NHL Hockey Player News

Montour missed the first 16 games of the regular season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Montour will look to pick up where he left off last season, where he had career-highs in goals (16), assists (57), points (73), SOG (242), and Power-play points (33). It unclear where Montour will line-up in his first game back, but he should re-claim his spot on the top power-play unit.

Stolarz allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Panthers' win in San Jose on Tuesday. Stolarz has had very easy matchups so far this season, facing the Sharks twice and the Blackhawks once, and he's gone 2-1-0 with an .892 SV%. You'd certainly expect him to have better numbers, but he draws another strong matchup tonight vs. his former team, the Ducks, who will be without Trevor Zegras and Leo Carlsson.

Mackey had a goal, three assists, 19 PIMs and a +11 plus/minus through nine games with Hartford (AHL) and has been recalled Friday. The 27-year-old defensemen has three years of NHL experience and has four goals, 11 points and 70 PIMs in 39 career games.

Haman Aktell had an assist, five SOG, two PIMs and a -2 plus/minus in six games to begin his NHL career but has been reassigned to Hershey (AHL) on Friday. The 25-year-old defensemen returns to Hershey, where he had an goal and was a -1 plus/minus in two games prior to being called up.

Sabres head coach Don Granato said after Tuesday's game against the Bruins that Thompson would likely miss "significant time" due to the upper-body injury. Thompson originally left the game in the first period due to a lower-body injury before returning. He then exited the game again shortly thereafter when a Charlie McAvoy shot struck him in the left wrist. Thompson's absence will leave a major void in the Sabres' attack, even despite his relatively slow start. Thompson has six goals and six assists in 15 games on the season. We should expect to receive a more definitive timeline on his recovery in the coming days.

Rousek failed to pick up a point through five games and had only one SOG and a -2 plus/minus while averaging 11:13 TOI and has been reassigned to Rochester (AHL) Friday. The 24-year-old right-winger returns to the Americans, where he had two goals, four assists, four PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in eight games prior to his promotion.

Ziemmer was Los Angeles 2023 third-round pick (78th overall) and has signed a three-year, $2.625 million entry-level contract Friday. The 18-year-old right-winger his having an excellent third season in Prince George (WHL), as he has seven goals, 24 points, six PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through 16 games played.

Walman left Friday's Global Series game in Sweden after crashing into the post in the second period and will not return. The 27-year-old's absence will be a massive loss if he is forced to miss any time as he has four goals, seven points, 31 SOG, 18 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus in 16 games this season while manning the Red Wings' top defensive pair for 21:01 TOI/GP.

Moverare did not get a chance to make his season debut with the Kings' before he was loaned to Ontario (AHL) on Friday. The 25-year-old defensemen returns to the Reign, where he had three assists, six PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 12 games played prior to his call up.

Arizona's goaltending carousel continues Saturday as Karel Vejmelka takes the crease hoping to snap a person's six-game losing streak. The 27-year-old Czech netminder has struggled to win in 2023-24 but is putting up career-highs in almost all other statistical categories as he is 2-5-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .906 SV%. They will look to slow down Winnipeg Saturday on the road, who has won five of their last six games and are 6th in the NHL in goals per game (3.63).

Gushchin had an assist, and three SOG while averaging 14:57 TOI in two games with San Jose but has been loaned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) Friday. The 21-year-old right winger returns to the AHL, where he was on a tear earlier in the season with four goals, 13 points, six PIMs and a +3 plus/minus.

Sturm let the Sharks' know Tuesday that he would be stepping away from the team for personal matters and will miss their upcoming games vs. Vancouver and Seattle. The 28-year-old centre has struggled much like his San Jose counterparts in 2023-24, with his two assists, 16 SOG, eight PIMs, and a -12 plus/minus in 17 games.

If Montour can play on Friday, he will be about one week ahead of the initial recovery schedule that targeted him for an American Thanksgiving return date. Montour has yet to play this season but will look to build on an incredible breakout campaign in 2022-23. Last season, Montour scored an impressive 73 points (16G / 57A) in 80 games after only scoring 73 points (23G / 50A) in his 185 combined games prior.

Ekblad, initially expected to be out until mid-December, could return to action as soon as tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The injured reserve has become far too familiar of a place for Ekblad over the past few seasons as the talented defenceman will hope for a better fate upon his return for the remainder of the season. Despite his recent inability to play an entire season, Ekblad scored more than 10 goals in each of his past three campaigns.

Dubois left the game after colliding awkwardly with the post in Thursday's game against the Panthers and will be a game-time decision on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. He has eight points (4G / 4A) in 15 games this season, playing most recently on the third line with Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Arthur Kaliyev.

Gibson has played tremendously of late but will be seriously put to the test on Friday against the Florida Panthers. In his last four games (3-1-0), Gibson has been brilliant, saving 118 of 124 shots (.952 SV%), his best stretch of play this season. That said, the Ducks, who will be without Trevor Zegras and Leo Carlsson, are +149 home underdogs against a Panthers team that, despite losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings last night, has won five of their last six games (5-1-0).

Mahura left the Panthers' game Thursday vs. Los Angeles after just six shifts and 5:04 TOI due to a lower-body and has been placed on the inured reserve Friday. The 25-year-old stay-at-home defensemen is in his second full season with the cats and has five assists, 15 SOG, eight PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 16 games prior to his injury.

Karlsson will get the night off Friday vs. Florida as Anaheim continues the 18-year-old's load management plan. The Ducks' star prospect has been sensational in his first NHL season, with six goals, two assists, 23 SOG, four PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 11 games played.

Gadjovich was sent to Charlotte (AHL) on a rehab assignment due to an upper-body injury but has been recalled to Florida on Friday. The 25-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract with Florida in the offseason after putting up three goals, four assists, 57 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in 35 games played with San Jose in 2022-23.