Forsberg is riding a two-game winning streak and will return to the crease for the third time in the last six games for the Senators. In his last outing, Forsberg saved 23 of 25 shots (.920 SV%) in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators enter action as +139 home underdogs against a Dallas Stars club on a three-game losing skid (0-1-2).
Jarry did not participate in the morning skate but will start between the pipes for the Penguins on Thursday evening. Despite an unspectacular 2-3-0 record, Jarry has allowed two or fewer goals in four of five posting a solid .920 SV%. The Penguins have lost five of their last six (1-4-1) but are -231 home favourites on Thursday against the low-scoring Montreal Canadiens (2.78 GF / GP).
Despite struggling recently, Vasilevskiy will return to the crease for the sixth straight game on Thursday. The Vezina-winning netminder has allowed 10 goals across his last two games (0-2-0), posting a horrendous .800 SV%. That said, Vasilevskiy and the Lightning have a favourable matchup on Thursday night as they are -191 home favourites against one of the league's lowest-scoring teams, the Washington Capitals (2.48 GF / GP).
Villalta made his first career NHL start earlier this week and allowed five goals on 25 shots (.800 SV%) in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He will return to the Tuscon Roadrunners of the AHL, indicating that Connor Ingram is likely nearing his return to the Coyotes roster.
Forsberg is riding a two-game winning streak and will likely return to the crease for the third time in the last six games for the Senators. In his last outing, Forsberg saved 23 of 25 shots (.920 SV%) in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators enter action as +139 home underdogs against a Dallas Stars club on a three-game losing skid (0-1-2).
Varlamov has only played once in the last six games but will return to the crease for the Islanders on Thursday night. After a terrific start to the season, Varlamov has struggled lately, failing to record a victory in seven straight outings (0-3-2), and has allowed three or more goals in three straight (0-2-1) while posting a .882 SV%. That said, the Islanders are coming off a 5-4 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and are slight -114 road favourites entering action against the St. Louis Blues.
Othmann was the 16th overall pick of the Rangers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He has excelled in his first professional season, scoring 36 points (14G / 22A) in 44 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.
Arvidsson exited Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after playing only 17 seconds due to an undisclosed injury. It was only Arvidsson's fourth game of the season as he recently made his debut, returning from back surgery in October. He was off to a strong start before his injury, tallying two points (0G / 2A) and 12 shots in his first three games.
Nugent-Hopkins was not at practice on Wednesday due to an illness and was a game-time decision for Wednesday's game against the Boston Bruins. Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod will take on top-six roles tonight in Nugent-Hopkins' absence.
Linus Ullmark had a rough outing in his last contest, allowing five goals on 35 shots (.857 SV%) in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings, opening the door for Swayman to break Boston's typical goalie rotation and start back-to-back games. Swayman was spectacular against the Stars on Monday, stopping 43 of the 46 shots he faced enroute to a 4-3 shootout victory. The Bruins enter action as +118 road underdogs against the Edmonton Oilers and their fifth-ranked offense (3.56 GF / GP).
Samsonov will start for the second straight game and attempt to extend his winning streak to five games on Wednesday night. Samsonov was solid in his last outing, saving 19 of 21 shots (.905 SV%) in a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Maple Leafs have done a stellar job of protecting their netminder lately, as Samsonov has managed to record two of his last three victories while saving fewer than 20 shots.
The Blue Jackets will turn to Tarasov on Wednesday after Elvis Merzlikins got the nod against the Kings in the front-end of their back-to-back on Tuesday. Tarasov last start came on February 13th in Ottawa, where he struggled to the tune of an .828 SV% as Columbus fell to the Senators by a score of 6-3. Tarasov hasn't managed to find his footing this season, posting a 3-6-2 record and an .877 SV%. He does draw a decent matchup in Anaheim on Wednesday, with the Blue Jackets getting even odds to secure the victory.
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Stone will be "out for a while" due to the upper-body injury. Stone suffered the injury in Tuesday's game against the Predators and was unable to return. Stone was in the midst of another productive season for the Golden Knights, scoring 16 goals and adding 37 assists across 56 games.
Luukkonen will start for the third straight game on Wednesday in a favourable matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. Luukkonen had a terrible outing on Monday, allowing four goals on 15 shots (.733 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a rare blip in an otherwise outstanding two-month run for the netminder. The Sabres enter action as -140 road favourites.
The Flyers will go right back to Ersson between the pipes on Wednesday after he took the loss in Saturday's outdoor game against the Devils. Ersson allowed five goals on 39 shots in the Stadium Series affair, as the Flyers eventually fell by a score of 6-3. The 24-year-old netminder has endured an up-an-down season to date, posting an .898 SV% to go along with his 15-10-4 record. He draws an excellent matchup on Wednesday with the Flyers being -250 favourites to pick up the win in Chicago.
Soucy has not played since suffering a hand injury on January 20th and has been retroactively placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve. A steadying presence on the blue line, Soucy has been limited to only 21 games this season due to an earlier lower-body injury and is three weeks into his original five-to-six-week prognosis. The 29-year-old has six points (2G / 4A), 21 hits, and 39 blocks this season.
Woo finds himself back with the Canucks just a few days after being sent down and will offer Vancouver defensive depth after Nikita Zadorov and Noah Juulsen were shaken up in Tuesday's loss to Colorado. The 23-year-old Woo has enjoyed a strong season with Abbotsford (AHL) up to this point, with five goals, 18 points, 41 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus.
Joshua hurt his hand in a fight on February 13th against Chicago and has been placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to the same date of his injury. The 27-year-old had been enjoying a breakout season in his fourth year in the NHL, with 13 goals, 26 points, 69 SOG, 46 PIMs and +16 plus/minus in 53 games before his injury.
Smith has been out since December 21st due to a lower-body injury but is expected to return to the Sharks' lineup on Saturday after being activated off Injured Reserve on Wednesday. The 25-year-old bruising right winger will provide some much-needed grit into the Sharks' lineup with his one goal, two assists, 27 SOG, 33 PIM and -4 plus/minus through 26 games before the injury.
