Henrik Lundqvist was originally slated to start the second-half of the Rangers' back-to-back, but Georgiev was outstanding last night. Georgiev stopped 45 of the 47 shots that he faced in New York's win in Columbus. He has now stopped 78 of the last 80 shots (.975 SV%) that he has faced and draws a solid matchup on Friday. Montreal hast lost four of their last five road games while scoring just 2.20 goals per game.
O'Connor played in seven straight games, posting one goal on eight shots (12.5 SH%) with a plus-3 rating and two PIMS. HIs return to the AHL bodes well for Gabriel Landeskog, who is a game-time decision for Thursday's game.
Landeskog has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since October 26th but all signs are pointing towards him playing Thursday in Montreal. Landeskog, who had three goals and four assists in 11 games before getting hurt, will likely be back on the top-line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
Kamenev is day-to-day with an illness, which also makes him questionable to play Thursday in Montreal. Matt Calvert will return to the lineup on Wednesday and replace Kamenev.
The Avalanche announced that they expect Langeskog to return during their three-game road-trip but it won't be Wednesday. Landeskog was on the ice for the morning skate, so it's entirely possible he will play in the second-half of the back-to-back in Montreal.
Rantanen returned to the lineup on Saturday but missed the third period. Rantanen had one goal and three assists before leaving and holding him out of the third period was likely more precautionary since the Avalanche were up massive. Rantanen was also held out of Monday's practice but was on the ice for the morning skate and will play in Toronto.
Hudon has played in eight straight games but will be replaced by Matthew Peca on Tuesday night. Hudon has just one assist and a minus-4 rating in eight games this season.
Georgiev surrendered five goals on 43 shots in the Rangers' 6-5 win over the Canadiens last Saturday. It was the third time in four games that Georgiev allowed five-plus goals, pushing his season GAA to 3.42 while his SV% sits at a paltry .903. Today he faces the Devils for the second time this season--he allowed four goals on 37 shots in a 5-2 loss in the first meeting (Oct.17).
Rantanen, who has been out since October 21st, will miss Wednesday's game but will return to Colorado's lineup in Chicago on Saturday. Rantanen is expected to jump right back onto the right-side of Nathan Mackinnon and will try to build off of a hot-start that saw him register 12 points (5G / 7A) in his first nine games.
Rantanen joined his teammates for practice on Monday and head coach Jared Bednar left open the possibility of him playing by this weekend. Rantanen will likely miss his 15th consecutive game on Wednesday but monitor his status ahead of their Friday/Saturday home-and-home with the Blackhawks.
Helm was forced to leave Tuesday's game vs. the Senators but could play in Columbus on Thursday. If Helm can't play, look for the Red Wings to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
