Ward has not played since December 31 because of a lower-body injury, but his return to the ice is a step in the right direction. When Ward returns the Hurricanes will have a tough decision with three goalies on their hands.
Vatanen was the 106th overall pick in 2009 (4th round). Vatanen recorded 14 points (6G / 8A) in 39 games with the Ducks this season. He has been sent down because of the great blueline depth in Anaheim, he is simply a victim of a numbers game and will see a lot more playing time in Norfolk.
This is bad timing for Howard who just started to get his game on track recently. Luckily for the Red Wings Jonas Gustavsson will return to the crease on Wednesday after missing nine games with a groin injury. Petr Mrazek will stay with the team while Howie is out.
Hiller allowed three goals on 34 shots in a loss to the Blackhawks on Friday. The loss snapped a miraculous 14-game winning streak for the Swiss netminder, but he will look to start another streak tonight vs. the Jets. Hiller is a must-start almost every night because of the quality of the Ducks.
It will be Gustavsson's first start since December 28. He stopped 30 of 33 shots in a win over the Panthers that night, but missed the next nine games with a groin injury. On Wednesday he will be in tough with the Blackhawks in town, but he could be the Wings starter for the foreseeable future with Jimmy Howard possibly out for at least one week.
Crawford stopped 34 of 36 shots in a win over the Bruins on Sunday. After losing five straight games, Crawford has won each of his last two starts while posting a .930 SV%. He will take on a Red Wings team who have scored just eight goals in their last six games.
Gustavsson has not played since December 28. He could get the nod on Wednesday because Jimmy Howard is dealing with a knee injury. Gustavsson is 11-3-2 with a 2.39 GAA and .914 SV% this season.
Ericsson has missed the last 10 games with a rib injury that he suffered on December 23. Ericsson is expected to be reunited with Niklas Kronwall on the Red Wings' top pair. He has eight points (1G / 7A) in 29 games this season.
Alfredsson was on the ice with the Red Wings once again this morning, but ruled himself out of tomorrow's meeting with the Blackhawks. It will be the sixth consecutive game that Alfie has missed, but hopefully for the injury ravaged Red Wings he will be available for Friday.
Tarasenko missed last night's game in Detroit because of the flu, but monitor his status prior to tonight's game. He will skate on a line with Vlad Sobotka and Magnus Paajarvi if he does play.
Scrivens allowed four goals on 33 shots in a loss to the Wild in his Oilers debut on Thursday. It was the first time all season that he has allowed more than three goals which further proves the point, things are going to be much more difficult in Edmonton. His matchup could be worse, the Canucks have only scored four goals in their last four games and will be without Henrik Sedin and head coach John Tortorella.
Price allowed four goals on 29 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Price has has allowed 11 goals in his last three starts and has a 3.00 GAA and .897 SV% in seven January starts. On Wednesday he takes on the Penguins, he stopped 29 shots in 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on November 23.
Elliott allowed three goals on 21 shots in a loss to the Ducks on Saturday night. After winning seven straight games, Elliott has lost each of his last two outings while positing a 2.50 GAA and .884 SV%. Tonight he will face the Devils who rank 27th in the NHL in scoring.
Schmidt has appeared in 28 games with the Capitals this season, he has two goals and four assists. In 16 games with Hershey he had seven points (1G / 6A).
Oleksy had been a healthy scratch for the last six games, he had 10 points (2G / 8A) in 33 games for the Capitals this season. Nate Schmidt has been recalled with Olesky going down.
Jones will make his first start since January 2, he was yanked that evening after allowing two goals on 14 shots in the first 31 minutes. With Ben Scrivens getting traded, Jones becomes the permanent backup. He was 8-3-0 with a 1.41 GAA and .950 SV% so far this season. He will need to be at his best tonight as he goes head-to-head with the red-hot Sergei Bobrovsky.
Hedman missed Sunday's game agains the Hurricanes after being struck by a puck in the ankle on Saturday. Hedman is listed as day-to-day, so he appears in line to return on Thursday.
There is no word on who will back-up Cam Talbot tonight because there could be some weather complications if recalling someone from AHL Hartford. Monitor Lundqvist's status leading up to Thursday's contest vs. the Blues.
The recall is Da Costa's second stint with the big club after making the team out of training camp. Da Costa began the 2013-14 season with Ottawa and appeared in four of the club’s first seven games. During that span he was held scoreless and registered two penalty minutes. In 37 AHL games this season, Da Costa has scored 12 goals and added 25 assists for 37 points and a plus-11 rating. Da Costa’s 37 points leave him seventh in league scoring. He will be in the lineup tonight on a line with Colin Greening and Chris Neil.
Poulin surrendered five goals on 31 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Flyers on Saturday. After sitting on Monday he will be in goal tonight in the back half of the back-to-back. Since Evgeni Nabokov went down, Poulin is 5-2-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .905 SV%.
