Pavelec was practicing at the starters end of the ice this morning but Montoya was the first goalie off of the ice which would indicate he is starting. Montoya will likely be the starter tonight but I think it would be wise to wait until warmups to see who the starter is going to be.
Crawford and the Blackhawks have yet to lose in regulation this season in 12 games. Crawford is 7-0-2 with a 1.62 GAA and .935 SV% this year which is huge step forward from his 2.72 GAA and .903 SV% he had last season. He has a tough match-up against a hot Ducks team that has won 5 of his last 6.
Pavelec continues to struggle this season with a 3-5-1 record, 3.28 GAA and .885 SV% and isn't useful fantasy option at this point. Until he gets back on track I wouldn't start him.
There is no timetable for Zubrus' return. At this point in his career Zubrus isn't a great fantasy option when healthy.
Malone's injury is still unknown at this point but regardless he will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks. This is unfortunate for Malone and the Lightning who were off to a good start to the season but 3-4 weeks is a substantial amount of time in a shortened season. Richard Panik was recalled from the AHL to fill in while Malone is out.
Lundqvist won his last two starts and only allowed 1 goal in each game while posting a .957 SV%. The Rangers got off to a slow start to the season but have turned it around lately winning 3 of their last 4 and 5 of their last 7. Lundqvist is a must-start in all formats but will need to be in top-form tonight against Tuukka Rask and the Bruins.
Neither Clemmensen or Theodore have good numbers this season and the way the Panthers have played this season I wouldn't recommend starting either of them. They will get the occasional win but not enough to make them worthwhile in fantasy. Only relevant in deep leagues.
Due to the cancelation of Saturday's game between the Bruins and Lightning, Rask has not started a game in 6 days so he should be well rested for tonight's start against the Rangers. Rask has been great this year with a 6-1-1 record, 1.96 GAA and .922 SV%, and will have to be great tonight if the Bruins are going to beat last year's Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers.
Lindback has struggled to a certain extent this season. He was supposed to be the answer to all the Lightning's goalie trouble but that hasn't been the case thus far. He is 5-3-0 with a 2.96 GAA and .902 SV% and has a decent match-up tonight against a Habs team that has lost 3 consecutive (1 in OT).
Halak had missed the Blues last 3 contests and was scheduled to start tonight but got hurt in warmups. Brian Elliott got the 3 starts that Halak missed and did not play well. Elliott allowed 11 goals on only 57 shots in those 3 games and lost them all.
Reimer had started to get going winning two consecutive and 4 of his last 6 contests. Ben Scrivens gets a fantasy boost if Reimer can't play.
Make sure to get Couturier out of your lineup. The Flyers lines will be updated after line rushes take place in warmups.
Ward has played well lately. He is 2-1-0 in his last 3 starts stopping 114 of the 121 shots he faced (.942 SV%). He got off to a rough start to the year but his play lately has shown signs of improvement which is good news for the Hurricanes. He has a great match-up tonight against a struggling Islanders team that is starting their backup Rick DiPietro.
Panik has 21 G and 14 A to give him 35 points in 43 games as a member of the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. There is no timetable for how long Malone will be out but consider him as day-to-day until more information is released.
Coyotes goalie Mike Smith was 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA & .967 SV% vs. Avs last season. He has won 3 of the 5 starts he's made since returning from injury posting a 2.10 GAA and .915 SV%. He has a good match-up tonight against a struggling offense in Colorado.
Varlamov has played well this season although it doesn't show in his win total. He is 3-6-0 with a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV%, but the Avalanche offense is struggling to score with all the injuries they've had (25th in the NHL in GF per game w/ 2.10). Varlamov has a solid match-up tonight against a Coyotes team who is 20th in the NHL in scoring.
Cory Schneider started the last two Canucks contests and played great in both recording 2 wins and only allowing 1 goal in each game. Luongo will start tomorrow vs. the Wild and comes into the game with a 3-game winning streak intact. Despite all the trade rumours Luongo has been great posting a 3-0-2 record with a 1.53 GAA and .940 SV%. He is a must-start when he plays.
Backstrom followed up a poor outing against the Canucks (4 goals on 16 shots) with a good performance in a 2-1 win over the Predators on Saturday. This was Backstrom's first win in February and will look to get his second tonight against a struggling Flames team. Backstrom is a strong start tonight.
The starting goalie for the Jets contest tomorrow vs. the Flyers will be a game-time decision. Ondrej Pavelec has struggled this season while Al Montoya was great last night posting a shutout vs. the Senators. Monitor this situation before game-time.
Same as Ryan Kesler, they are both nearing returns but still a little away as long as they are wearing no-contact jerseys.
