

Hedman left the Lightning's game Saturday vs. Seattle after just 13:40 TOI due to an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The 32-year-old towering defenseman is back to his Norris Trophy form this season, with five goals, 22 assists, 55 SOG, 22 PIMs and -5 plus/minus in 29 games played.





Johansson will start the tail-end of Tampa Bay's back-to-back after Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the 3-1 win over the Penguins on Wednesday. It's Johansson's first start since November 28th, when he surrendered three goals on 27 shots enroute to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Coyotes. The 28-year-old netminder owns a .892 SV% and a 8-5-5 record on the season. He'll have his hands full on Thursday facing a Predators team fresh off back-to-back victories.

We caught a glimpse of the Vasilevskiy of old in his previous start as he shut out the Dallas Stars in a 25 save effort for the sixth time in his career, and he will re-take the crease Wednesday vs. Pittsburgh. The 29-year-old superstar netminder has struggled with his return from back surgery so far this season as he is 2-3-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .887 SV%. He faces the heavy shooting Pittsburgh Penguins, who are on a two-game losing streak but are third in the NHL in shots per game (33.5).

We caught a glimpse of Vasilevskiy of old in his previous start as he shut out the Dallas Stars in a 25 save effort for the sixth time in his career and we re-take the crease Wednesday vs. Pittsburgh. The 29-year-old superstar netminder has struggled with his return from back surgery so far this season as he is 2-3-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .887 SV%. He faces the heavy shooting Pittsburgh Penguins, who are on a two-game losing streak but are third in the NHL in shots per game (33.5).

Copley and Cam Talbot were originally slated to be a timeshare tandem, but a horrid start to the season for Copley derailed that plan and saw him see limited action in the first six weeks of the season. Since then, Copley has regained some trust from the Kings' coaching staff, as he has a sensational .980 SV% across his last two outings (2-0-0) and will start for the third time in seven games. The Kings have a favourable matchup for Copley on Tuesday as they are -199 road favourites against a Columbus Blue Jackets team that ranks in the bottom third of the league offensively (2.85 GF / GP).

Katchouk will be a healthy scratch, allowing Lukas Reichel to return to the lineup after his first scratch of the season on Sunday. Katchouk has four points (2G / 2A), 23 shots, and 14 hits in 17 games this season.

Copley and Cam Talbot were originally slated to be a timeshare tandem, but a horrid start to the season for Copley derailed that plan and saw him see limited action in the first six weeks of the season. Since then, Copley has regained some trust from the Kings' coaching staff, as he has a sensational .980 SV% across his last two outings (2-0-0) and is expected to start for the third time in seven games. The Kings have a favourable matchup for Copley on Tuesday as they are -199 road favourites against a Columbus Blue Jackets team that ranks in the bottom third of the league offensively (2.85 GF / GP).

Vasilevskiy struggled for a third-straight loss in his previous start after allowing six goals on 25 shots (.760 SV%) in a road matchup vs. Dallas but will get the nod again Monday for a redemption match against the Stars. The 29-year-old came back from a long-term injury nearly two weeks ago and has struggled to regain his usual dominant form so far with his 1-3-0 record, 3.87 GAA and .859 SV%. He will take on the Dallas Stars, who will be looking to repeat their dominant 8-1 victory over Tampa last game and are sixth in the NHL in goals per game (3.55).



Johansson has been a workhorse to start the season and will tie Alexandar Georgiev for the league lead with his 18th start on Tuesday. That said, Johansson's workload is about to take a major decline as the Tampa Bay Lightning welcomed back All-Star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy last week. Apart from back-to-backs and the occasional rest for Vasilevskiy, Johansson is unlikely to see much playing time moving forward. Johansson helped secure at least a point for his team in his last four games (3-0-1) but allowed 13 goals on 116 shots in that span (.888 SV%). Even so, Tampa Bay is a -116 road favourite against an Arizona Coyotes team that has lost three of their last four (1-3-0).

Vasilevskiy made his season debut on Friday and did not seem to miss a step, saving 22 of 24 shots (.917 SV%) in an 8-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes and will likely start again on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche. Tampa Bay's Monday night matchup is the front end of a back-to-back, and Jonas Johansson has already been confirmed for Tuesday, but back-to-backs aside, Vasilesvkiy should see a heavy workload the rest of the way. Vasilevskiy and the Lightning are +116 road underdogs against an Avalanche team that could be without Nathan MacKinnon (illness).


Copley will take over the Kings' crease for the second time in three games Saturday vs. Montreal after stopped 30 of 31 shots (.968 SV%) in a victory last start. The 31-year-old Alaskan native has struggled out of the gate this season, with his 2-0-2 record, 3.75 GAA and .845 SV%. He will face the Montreal Canadiens for a matinee showdown, who has won two straight games but are 25th in the NHL in goals per game (2.85).

Girgensons left the Sabres' game Friday vs. Pittsburgh after just 6:35 due to a lower-body injury and was placed on the injured reserve Saturday with expectations he is out week-to-week. The 29-year-old left-winger had two goals, 27 SOG, seven PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in 20 games played prior to his injury.
