It wasn’t a good performance from Corey Crawford in Saturday’s 7-0 loss in Florida -- the Chicago starter was hooked after allowing four goals on 25 shots.
Of course, it wasn’t a good night for the guy that replaced Crawford, either.
Scott Darling was torched for three goals on six shots against the Panthers, but now gets the first crack at redemption -- Darling will start tonight when Chicago gets back into action in Tampa Bay.
The Lightning are hopeful they’ll have as much success against Darling -- and maybe even Crawford -- as the Panthers did on the weekend. Tampa Bay is desperate for points, and heads into tonight’s action sitting three points back of Boston for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are idle tonight, but the Isles -- who have 82 points, to Tampa Bay’s 81 -- are in action, hosting Nashville.
So it’s a big night for Tampa, to say the least. Appropriately, Andrei Vasilevskiy will get the start, after stopping 29 of 30 shots in a big OT win over Detroit on Friday.
Elsewhere...
-- Eddie Lack is 5-1-1 in March with a .931 save percentage, so he gets the call as the ‘Canes host the Red Wings. Petr Mrazek goes for Detroit.
-- Roberto Luongo is still out, meaning James Reimer gets yet another start for the Panthers (he scored the shutout against Chicago over the weekend). Robin Lehner is in goal for Buffalo.
-- We mentioned the Isles-Preds game above, and it’ll be Thomas Greiss in goal for the host team. It’s his second straight start, having played in Saturday’s loss to Boston, and it comes ahead of the recently recalled Jaroslav Halak. No word yet on a Preds starter.
-- Jake Allen’s ridiculous month (7-1-1, .951 save percentage) continues with a start against the Coyotes. Mike Smith will be in goal for the visitors, looking to snap a five-game personal losing streak.
-- The Flames will stick with Brian Elliott when they host the Avs tonight. No word yet on a Colorado starter.