Backstrom was victorious in all three of his starts last week. He posted a 2.67 GAA and .927 SV% in those three wins. Backstrom will start tonight on the road vs. the Red Wings where he is 6-4-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .914 SV% this season.
Hedman (upper-body) is considered to be day-to-day according to the Lightning, but the fact that he is skating this morning would suggest he might play tonight vs. the Leafs. Monitor his status later this afternoon.
Nyquist will slide into the injured Patrick Eaves' spot in the lineup on the LW with Andersson and Cleary. Nyquist leads the AHL in scoring with 60 points in 58 games, but has only recorded one assist in four games with the Red Wings this season.
Eaves took a puck to the jaw in practice yesterday. X-rays revealed no fracture, but he has sprained joints in his jaw. Eaves has six points in two games this season, he is not fantasy relevant.
Bouillion has seven points and a plus-6 in 29 games this season.
Scrivens lost all three starts that he made last week with a 3.60 GAA and .880 SV%. Both Maple Leafs goalies are struggling right now, so they will likely continue to split starts until someone's play improves. Scrivens has a good matchup against the Sabres so he will have a good shot at getting back in the win column.
“I thought he played very well considering the time off,” Oates said. He took one shift on the fourth line with Matt Hendricks and Jay Beagle before Oates bumped him up to the second line with Mike Ribeiro and Troy Brouwer. Laich played 12:51 in his season debut, but expect that to slowly increase as he gets worked back in to the Caps lineup. If he is playing with Ribeiro and Brouwer he could be worth a pickup in the near future.
Reimer has allowed four goals in four of his last five starts. Although he has won two of those games, he comes into tonight with two losses in a row. He has a decent matchup vs. the Lightning, who's offense seems to have disappeared lately. Toronto has lost five straight games and now sit in a four-way tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Faulk did not return to the game and Canes coach Kirk Muller did not have an update on the injury after the game, but there were a lot of very somber looks in the locker room. Faulk has 10 points and a plus-3 in 28 games this season.
Gardiner spent the full season with the Leafs and was named to the NHL’s all-rookie team a year ago, pulling off the rare feat of scoring 30 points from the back end in his first full year as a pro. Since being returned to the Marlies in late January, however, Gardiner has 14 points in 21 games in the AHL and overall is 12th in league scoring for defencemen despite missing 18 games.
The Jets haven't set a time frame for Enstrom's return, but will have to first see if he can handle contact on the injured shoulder that has kept him out of the lineup for 17 games. "We'll see in the next couple of days coming up here. The last couple of days I've been feeling great and skating with the team. It's been a tough couple of weeks here and I'll be happy to be back playing soon." Enstrom said.
Varlamov was lit up for five goals on 32 shots vs. the Blackhawks. It has come to be expected that a goalie facing Chicago is a dangerous fantasy play, so hopefully you left him on your bench on Monday. He will be back between the pipes today with a much easier matchup vs. the Stars. However Varlamov is just 2-5-1 with a 3.10 GAA and .906 SV% in March, so start with caution.
Vanek was injured after taking a shot off the leg. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery but his past indicates he may be due for time on the IR.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie, 21, was expected to get the call-up, but he is nursing a minor hip injury. To make room for Elliott on the 23-man roster, fellow blue-liner Ryan Wilson was placed on injured reserve, retroactive March 14. Elliott previously played five games with the Avs this season, and struggled. He had no points and was minus-4.
Hedman left Monday's game and did not return. Tampa Bay plays tomorrow and then back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, so monitor his status prior to the weekend games.
Price has won four straight starts entering play tonight. In those four starts he had a 2.75 GAA and .931 SV%. He has a good matchup tonight vs. a weak Sabres team.
Lundqvist stopped 29 of 30 shots that he faced in a 2-1 shootout win over the Hurricanes last night. He gave up three goals in a losing effort to the Devils the last time these two teams faced off. The Rangers have the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference, so Lundqvist has not had too much goal support to speak of this season.
Nilsson has 10 points in 44 games as a member of Mora IK of the Swedish league. He is a 6'0", 176 lbs. defenseman.
Sparks is 36-17-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .917 SV% as a member of the Guelph Storm this season.
There is no timetable for LaRose's return. Concussions are tricky so it is tough to pinpoint when he will return.
