Point suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday’s win over the Canadiens and will miss at least one month. This is a tough break for Point, who is having a strong rookie season. With Point out, Yanni Gourde was recalled from Syracuse (AHL) and is expected to draw into the lineup on Thursday.
Point was reportedly hurt in Wednesday’s game vs. the Canadiens and is questionable for tonight’s game. The Lightning recalled Yanni Gourde this morning, which suggest that Point will not play tonight.
Gourde, 25, appeared in two games with the Lightning last season, but this is his first call-up of 2016-17. Gourde has 10 goals and 16 assists (26 points) in 29 games with Syracuse. He could make his season debut tonight with Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point both leaving last night’s game with injuries.
Kucherov has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but returned to practice on Tuesday, was on the ice for Wednesday’s morning skate and is expected to play vs. the Canadiens. Kucherov is arguably the Lightning’s most important player, so his return is key. Kucherov returns with 30 points (13G / 17A) in 28 games this season.
Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 24 shots in the Lightning’s loss in Washington last Friday. Despite a tough outing, the Lightning will go back to Vasilevskiy tonight vs. the Canadiens. Overall he is 2-3-0 with a 3.62 GAA and .878 SV% in December, but has gone 5-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA and .928 SV% on home-ice this season.
Elliott allowed one goal on 14 shots in the Flames’ win over the Canucks last Friday. It was an easy outing for Elliott, who has won his last two starts while stopping 38 of 41 shots (.927 SV%) in the process. His 2016-17 hasn’t been impressive, but he makes for a solid start vs. a struggling Avalanche team.
Elliott allowed one goal on 14 shots in the Flames’ win over the Canucks last Friday. It was an easy outing for Elliott, who has won his last two starts while stopping 38 of 41 shots (.927 SV%) in the process. His 2016-17 hasn’t been impressive, but he makes for a solid start vs. a struggling Avalanche team.
Kucherov has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, but he said he will return to the lineup vs. Montreal on Tuesday. Kucherov has 30 points (13G / 17A) in 28 games this season.
Elliott allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Flames’ win in Arizona on Monday. Elliott has had his struggles this season, but with Chad Johnson losing three in a row while allowing a combined 12 goals, Elliott will start for the second time in three games. The veteran is 1-5-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .891 SV% on the road this season.
Bjorkstrand has been a healthy scratch for the last five games, so he will swap places with Dalton Prout, who had reached the end of his conditioning stint. Bjorkstrand has picked up 10 goals and four assists (14 points) in 20 AHL games this season.
Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 23 shots after replacing Ben Bishop in the Lightning’s win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. With Bishop out 3-4 weeks, Vasilevskiy will take over as their No.1, starting with tonight vs. the Blues. The 22-year-old has gone 4-1-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .929 SV% on home ice this season, but was pulled in his first start vs. the Blues.
Kucherov will miss his fourth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. The Lightning are extremely banged up and with Kucherov out, Jonathan Drouin will play on the right side of Tyler Johnson.
Elliott allowed one goal on 13 shots after replacing Chad Johnson in the Flames’ loss to the Lightning last Wednesday. Johnson started the last eight games, but Elliott will make his first start since November 28th tonight in Arizona. The veteran netminder has gone 2-4-1 with a 3.40 GAA and .882 SV% on the road.
Elliott allowed one goal on 13 shots after replacing Chad Johnson in the Flames’ loss to the Lightning last Wednesday. Johnson started the last eight games, but Elliott will make his first start since November 28th tonight in Arizona. The veteran netminder has gone 2-4-1 with a 3.40 GAA and .882 SV% on the road.
Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 37 shots in the Lightning’s loss to the Penguins last Saturday. Ben Bishop got the win on Wednesday, but Vasilevskiy will get the Canucks tonight. Vasilevskiy has struggled as of late, but the matchup is a strong one—he is 3-2-0 with a 2.45 GAA and .924 SV% on the road this season.
McDonagh was a late scratch on Tuesday, but will return to the lineup tonight in Dallas. McDonagh has an assist in three straight games and 17 points (1G / 16A) in 30 games this season. Expect Adam Clendening to sit.
Kucherov has been dealing with an injury since Tuesday and it forced him to leave the morning skate early, but there's still a chance that Kucherov could play tonight. He is listed as a game-time decision, so monitor his status when the Lightning hit the ice for warmups.
