Bertuzzi skated with his teammates today, but will not play tomorrow vs. Philadelphia. It will be the sixth straight game that Bert will have missed. With Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk also out, the Red Wings have recalled Cory Emmerton from Grand Rapids.
After appearing in court yesterday, Varlamov will be able to travel with the team and play until his next court date which is set to be January 23. Great news for the Avalanche and Varlamov owners, because he continues to play at a high level. He stopped 35 of 37 shots in a win over the Wild on Saturday. He has a solid matchup in Edmonton on Thursday.
Schneider posted a 15-save shutout against the Sabres on Saturday. His tremendous season continues, he has a 1.72 GAA and .927 SV%… But it is the same story as it was in Vancouver. He does not see enough crease-time to make him an elite option. The Devils played the Habs well on Monday, so it should be another close game on Wednesday.
Lehtonen allowed two goals on 32 shots in a tough-luck shootout loss on Sunday. It was his fourth consecutive loss and things don't get any easier for him tonight when the Stars are in Chicago without Tyler Seguin. During his four-game skid Lehtonen has a 2.83 GAA and .893 SV%.
Dubnyk was excellent in a relief effort on Sunday, he stopped 15 of 16 shots in shootout win over the Stars. November was much better for Dubnyk, he was 4-6-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .904 SV%. He has a tough matchup vs. a good Coyotes offence.
Fleury broke a three game losing streak with a 21-save shutout against the Lightning on Friday. He was given the second night of a back-to-back off so he should be well rested to take on the Islanders for the first time since last year's playoff series. He is a must-start tonight.
Sekera has missed the last two games and his return will be a welcomed sight for Hurricanes fans. Sekera has been great offensively (5G / 8A) and defensively for Carolina this season. If he plays, he will return to the top pair with Justin Faulk and play 20-plus minutes as usual. Mike Komisarek is expected to stay in the lineup with Ryan Murphy coming out.
Thornton took a puck to the face on Saturday and needed stitches to repair the damage. After being stitched up, he returned to play 17:39 (averages 18:40) recording an assist in the Sharks shootout win. He will be in the lineup tonight to take on the Leafs, so get him in your lineup because he is second in the league with assists (25) and tied for eighth in points (29).
My buddy asked me yesterday for an update on Bolland, there you have it. Nothing that we did not already know, still no timetable for Bolland's return. The Maple Leafs will be without Bolland, Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri tonight when they take on the Sharks at the ACC.
McClement will centre the Leafs fourth line with Fraser McLaren and Colton Orr on his wings. His linemates are better known for their fists than their hands and he has two assists in 26 games. He is a great two-way forward but not a serviceable fantasy asset by any means.
Mazanec allowed two goals on 24 shots in a loss to the Flyers on Saturday. It was another strong performance for Mazanec who has not allowed more than two goals in eight starts - he also has two shutouts in that span. He will take on the Canucks in Nashville tonight, where he is 2-2-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .936 SV%.
Niemi turned aside 28 of 31 shots in a 4-3 shootout win over the Ducks on Saturday. It has been a year of winning and losing streaks for Niemi who is now on a five game winning streak. Tonight he takes on a Maple Leafs who have lost four in a row and five of their last six.
Franson left warmups and did not play in Saturday's game after being injured on Friday vs. Buffalo. Franson is still searching for his first goal of the season, but leads the Leafs with 13 assists. He was on the ice for the Maple Leafs morning skate so there is a good chance that he will be in the lineup tonight. Monitor his status during warmups.
The 2009 14th overall pick has struggled offensively this season posting one goal and two assists with a minus-9 rating in 27 games. Panthers head coach Peter Horachek says Kulikov "needs to be accountable". Kuli is disappointed does not think he was playing bad enough to be kicked out of lineup.
Henrique appeared to hurt his leg when he became tangled with Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin and fell behind the Montreal net with 2:29 left in the first period. He tried to play through it in the second period, but could not.Henrique was unsure if he’ll be able to play in Wednesday night’s rematch with the Canadiens at Prudential Center. "We’ll see," Henrique said. "We’ll just kind of take it a day at a time here. We’ll see how I feel [today] and go from there."
Peters will get his first start since November 21 when he gave up four goals on 47 shots in a loss to the Red Wings. The 27-year-old is 4-7-1 with a 2.49 GAA and .920 SV% this season and has yet to win a road game (0-5-0). He will be in tough tonight in Washington.
Smith gave up four goals on 35 shots in a loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday. It was the sixth straight game that Smith allowed at least three goals… Ouch. His GAA has inflated to 3.07 during his four game losing skid. Smith is the first one to say he needs to be better and that starts tonight in Edmonton.
Kadri is only expected to miss tonight's game but should be back in the lineup on Thursday.
Anderson's struggles continued on Thursday when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots. It was the fourth straight contest he allowed four goals as he wrapped up an ugly month of goaltending. Anderson finished November 2-4-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .866 SV%. He will try and find his game tonight at Florida.
Bishop allowed two goals on 28 shots in a loss to the Penguins on Friday. He will be back in the cage tonight in search of his 15th win of the season. He has been great all year posting a 2.08 GAA and .931 SV% and draws a good matchup tonight @ Columbus.
