Staal missed the Hurricanes morning skate, but he is expected to be in the lineup tonight. Coach Bill Peters said that Staal is battling a “minor” illness. Staal has one goal, three assists and 16 shots in his last four games.
It seems likely that John Gibson will start on Friday, but Andersen will travel to Dallas. Andersen said that the pain is gone, it is just about getting back up to game speed. Monitor his status heading into the weekend.
Andersen was taking shots again in Wednesday’s game day skate, but John Gibson will start tonight. However, Andersen is coming along nicely and coach Bruce Boudreau is hopeful he will return either Friday in Calgary or Saturday in Edmonton.
Andersen will miss his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury, so expect John Gibson to get the nod vs. Lightning. Andersen said he hopes to get into a full practice soon, but he is not ready to play tomorrow.
Stastny played very well on the Blues second line with Jori Lehtera was out, he was bumped back to the third line when Lehtera returned, but will get that promotion again, just three games later. Stastny has two goals and four assists in his last eight games.
Martinook, 22, was the Coyotes second round pick (58th overall) in 2012. He has 11 goals and 17 assists (28 points) in 44 games with Portland this season. He has not recorded a point in two NHL games.
Lemieux, 18, was a second-round pick (31st overall) of the Sabres in last summer’s draft. The son of former NHLer Claude Lemieux, Brendan is a gritty forward who can put the puck in the net. He has 35 goals and 15 assists (50 points) in 46 games with the Barrie Colts (OHL) this season.
Andersen was injured in Sunday’s game when the net fell onto his head/neck. His immediate movement to IR means that he is out through next Sunday, so he will miss at least the next three games. John Gibson has been recalled with Andersen out.
Andersen is listed as day-to-day for now, but at this time there is no word if John Gibson will be recalled for Tuesday’s game. Continue to monitor Andersen’s status heading into tomorrow’s game.
Andersen suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday’s game and his absence this morning suggests that he could miss tomorrow’s game. If his injury is serious, expect John Gibson to be recalled.
Fast missed Sunday’s game after spraining his knee on Saturday in Nashville. With Fast out, J.T Miller should remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Fast will likely miss at least the next six games.
Andersen, who had allowed five goals on 22 shots, left last night’s game after the net fell on him halfway through the third period. Andersen was reportedly alert in the locker room after the game and coach Bruce Boudreau doesn’t believe the injury is serious. Expect an update on Andersen’s condition on Monday.
Stepan missed yesterday’s game with flu-like symptoms, but will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Stars. Jesper Fast will come out of the lineup with a knee injury.
Andersen stopped 44 of 46 shots in the Ducks win in Nashville on Thursday. He was great again and enters play on Sunday having won nine of his last 11. He has a rough matchup in Tampa Bay, but Andersen has been impressive on the road, going 13-2-3 with a 2.27 GAA and .916 SV%.
Stepan was held out of Saturday’s game with flu-like symptoms, but could be back in the lineup on Sunday. Coach Vigneault will know more tomorrow, but given the 5 pm ET start, he will likely be a game-time decision.
A knee sprain pretty much guarantees that Fast will not be in the lineup tomorrow vs. Dallas. Coach Vigneault said that he will know more tomorrow, but a sprained knee should sideline him for at least one week.
Stepan was listed as a game-time decision but there was less than a 50-50 chance that he would play. With Stepan out, that means that Lee Stempniak will play, he was originally expected to come out for J.T Miller.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said that “it’s looking less than 50-50” that Stepan will play this afternoon. If Stepan is unable to play, Derick Brassard and Kevin Hayes would likely centre the top-2 lines.
Andersen gave up four goals on 32 shots in the Ducks 5-4 comeback overtime win over the Hurricanes. Andersen is 8-1-0 with a 2.39 GAA and .919 SV% dating back to January 2nd. He draws a terrible matchup vs. the Ducks, but he made 27 saves in a 4-3 shootout win in their first meeting.
Andersen allowed four goals on 33 shots in the Ducks loss to Chicago on Saturday. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak, but he still finished 7-1-0 with 2.20 GAA and .924 SV% in January. Tonight he should be able to get back into the win column with the Hurricanes in town.
