Lehtonen kept the Stars in Thursday's game turning aside 26 of 29 shots which led to a 4-3 OT win. It was his third straight win while posting a 2.47 GAA and .921 SV% in that span. Lehtonen has a difficult matchup with the Blackhawks coming to 'Big D'.
Babcock had said yesterday that Helm wasn't ready to play on the second line tonight, but he will get his shot with Johan Franzen and Stephen Weiss out. Helm has one goal in three games after missing over a year and a half of NHL action.
Neuvirth will start tonight as the Capitals save Braden Holtby for Sunday vs. Colorado. Neuvirth stopped 31 of 33 shots in a win over the Panthers last Saturday. He will face the up-start 11-4-2 Coyotes team who are the NHL's eighth best scoring offence.
It is the first time Ward has skated since being injured on October 24. His original timetable was 2-3 weeks, so he is still a week away from returning to the Hurricanes crease. Expect Justin Peters to continue to start in Ward and Anton Khudobin's absence.
Bobrovsky allowed three goal on 33 shots in a loss to the Rangers on Thursday. He has struggled to start the season after winning the Vezina last year - he currently sits at 4-8-0 with a 2.81 GAA and .910 SV%. Goalie Bob already has an OT win over the Islanders this season.
Joensuu has missed 10 games in a row with a back injury. He initially tried to come back from the injury early and ended up out of the lineup again. It has been frustrating for the Finnish winger.
Perron has missed his last four games. After initially missing the team’s game against Toronto with an illness, a neck injury got aggravated and he has been out for the past three as a result of that. The Oilers play at 1 p.m EST so we will find out if Perron will play shortly.
This is the first time Nash has skated since suffering a concussion in the third game of the season. There has been a very limited amount of reports on when Nash is expected to return. There is still no timetable for his return, but this is definitely a positive sign.
Markstrom is 1-5-3 with a 3.36 GAA and .877 SV% in eight starts this season. In 37 careers starts (42 appearances) Markstrom is 11-24-5 with a 3.16 GAA and .899 SV%.
Thomas missed the last six games with a leg injury but will return to the crease this afternoon. Thomas allowed two goals on 27 shots in his last start on October 22. The 39-year-old has really struggled on the road (1-2-0 / 5.02 GAA / .850 SV%) add that to Florida's 26th ranked offence - and you have a goalie you should probably avoid today.
Mason turned aside 36 of 38 shots but it was not enough to record the OT win vs. Carolina on Thursday. Mason continues to play strong (2.37 GAA / .927 SV%) but the Flyers 1.47 goals per game has limited to three wins. Mason has a strong matchup this afternoon when Philly faces Edmonton.
Devan Dubnyk is still the incumbent, but Bryzgalov will push him. Dubnyk’s stats are well below last year’s very solid numbers — .920 SV% and 2.57 GAA. Bryzgalov could share goaltending duties the rest of the way, with both contracts ending after the season. “He’s had a high level of play in the past (with the Phoenix Coyotes). I believe he’ll be highly motivated on a short contract. Just salary, no bonuses,” said Oilers GM Craig MacTavish. Jason LaBarbera will stay with Edmonton, for now, as Dubnyk’s backup. Bryzgalov will likely need several games with the Barons to get up to speed.
Rask stopped 23 shots in an easy 4-1 win over the Panthers on Thursday. The Maple Leafs have been outshot in 13 straight games, so Rask figures to be in for another quiet night - but when Phil Kessel is on the ice he will need to be on top of his game.
Reimer turned aside 43 of 47 shots in a 4-0 loss to the Canucks last Saturday. The Maple Leafs continue to give up a ton of shots on a regular basis, Reimer has seen 128 shots in his last three starts (42.7 per game). He will look to redeem himself tonight against a Bruins team who eliminated him and the Leafs from the playoffs last year.
Bryzgalov struggled to a 19-17-3 record with a 2.79 GAA and .900 SV% with the Flyers last season. His time in Philadelphia was disappointing, but prior to becoming a Flyer he was very successful in Phoenix. He went 130-93-27 with a 2.54 GAA and .917 SV% in four seasons with the Coyotes. Bryz comes to the Oilers with an eccentric personality. However they were a team desperate for help in the crease so all they need him to do is stop the puck. Edmonton has a lot of offensive fire power, but lack defence which could limit Bryzgalov's value. The majority of owners should have one player they can drop to take a flier on the 33-year-old Russian netminder.
Rielly figured to be a healthy scratch tonight with Mark Fraser returning tonight, but Colton Orr will not dress because of an injury so Rielly will dress as the Maple Leafs seventh defenseman.
Smid has one goal and one assist with a minus-6 rating in 17 games with the Oilers. This is simply a salary dump for the Oilers who are reportedly in talks with Ilya Bryzgalov.
The Kings have been very vague with Carter's injury details. There was speculation that Carter was dealing with a foot issue and a walking boot certainly solidify that report. A walking boot usually signifies a significant injury so Carter could be out for a extended period of time.
Rielly has been solid posting five assists in 13 games, but he is still only 19-years-old and has tons of room to grow. He will sit tonight, but I don't think he will sit for too many consecutive games.
Duchene injured his foot while blocking a shot on Wednesday. It doesn't sound like Duchene is at 100% but he will play tonight. He has had a fantastic start to the season (10G / 7A) so he should be able to get on the stat sheet again tonight vs. Calgary.
