What It Means:

Sparks and teammate Jonathan Bernier have been alternating starts, and Thursday is Sparks' turn to play. He allowed three goals on 18 shots against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday and took the loss.

Sparks owns an .896 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average in 13 games played this season. We project him to face 27.18 shots against Buffalo, making 24.57 saves (2.60 goals allowed) and giving himself a 41 percent chance at earning the victory. He's our 16th-ranked goalie out of 20 options on Thursday.