Grubauer allowed three goals on 25 shots in Colorado’s win over the Penguins last Wednesday. Grubauer is on a personal three-game winning streak, stopping 89 of the 96 shots (.927 SV%) that he has faced. After a rough start to his Avalanche career, Grubauer has settled in and makes for a decent spot-start option in Florida.
Schwartz has been out since November 16th and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Schwartz was recently joined by Alex Steen and Robby Fabbri as injured Blues forwards, so Jordan Nolan and Jordan Kyrou were called up from San Antonio (AHL).
Murray has been out since November 17th but was back on the ice before the Penguins hit the ice for practice. Murray’s original timetable was “longer-term” so it is unclear if he is on schedule in his recovery. Casey DeSmith has played pretty well in Murray’s absence, so expect the Penguins to be patient
Tolvanen has registered 11 points (4G / 7A) in 21 games with the Admirals this season. The former first-round pick has been recalled to try and spark a Predators offence that was shutout on Thursday and is without Kyle Turris and Viktor Arvidsson.
Mahura spent some time with the Ducks earlier this season, picking up one assist in three games. During his time in San Diego, the 20-year-old has one goal and eight assists (nine points) in 14 contests.
Grubauer allowed just one goal on 37 shots in Colorado’s win in Arizona last Friday. With Semyon Varlamov starting last night, Grubauer will get the second game of the back-to-back tonight vs. the Penguins. Grubauer is 2-0-2 with a 3.36 GAA and .898 SV% in four November starts.
Mahura collected one assist in three games with the Ducks during his call-up but heads back to the AHL, where he has eight points (1G / 7A) in 12 games with the Gulls.
Hayden has been in the lineup for the last six games, but played just 2:45 TOI on Wednesday and come out of the lineup tonight. Chris Kunitz is expected to replace Hayden on the fourth line.
Schwartz was already ruled out for the rest of the week, so moving him to IR simply opens up a roster spot to activate Patrick Maroon from IR for Friday’s game.
The Penguins did not provide a timetable for Murray’s return, but expect the young netminder to be out long-term. Murray, who has been struggling this season, has reportedly been dealing with this injury four a couple of weeks. Murray will likely be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks and the Penguins should provide a clearer timetable on his return after that. Tristan Jarry has been recalled to serve as Casey DeSmith’s backup for the time being.
Schwartz missed Saturday’s game in San Jose and will miss this entire week with an upper-body injury. Head coach Mike Yeo ruled Schwartz out for at least the next four games, so monitor his status as the Blues head into next week.
Murray allowed four goals on 26 shots in the Penguins loss to the Lightning on Thursday. Murray continues to struggle as his losing streak reached five games. During that stretch, he has posted a putrid 4.54 GAA and .840 SV%. Surprisingly, Murray has been much, much better on the road—3-0-1 with a 1.94 GAA and .946 SV%.
Grubauer gave up seven goals on 37 shots in Colorado’s loss in Vancouver on November 2nd. Grubauer has struggled in his first five games with the Avalanche, posting a 3.56 GAA and .893 SV%. Tonight he will get a chance to face his former team with the Capitals in town. Washington comes in having lost three of their last four.
Murray surrendered four goals on 27 shots in the Penguins loss to the Devils on November 5th. Casey DeSmith started the last three games, but Murray will be back between the pipes tonight vs. the Lightning. Murray is 1-4-0 with a 5.78 GAA and .818 SV% on home-ice this season.
