Despite his presence for the morning skate, Beauchemin is not expected to be back in the lineup until next week. Unless he drastically improved in the last few days, Beauchemin will not play against the Wild tonight. However this is great news for the Ducks as he inches closer to a return.
Mrazek will serve as Jonas Gustavsson's backup tomorrow in Tampa Bay after Jimmy Howard was injured in practice this morning. Mrzaek posted a 14-save shutout in his only NHL start this season. He is 10-2-1 with 2.09 GAA and .927 SV% in the AHL.
The injury to Howard is not believed to be serious, but it is serious enough that the Red Wings recalled Petr Mrazek. Howard looked good last night after what has been a dreadful start to the season, but he was still on the wrong end of a 3-2 shootout final. Monitor his status prior to Saturday's home game vs. the Penguins.
Smith was a late scratch in Tuesday's win over the Avalanche because of an illness. He was obviously not feeling well in warmups as he did not take a shot. Smith's presence at the morning skate is a good sign that he could be ready to start tomorrow against the Islanders.
Gustavsson allowed two goals on 37 shots (.946) but was on the hook for the loss on Saturday vs. Florida. It was another great performance from The Monster as he continues to earn himself more starts. He carries a 2.03 GAA and .930 SV% into Tampa Bay Thursday night.
Elliott surrendered one goal on 21 shots (.952 SV%) in a win over the Jets on Tuesday night. Elliott has been solid this season and coach Ken Hitchcock will reward him with a second straight start as he faces the Maple Leafs tomorrow. The Leafs are in tough on Wednesday vs. the Kings, so Elliott could see a fatigued Maple Leafs squad.
Lundqvist gave up three goals on 25 shots (.880 SV%) in a loss to the Predators last night. Despite three straight losses and 11 goals allowed in his last three starts, the Rangers will continue with King Henrik on Thursday. It is a solid matchup vs. the Blue Jackets.
It was not long ago when Kings coach Darryl Sutter said that the schedule allows Ben Scrivens to play until Jonathan Quick is back. All of a sudden Jones has started three straight games, is 3-0-0 and has back-to-back shutouts and a 137 minute and 45 second shutout streak going. While it makes sense to starts Scrivens against his former team, how could you take Jones off the ice right now? Expect him to face a Toronto team who are 3-5-2 in their last 10.
Hiller allowed two goals on 37 shots (.946 SV%) in a win over the Islanders on Monday. Hiller has been playing very well lately having posted a 2-0-2 record with a 2.12 GAA and .939 SV% in his last four games. Tonight he faces the Wild for the second time this season. He stopped 30 of 33 shots in a 4-3 OT win in the season opener in Minnesota.
Lupul missed the last seven games but will suit up tonight on a line with Nikolai Kulemin and Peter Holland. Before getting hurt Lupul hadn't recorded a point in his last three games, but he has eight goals and seven assists (15 points) in 22 games.
Pacioretty has elevated his game lately registering nine goals and one assist in his last 11 games, after scoring just twice with two assists in his first 12 games. He should be activated on Thursday vs. a Flyers team playing on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Bourque has missed the last four games and nine of the last 11. Not traveling means he will not play on Thursday vs. the Flyers and likely won't join the team for Saturday's tilt with the Islanders. His next chance to return would be when the Habs come home for a Sunday matchup with the Panthers.
There is no word on how severe the injury to Myers is, but there should be a detailed injury report released in the next few days. For now consider the towering defenseman day-to-day. He has struggled with just two goals and eight points with a minus-13 rating in 31 games.
Raanta allowed two goals on 29 shots in a big win over the Stars last night. Raanta has allowed two goals in each of his first six NHL appearances. The win moved him to 4-1-1 with a 2.14 GAA and .924 SV%, proving he is capable of holding down the fort while Corey Crawford sits out. He would face a Flyers team who have lost three out of their last four while being outscored 15-11 in the process.
Emery will face the team he won a Stanley Cup with last season. He has not been as good as he was last year (17-1-0 / 1.94 GAA / .922 SV%) but he is also not playing behind the same caliber of team. Emery is in a backup role once again and has got out to a 3-5-0, 2.57 GAA and .908 start to the season. Although it is his former team and he might be playing a little bit harder against them… It is still a terrible matchup.
At 16:31 of the second period, Panik hit Alzner in the neutral zone, driving him into the boards. Alzner remained down briefly, but returned to the game in the third period. Panik was assessed a five-minute major for boarding on the play. The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: boarding. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.
At 18:02 of the third period, Cowen came across the ice to hit Girgensons as he entered the Ottawa zone. No penalty was called on the play. Girgensons remained in the game. The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline: illegal check to the head. However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.
Ward gave up three goals on 25 shots but the Hurricanes pushed four passed Alex Stalock and added an empty netter for the 5-3 win. It was Ward's fifth win of the season and first since November 27, he is expected to go again tonight vs. the talented Oilers. He is 3-1-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .895 SV% on the road this season.
Smith skated around in warmups and did not even take any shots. He is not on the bench as the game starts so Smith must have suffered an injury prior to the game or in warmups. We will get an update as soon as possible.
Extremely late confirm/switch by the Coyotes. Smith was scheduled to start but did not even take shots in warmups which suggests there is something wrong with him. We will get an updated when available.
