McGinn broke his orbital bone in a fight with Toronto grinder Mike Brown in yesterday's 4-2 loss. He is likely to be out for a couple of weeks. The Flyers also traded for former Flyer Simon Gagne today who is expected to move into McGinn's spot on the roster.
The Stars get rid of Ryder who is in the final year of his contract and get Cole who has two years remaining on his deal. Cole has three goals and three assists in 19 games this season.
Ryder returns to the Habs where he started his career and played four seasons. Ryder has six goals and eight assists in 19 games this season. Ryder could see top-6 forward minutes in Montreal.
After losing four straight Howard has now won two in a row and will look to make it three tomorrow in Los Angeles. With his back-to-back solid performances Howard has now pushed his SV% up to .901 on the season. He has a tough matchup tomorrow vs. the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.
Just when you thought the Red WIngs were going to start getting healthy again another key piece of the Red Wings offense goes down. Filppula won't play tomorrow but he isn't expected to be out long term.
Franzen (hip flexor) hasn't played since February 10th, will be a welcomed addition to a depleted Red Wings roster. Franzen has nine points in 12 games this season and should continue to be a solid fantasy contributer.
Brodeur won't be eligible to play until Monday vs. Toronto.
Etem is not expected to play a prominent role for the Ducks so he is not fantasy relevant.
Gagne gets to go back to the team he played 10 seasons for (1999-00 to 2009-10). He recorded 524 of his 586 career points as a member of the Flyers. He has been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this year in Los Angeles, Philadelphia could provide him with more ice-time.
It is probably going to be Bachman in between the pipes tonight because Nilstorp played yesterday and gave up five goals in a 5-4 loss to Nashville. Bachman is 1-3-0 with a 3.95 GAA and .897 SV% this season, not exactly numbers that make you feel confident about using him as a spot start.
Vrbata has missed the Coyotes last three games but could return tonight. Monitor his status prior to game-time.
Bourque missed the Habs last two games with what was thought to be the flu, but is now a concussion. There is no timetable for Bourque's return.
Duchene (groin) will not play tonight when the Avalanche take on the Sharks. He is Colorado's leading scorer with six goals and 11 assists in 17 games. This is a tough break for the Avs who have had to battle through a lot of injuries this season.
Niemi has lost seven of his last eight starts but has only allowed 16 goals combined in those games (2.00 GAA). It isn't a matter of Niemi playing bad it is the offense that isn't getting the job done in front of him. However Niemi does have a good matchup tonight vs. the Avalanche.
Varlamov comes in having won two of his last five while posting a 3.31 GAA and .907 SV%. Colorado is 28th in the NHL at 7-8-2 so Varlamov is not a very good fantasy option. The Avalanche need the offense to be better, the defence to be better and Varly to be better if they're going to have any success.
Niemi has lost seven of his last eight starts but has only allowed 16 goals combined in those games (2.00 GAA). It isn't a matter of Niemi playing bad it is the offense that isn't getting the job done in front of him. However Niemi does have a good matchup tonight vs. the Avalanche.
It is probably going to be Bachman in between the pipes tonight because Nilstorp played yesterday and gave up five goals in a 5-4 loss to Nashville. Bachman is 1-3-0 with a 3.95 GAA and .897 SV% this season, not exactly numbers that make you feel confident about using him as a spot start.
After Roberto Luongo gave up eight goals against the Red Wings on Sunday it was obvious that Schneider was going to get the nod tonight. Schneider is 5-3-1 with a 2.68 GAA and .912 SV% this season. It will be a great goaltending battle between Schneider and Mike Smith who is probably going to start for Phoenix.
Pavelec has won three of his last four with a 2.52 GAA and .919 SV%. This is exactly what Pavelec needed after losing four straight games. It will be tough for him to record a win tonight against Lundqvist and the Rangers.
Backstrom has won two of his last four while posting excellent numbers (1.69 GAA and .936 SV%). He is the unquestioned #1 for Minnesota with Josh Harding on IR and he should see the vast majority of the starts going forward. He has a good matchup tonight vs. the Flames and Joey MacDonald.
