwmeester back last night vs. Chicago. With Bouwmeester out, another defenseman may have suffered an injury last night and Lindbohm could be in tonight vs. the Predators.
Reinhart was recalled on Wednesday and with the Isles missing Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Johnny Boychuk, he will get into the lineup tonight. Reinhart failed to record a point with a minus-1 rating and two PIMS in three games earlier this season.
Robin Lehner is out with a minor undisclosed injury, so Hammond has been recalled to backup Craig Anderson tonight vs.the Islanders. Hammond has gone 5-8-2 with a 3.22 GAA and .910 SV% in the AHL.
The Senators have recalled Andrew Hammond from Binghamton (AHL) to backup Craig Anderson vs. the Islanders. Lehner is listed as day-to-day.
Goc missed the last two games with a foot injury he suffered early in the Penguins loss to the Hurricanes last Friday. He took part in the morning skate and told reporters that he feels good, it is up to the coaches whether he plays. The Penguins are really banged up right now, so the coaching staff doesn’t have much of a choice but to play Goc tonight.
Bournival has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since November 5th, so the Habs have sent him back to the AHL to get three games in over the weekend. Expect him to be recalled next week and return to the lineup soon.
Schneider turned aside 22 of 23 shots, but walked away with the loss as Marc-Andre Fleury posted the shutout at the other end. That is four straight losses for Schneider who has posted a 2.26 GAA and .924 SV% over that span, so it is hard to blame him. He is a risky start tonight in Toronto vs. a Maple Leafs team who is second in the NHL in scoring.
Rinne allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Preds’ 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Rinne, who will go head-to-head with Martin Brodeur tonight. Rinne has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .911 SV% in his two starts vs. the Blues this season.
The Stars placed Anders Lindback on waivers yesterday and recalled Rynnas and they won’t hesitate to use him by the looks of things. He was 5-1-4 with a 2.58 GAA and .913 SV% in the AHL before being recalled. He has one career start, he allowed seven goals on 30 shots in a 7-1 loss to the Flyers while playing with Toronto in 2011-12.
Lack allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Canucks 4-3 shootout loss to the Ducks on November 20th. Ryan Miller started the last five games, but Lack will be in tonight in Pittsburgh. It will be a battle of the backups as he goes head-to-head with Thomas Greiss. Lack is usually an OK spot-start option, but not tonight.
Enroth stopped 26 of 27 shots in Tuesday’s shootout victory over the Lightning. Tonight he is in Tampa Bay for the rematch and even though he has won four of five with a 1.56 GAA and .953 SV%, it is tough to believe the Sabres will shutdown the NHL’s highest scoring offence for a second straight game.
Halak stopped 16 of 18 shots in the Isles overtime win over the Senators on Tuesday. That is now 10 wins in a row (yes 10) for Halak who has not lost a game since November 1st. He is 13-4-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .925 SV% on the year and is a must-start in tonight’s rematch with Ottawa.
Methot has not suited up for a game this season due to a back injury that has been bothering him since training camp. He will take part in warmups and then a decision will be made whether or not he is in the lineup. In 2013-14 Methot set career-highs in goals (6), assists (17), points (23) and shots on goal (117).
Ryan has missed the last two games with a fractured finger, but will take part in warmups tonight and decide if he can go after. We won’t know if he is in the lineup until around 7:28 P.M ET, so it will be difficult to take him out of your lineup if he is a no-go. Your decision if you want to take the gamble.
Bobrovsky turned aside 24 of 25 shots in the Blue Jackets 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Bob, who sits at 6-8-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .910 SV%. He will face the Panthers again tonight, this time on the road, where he has had his struggles this season—2-4-0 / 3.29 GAA / .897 SV%.
Elias suffered the groin injury in the Devils loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday. New Jersey will also be without Jaromir Jagr, who has the flu, leaving them with Scott Gomez, who made his season debut on Tuesday, as the only healthy member of their first line. They will recall a forward this afternoon.
Merrill has been sidelined with an arm injury since November 1st, but will be back in tonight with Adam Larsson out with the flu. Merrill has four points (1G / 3A) and a minus-2 rating in 11 games.
Jon Merrill will re-enter the lineup for Larsson who is battling the flu. Larsson struggled to get into the lineup in the early part of the season, but has played well as of late and has four points (1G / 3A) and a minus-2 rating in 17 games this season. He is day-to-day.
