Smith allowed two goals on 32 shots in Saturday's loss to the Hurricanes. Despite his recent struggles Smith said he is feeling the most confident he has all season heading into tonight's game in Montreal. He is going to need that confidence against a hot Habs team and his less than stellar road record. Smith has been a beast in Phoenix but on the road he is 5-4-3 with a 3.18 GAA and .913 SV%.

Smith allowed three goals on 24 shots in a win over the Islanders on Thursday. It was not the best performance from Smith but it was enough to get the W. He gets the call once again when the Coyotes welcome the Hurricanes to town. Smith stopped 31 of 34 shots in a 5-3 win over Carolina in their first meeting.

Smith told the Coyotes that he is back to 100% after being a late scratch for Tuesday's contest. He will get the call against a struggling Islanders team. In his first starts vs. the Isles he was pulled after 40 minutes when he gave up five goals on 20 shots. Expect a stronger outing this time around.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT Everyone in the pool! Well, almost everyone as there are 11 games on the NHL slate tonight.  Tonight we have Henrik Lundqvist taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who will be starting Curtis McElhinney with Sergei Bobrovsky recovering. Since his 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres the day after signing a 7-year contract extension, the King has been playing more like a Prince, losing three straight and giving up 4 goals in each of those losses.  On the other hand, McElhinney, who would be lucky to get a 7-weeek extension, has filled in nicely with a 2-1 record and only giving up 2 goals in the loss to Pittsburgh.  It's McElhinney who is playing more like a King but the real "King" will snap out of it tonight....With the Flyers getting pasted last night in Chicago, Steve Mason has a tall task on his hands as he will try and stop the bleeding against the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs will have Carey Price in net, and taking out that outlier game against LA last time out, should get back on track with a win over the tired Philadelphia squad...Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres head to Ottawa to take on Craig Anderson and the Sens. Anderson has really struggled with his game, so it is a surprise to see him get the start here.  Miller has been playing well but his team has struggled since the beginning of the year.  Something is telling me that the Sabres will get their second 2-game winning streak of the season tonight....The Monster, Jonas Gustavsson, heads to Tampa Bay in what should be a very spirited game between the Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings. Ex-Red Wing Steve Yzerman's team is sure to be at their finest as they take on his old team.  Both net minders have been playing well this year, with Ben Bishop taking the reins in TB while Gustavsson is starting to grab some more playing time from inconsistent starter Jimmy Howard. Tough call.....Kevin Poulin will try to make it two wins in a row for the NY Islanders as they finish up a 5-game road trip in Phoenix. The Coyotes will have Mike Smith back in net after about with the flu have been floundering around the .500 mark over the past 6 weeks but should prevail over a weaker Eastern Conference team....Colorado have lost 3 of their last 4 after starting out 19-6-0. Semyon Varlamov looks to halt the mini 2-game losing streak against Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets. Pavelec has been playing better of late although they haven't resulted ...

Smith was a late scratch in Tuesday's win over the Avalanche because of an illness. He was obviously not feeling well in warmups as he did not take a shot. Smith's presence at the morning skate is a good sign that he could be ready to start tomorrow against the Islanders.

Smith skated around in warmups and did not even take any shots. He is not on the bench as the game starts so Smith must have suffered an injury prior to the game or in warmups. We will get an update as soon as possible.

Smith gave up three goals on 32 shots in an overtime loss to the Canucks on Friday. After a great start to the season Smith has been struggling lately. In the last month he has won just three of nine starts while posting a 3.27 GAA and .904 SV%. His pedestrian numbers are ones you will likely want to avoid at Colorado tonight.

Smith gave up three goals on 32 shots in an overtime loss to the Canucks on Friday. After a great start to the season Smith has been struggling lately. In the last month he has won just three of nine starts while posting a 3.27 GAA and .904 SV%. His pedestrian numbers are ones you will likely want to avoid at Colorado tonight.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT The Colorado Avalanche will look to rebound from the shellacking they took from the Edmonton Oilers as Jean-Sebastien Giguere gets his turn in net for the Avs against Karri Ramo and the Calgary Flames. Ramo has won his last two starts and is playing with more confidence since Reto Berra started 8 in a row. Expect a better effort from the vet JS Giguere and the entire Avs team....With the way Jimmy Howard has been playing of late, I wouldn't be surprised to see tonight's starter for the Detroit Red Wings, Jonas Gustavsson, see more starts in the next few weeks. Cory Schneider has played well for the New Jersey Devils, winning three of the last four starts-the last one a loss in SO. I see the Devils rebounding from two tough losses in arrow to defeat the Red Wings who will be without the services of Henrik Zetterberg and possibly Pavel Datsyuk again....Niklas Backstrom (LIKELY) gets the nod against Curtis McElhinney and the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the last ten games, the Blue Jackets have alternated wins and losses and if the pattern continues, this would be a loss.  Eh, screw the pattern, Minnesota should win regardless...Two of the top teams in the Western Conference are going head-to-head tonight as the Anaheim Ducks head to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks who lost a close one to Minnesota last night.  Jonas Hiller gets the call and Antti Raanta (LIKELY) should get the start for the Hawks. The Hawks are tough at home and Raanta is looking to get his 3rd NHL victory under his belt, winning his first 2 starts ever. Edge to the home team...Mike Smith goes against Roberto Luongo (LIKELY) in Vancouver. The Phoenix Coyotes are trying to start a winning streak against a team coming home from a 4-game road trip.  The Yotes just might catch the Nucks at a good time...The Sharks will be coming out in a frenzy against the Carolina Hurricanes because of the beating they took at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.  Alex Stalock (LIKELY) should get his 4th NHL start since Niemi was in net last night. The Canes also played last night with Justin Peters in net, so Cam Ward (LIKELY) should get the start. I can't see the Sharks losing on back-to-back nights. FANTASY MUST STARTS Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Colorado @ Calgary Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota @ Columbus SLEEPER ALERT Mike Smith, Phoenix @ Vancouver DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve (36-26) Alex Stalock Ray (33-28) Cory Schneider Mike (30-26) ...

Smith stopped 31 of 33 shots in a win over the Oilers on Tuesday. He was given Wednesday night off so he should be well rested and good to go on Friday. He draws a tough matchup when the Coyotes travel to Vancouver. Smith is 5-4-2 with a 3.21 GAA and .914 SV% on the road this season.