News and notes from around the crease...
Howard hurt, Monster starts
Jonas Gustavsson will be in goal tonight when Detroit takes on the Bolts in Tampa Bay.
Gustavsson was solid in his last outing -- stopping 35 of 37 shots against Florida on Saturday -- and now has a 2.03 GAA and .930 save percentage on the season, providing quality backup netminding behind Jimmy Howard, who is out with a knee injury.
Gustavsson will square off against Ben Bishop, who’ll get the start for Tampa.
Blues go with Elliott
Brian Elliott will make his second straight start as the Blues host the Leafs tonight in St. Louis.
Elliott stopped 21-of-22 in his last outing -- a win over the Jets on Tuesday -- and Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock has rewarded the veteran with a successive nod.
Toronto has yet to announce its starting netminder, but the likely pick is James Reimer after Jonathan Bernier went against the Kings last night.
Elsewhere...
Blue Jackets at Rangers: Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Henrik Lundvqist
Canadiens at Flyers: Carey Price vs. Steve Mason
Sabres at Senators: Ryan Miller vs. Craig Anderson
Avalanche at Jets: Semyon Varlamov vs. Ondrej Pavelec
Stars at Predators: Kari Lehtonen vs. Carter Hutton
‘Canes at Flames: Karri Ramo in for Calgary. No word yet for Carolina
Islanders at Coyotes: Kevin Poulin vs. Mike Smith
No confirmations for either the Boston-Edmonton or Minnesota-San Jose game.