Thomas allowed three goals on 25 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Friday. The loss moved him to 13-14-3 with a 2.61 GAA and .916 SV% on the season. Tonight he takes on Red Wings who will be without Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Thomas surrendered three goals on 35 shots in a win over the Sabres on Tuesday. He has allowed nine goals in his last three starts, going 1-2-0 over those three games. Tonight he takes on the Avalanche for the second time this season, in the first meeting he stopped 32 of 33 shots in a 4-1 win.

Thomas missed Monday's start vs. the Penguins because he was under the weather. He is feeling better tonight and he get the call against the Sabres. In his last start he allowed three goals on 39 shots in a loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday. In his first start vs. the Sabres this season, he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 2-1 shootout win.

Thomas missed Monday's start vs. the Penguins because he was under the weather. If he is feeling better tonight, he get the call against the Sabres. In his last start he allowed three goals on 39 shots in a loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday. In his first start vs. the Sabres this season, he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 2-1 shootout win.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT Braden Holtby gets a chance to prove he deserves the starter's role in Washington as the Capitals take on the Ottawa Senators. With Philipp Grubauer being sent down to the AHL, Holtby and Neuvirth will compete for the starting job.  Washington may be without Alex Ovechkin who suffered a LBI (lower body injury), so monitor his situation as he is definitely a game-changer.  The resurrected Craig Anderson has lost 2 in a row after putting together a string of 7 solid efforts before that and winning 6 of those 7. Both teams need this game so expect a battle.  Caps have lost 5 in a row and 9 of their last 11, and the Sens have lost 2 in a row....Speaking of battles, the Battle of New York returns to the Garden tonight with Kevin Poulin and the Islanders head into MSG to take on Cam Talbot and the Rangers. Lundqvist sits this one out with an illness but he did appear to tweak something at the end of last game agaisnt the Caps on Sunday.  The Rangers don't lose much with Talbot in there, but this rivalry is always heated. Rangers have been on a roll lately, go with the Blueshirts...The sensation is back!  Martin Jones (LIKELY) looks like the starter tonight for Los Angeles as the Kings take on the red-hot Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bobber has won 5 in a row since his return and the Blue Jackets have played themselves back into a playoff spot.  There is still a long way to go, but the Jackets are playing team hockey.  Jones had been spectacular in his earlier call-up, but now that he is no longer an unknown entity, but things may be different the second time around.  When you're hot, you're the pick.  Ready the cannon...Tim Thomas (LIKELY) should be well enough from his battle with the flu bug to take on Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres. Clemmensen started last night to give Thomas an extra day to recover and played well to put it mildly but Thomas should get the call.  Miller's numbers are decent but not his win totals.  The Sabres have been playing well, but not well enough to win consistently.  Cats win...Steve Mason recently signed a 3-year contract extension and was pulled in the start right after. Look for Mason to rebound as he has something to prove.  Plus, he has been playing well all season long.  Anton Khudobin (LIKELY) gets the nod for The Hurricanes was playing well when he returned from injury but has settled back down to Earth by losing 3 of the past 4. Look for ...

Thomas surrendered two goals on 33 shots in a 4-2 win against the Islanders on Tuesday. Thomas is 3-1-2 with a 1.90 GAA and .940 SV% in his last six starts but draws a difficult matchup tonight. The Sharks sit fifth in the NHL with 64 points and have the fifth best offence with 3.02 goals per game.

Thomas gave up two goals on 36 shots in a 2-1 OT loss to the Devils on Saturday. Thomas was two seconds away from getting to the shootout when Marek Zidlicky pushed the game-winner by him. Thomas has stabilized the Panthers' net this season, without Thomas in the crease Florida is 6-10-4. In his last five starts Thomas is 2-1-2 with a 1.88 GAA and .940 SV%.

Got a cup filled to the brim and piping hot..... For as far back as I can remember, the Tampa Bay Lightning always had the Philadelphia Flyers number. The Bolts won yesterday afternoon 6-3. Claude Giroux has made it into the top 20 in NHL scoring. He'll definitely finish in top 10.  And he had such a sloooooooow start. Voracek is continuing his steady pace of hotness. Andrej Meszaros has arisen from the dead! Anaheim is continuing to amaze me. First overall in the NHL. Tomas Plekanec had 11 SOG last night. Patrick Kane has only 1 assist in past 6 games. Hmmmmmmmmm.  But he had 23 points in 14 December games so I wouldn't be worried. A lot of 2-1 games and low-scoring games on Saturday. Marek Zidlicky is having a nice rebound season for the Devils. In fact, the last time Zids hit the 40-point mark was the year of the last Winter Olympics in 2009-2010 with 43 for the Minnesota Wild.  I wonder if he is turning into an every-4-year fantasy player. Tim Thomas has been playing lights out since his return from injury. Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators are playing like they mean it now.   They are 6-2-2 in last 10 and Anderson has earned the win in all 6 of those. May be too late to grab any of these 3 goaltenders who were struggling until just a few games ago; Anderson, Lundqvist, and Howard. T-Rask with a brilliant 1-0 shutout of the San Jose. Jimmy Howard with a 3-1 victory over the LA Kings. Is the Eastern Conference turning the tide form the early season domination from the Western Conference? Eastern Conf was 6-0 against Western Conf yesterday. I think Ryan Ellis will explode one day. He has so much offensive talent.  Maybe he needs to go elsewhere like Cody Franson did a few years back. Columbus is 7-3-0 and in the hunt for a playoff spot people. Heed the warning Eastern Conf. Something big is going to happen in Winnipeg soon methinks. Will J-S Giguere get back in the net for Colorado soon after his 4 straight losses? Paul Stastny was having such a good season. Let's hope his injury isn't too serious. Minnesota almost had their third hat trick of the week with Charlie Coyle getting 2 within seconds of one another. He would have joined Justin Fontaine and Ryan Suter with a hattie. This Anaheim team is like a true duck. They paddle hard underneath but you don't see the effort.  Flawless. Mathieu Perreault has 6 points in past 3 games. Could this be the start of a breakout?  He has the talent. Colonel Klinkhammer was held off the board yesterday. The ...

Thomas stopped 23 of 24 shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Sabres. The win moved Thomas to .500 on the season (11-11-2) to got along with his 2.60 GAA and .914 SV%. He draws a favourable matchup against New Jersey, they rank 26th in the NHL with 2.31 goals per game.

Thomas stopped 23 of 24 shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Sabres. The win moved Thomas to .500 on the season (11-11-2) to got along with his 2.60 GAA and .914 SV%. He draws a favourable matchup against New Jersey, they rank 26th in the NHL with 2.31 goals per game.