All the latest from the crease…
Ben Bishop returns
Bishop has missed four straight games with a lower-body injury, but he’s projected to be available for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. Although 20-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy did a great job in his absence, the Lightning will rely on solid goaltending from Bishop to lead them forward.
The Hurricanes will counter with Cam Ward, whose comeback campaign has been one of the lone bright spots in Carolina’s otherwise abysmal season. He has a 2.44 GAA and .911 save percentage in 23 starts and has only allowed three or more goals in one of his last five games.
With a 10-20-4 record, Carolina is the second-worst team in the NHL while Tampa Bay is locked with Montreal and Detroit in a battle for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Elsewhere...
Isles at Sabres: Kevin Poulin vs. Jhonas Enroth
Red Wings at Senators: Jimmy Howard vs. Craig Anderson
Devils at Rangers: Cory Schneider vs. Henrik Lundqvist
Bruins at Blue Jackets: Niklas Svedberg is probable; Columbus will go with Curtis McElhinney because Sergei Bobrovsky is sick.
Jets at Wild: Michael Hutchinson vs. Darcy Kuemper
Capitals at Penguins: Braden Holtby’s in for Washington while Marc-Andre Fleury will probably start for Pittsburgh.
Stars at Blues: Kari Lehtonen vs. Jake Allen
Flyers at Preds: Ray Emery for Philadelphia, but there’s no word on Nashville’s goaltender.
Ducks at Coyotes: It’s not clear who will start for Anaheim, but Devan Dubnyk will get the nod for Arizona.
Hawks at Avs: Chicago hasn’t named its starter, but Calvin Pickard is projected to get the nod for Colorado.
Oilers at Flames: While there’s no word from the Oilers, Calgary will go with Jonas Hiller.
Sharks at Kings: Antti Niemi will start for San Jose; Jonathan Quick is probable for Los Angeles.