Lack allowed seven goals on 48 shots in a blowout loss to the Avalanche in his last start on October 24th. He has allowed 12 goals on 87 shots (.862 SV%) in his first three starts of the season. He will look to be better tonight against a Predators team who are off to a 6-2-2 start to the year.

Lack stopped 14 of 15 shots in a relief effort of Ryan Miller on Tuesday. Tonight will be Lack's second start and third appearance of the season, he has a 3.13 GAA and .872 SV% so far this season. He takes on an Avalanche team who rank 28th in the NHL with 1.71 goals per game.

Ryan Miller got the start on Friday so Lack will be making his season debut on Saturday. He went 16-17-5 with a 2.41 GAA and .912 SV% in his first NHL season and will serve as a nice spot-start on most nights, but he draws a rough matchup tonight vs. the Lightning.

Ryan Miller got the start on Friday so it looks like it will back Lack making his season debut on Saturday. He went 16-17-5 with a 2.41 GAA and .912 SV% in his first NHL season and will serve as a nice spot-start on most nights, but he draws a rough matchup tonight vs. the Lightning.

Darcy Kuemper signed a 2-year deal and after his storybook season last year, if he can establish himself early, he should be the number 1 in Minny unless the coaching staff believes they want a veteran like Ilya Bryzgalov who is trying to make the decision a tough one for management. With Niklas Backstrom getting the win over the Jets last night, the Wild just might have to stick with Backstrom and Kuemper leaving "Breeze" as the odd goalie out. Josh Harding is out for a period of time with a fractured foot. Harding has the skills but can't seem to catch a break, no pun intended.....The St. Louis Blues locked up Jaden Schwartz in a 2-year deal after the LWer broke out with 25 goals and 56 points last year, his second full season in the NHL. Expect similar results, if not a little jump up in production, as Schwartz will be counted on more in the Blues offense.....Florida waived Dan Ellis and Vancouver waived Jacob Markstrom as teams begin to pare down their rosters for the beginning of the season. Ellis was kind of expected but Markstrom comes as a surprise since he was a highly-touted prospect.  With his talent, he will land somewhere, hopefully a place where he can develop properly.  Eddie Lack will serve as Ryan Miller's backup.....Pittsburgh's Beau Bennett was in line to scoop up some prime minutes playing among the top two lines but an injury to his knee sustained during drills will keep him out of the lineup for up to six weeks. Will he ever get a decent shot?....The 2014-2015 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated with the latest in signings and injuries. Check your files for the latest developments highlighted in yellow and red.

Well, The John Tortorella experiment ended just after one season and is being replaced by rookie Head Coach Willie Desjardins. Desjardins has had success at every hockey level and brings with him a reputation as a great communicator, instructor and someone who gets the most out of his players.  We shall see how the players respond after last year's circus under Tortorella.  Canuck fans, and especially management, realized just what they had in Alan Vigneault and needed to get that sense of stability back. GOALIES What a difference a year makes! At the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Canucks did the unthinkable and traded away Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for their 1st round pick, #9 overall, which Vancouver used to draft Center Bo Horvat. Shocking indeed!  Then just prior to the NHL trade deadline they traded starter Roberto Luongo back to Florida from whence he came. The move also came as a shock even though there had been trade rumors hanging over his head for years but it did seem that he had put all that behind him and was having a successful season as the undisputed number 1 goalie.  That left the team with unestablished Eddie Lack in the crease to try and backstop the team to the playoffs.  That experiment didn't work either.  So, the Canucks went out and signed Ryan Miller to a 3-year deal, shoring up their goaltending. It appears the Canucks have come full circle in getting their goaltending in order with Miller in net, just like putting Desjardins behind the bench.  Jacob Markstrom, also acquired in the Luongo deal, along with Eddie Lack will provide backup duties. DEFENSE Right off the bat you should expect a return to form of all the defensemen on the team, especially the ones counted on for offense such as Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieksa. Dan Hamhuis will also chip in with some production to go along with his solid defensive play. Gone is Jason Garrison who was traded to Tampa Bay in the off-season which might mean some more minutes and offense from Yannick Weber. Weber is only 25-years old and has had some success in the minors, so expecting some offense is not out of the question as he had three straight seasons of 40+ points as a member of the Kitchener Rangers (2 yrs.) and Hamilton bulldogs (1). FORWARDS After last season, and actually towards the end of last season when the team was going through some personnel changes, I was a bit of confused as to what direction the Canucks were going with their team makeup, but things ...

Lack stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 2-1 win over the Kings on Saturday. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for Lack and also kept the Canucks slim playoff hopes alive. His 19th consecutive start ties a Cancuks' franchise record for most consecutive starts (Corey Hirsch). He comes into play tonight at 0-3-1 with 4.04 GAA and .867 SV% vs. Anaheim this season.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT The New Jersey Devils will hope to improve their playoff lives with a victory over the Calgary Flames tonight. Cory Schneider will face Karri Ramo in a must-win situation for the Devils. The Devils prevail.... The red-hot Ilya Bryzgalov and the Minnesota Wild head into Winnipeg to face Michael Hutchinson in his first NHL start. "Breeze" has won 3 of his last four and the last victory was a shutout of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.  Hutchinson has appeared in 50 games, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL.  His combined record is 37-9-3 with approximate metrics around a 2.21 GAA and .922 SP, but the NHL is a different level.  The Wild should be able to get past the hot-and-cold Jets.... It is poor timing for Frederik Andersen and the Anaheim Ducks as Andersen was clearly taking a firm hold on the starting job heading into the playoffs for the Ducks before getting hit in the mask in Friday night's game. The young net minder has been rested the past couple of days and did not make the trip to Edmonton and Vancouver.  Jonas Hiller has not played well at all, losing his past 3 games including the one he took over for Andersen.  John Gibson (LIKELY) just may get a look tonight as the coaching staff's confidence in Hiller is waning. Eddie Lack (LIKELY) goes for his 19th straight start in net for the Vancouver Canucks who are virtually all but eliminated from playoff contention. FANTASY MUST STARTS: Cory Schneider, New Jersey vs. Calgary Ilya Bryzgalov, Minnesota @ Winnipeg SLEEPER: Eddie Lack, Vancouver vs. Anaheim DAILY FANTASY PICKS: Steve: (94-64) Cory Schneider Ray: (90-67) Cory Schneider Mike: (70-50) TBA

Lack allowed three goals on 31 shots in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. He has dropped his last three starts with a 3.67 GAA and .863 SV%. He has still started every game since the Olympic break, it does not look like Jacob Markstrom is going to get a start this season.

Lack gave up five goals on 21 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Ducks on Saturday. It was not an easy matchup, but even a .762 SV% is not enough to force John Tortorella to turn to Jacob Markstrom for his first start with Vancouver. Lack started all 14 games for the Canucks in March; he went 6-7-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .889 SV%.