NHL Hockey Player News

Oesterle will be the odd-man out on Thursday as Nick DeSimone draws back into the lineup. Oesterle has no goals and two assists in 12 games this season.

It's the fifth time this season the Canucks have made Kuzmenko a healthy scratch, who has fallen a long way from his 39-goal season a year ago. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 32 games this season.

Wedgewood will get the nod in goal for the Stars for the eighth consecutive game on Thursday. Wedgewood has started every game since Jake Oettinger went down with a lower-body injury on December 15th, and the Stars couldn't have asked for anything more from their backup netminder. Despite a a couple of rocky appearances, Wedgewood has been solid enough to deliver a 5-2-1 record in Oettinger's absence, and appears to have the full confidence of head coach Peter DeBoer as the interim starting goalie. He'll have his hands full on Thursday as the Stars welcome the Avalanche to town.

Georgiev will start for the Avalanche in a matchup against their division rivals, the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche are +113 road underdogs against a Stars team they defeated 6-3 in mid-November when Georgiev allowed three goals on 28 shots (.893 SV%). The 27-year-old netminder allowed four goals on 22 shots (.818 SV%) in his last outing, a 5-4 overtime win over the New York Islanders, but, despite winning five of his last six (5-0-1), owns an unimpressive .899 SV% during that stretch.

Saros will return to the crease on Thursday after recording his second shutout of the season in his previous outing. Saros saved all 21 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, snapping his three-game losing streak (0-2-1) that saw him allow 13 goals and post an uncharacteristically low .829 SV%. The Predators will search for their third straight victory as -114 home favourites against a Calgary Flames club that has won two straight.

Vladar will get the surprise nod in Nashville on Thursday, making his first appearance since Jacob Markstrom returned from a finger injury on December 18th. Vladar was solid his last time out, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced enroute to a 4-2 victory over the Lightning. This presumably sets Vladar up to start a pair of games this weekend as the Flames are set to play a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. He draws a difficult matchup on Thursday with the Flames being slight underdogs at +105 in Nashville.

Lauko will be the odd-man out on Thursday as John Beecher re-enters the lineup in his place. Lauko has no goals and three assists in 27 games this season.

Beecher will slide back into his usual spot on the fourth line as Jakub Lauko is the odd-man out on Thursday. Beecher has four goals and two assists in 34 games this season.

Olofsson is expected to skate alongside Peyton Krebs and Zemgus Girgensons on the Sabres' fourth line. He has four goals and eight assists in 30 games this season.

Provorov was a game-time decision due to an illness on Thursday. Provorov is pacing for the best offensive season of his career, scoring 21 points (2G / 19A) through 39 games.

Chinakhov was a game-time decision on Thursday due to an illness. Chinakhov has 17 points (10G / 7A) in 27 games this season, playing predominantly alongside Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko.

Swayman will tend the twine for the Bruins on Thursday as they search for their fifth straight victory. Over his last two games (2-0-0), Swayman has saved 52 of 56 shots faced (.929 SV%). The Bruins have outscored their opposition 18-7 over their last four games (4-0-0) and are -142 home favourites against a Pittsburgh Penguins club that is coming off a 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals but has won three of their last four games (3-1-0).

Deslauriers was a healthy scratch for the Flyers' previous contest but will draw back into the lineup Thursday on the fourth line. The 32-year-old grinding left-winger has yet to score in 2023-24, but has three assists, 34 SOG, 39 PIMs and a -6 plus/minus in 36 games played.

Not much changes about Terry's return status but he was placed on the Injured Reserve Thursday with an upper-body injury retroactive to December 30th. The 26-year-old right winger had been enjoying a so-so beginning to his 2023-24 campaign, with nine goals, 22 points, 83 SOG, 14 PIMs and his -7 plus/minus through 35 games.

Gardner last appeared in the NHL in 2021-22 with the Dallas Stars and has two points (1G/1A) in 40 career NHL games but will make his Flyers' debut Thursday vs. Columbus. The 27-year-old draws into the lineup as Morgan Frost and Cam Atkinson are surprisingly scratched Thursday.

Frost has only one assist in his last four games and finds himself the odd man out of the Flyers' lineup Thursday as Rhett Gardner makes his Philadelphia debut. The 24-year-old Frost is no stranger to being healthy scratched this season, as he has not dressed for 10 games so far already this season but still has five goals and 11 points in the 27 games he has played.

It has been 22 games since Atkinson found the back of the net and he will take a breather Thursday as a healthy scratch vs. Columbus. The 34-year-old right-winger will be replaced by Rhett Gardner, who is making his Flyers debut. When Atkinson does return he will look to build off the eight goals, 10 assists, 113 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -9 plus/minus he has amassed across 37 games prior to the scratch.

The Flyers' goaltending carousel continues Thursday as Samuel Ersson will take the crease for the second time in three games after backing up Carter Hart in a Flyers loss last game. The 24-year-old Swedish netminder has performed well in his second career season, with his 9-5-2 record, 2.54 GAA, .902 SV% and two shutouts so far in 2023-24. He hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday, who have lost five of their last six games and are 16th in the NHL in goals per game (3.08).

Walker earned his call up from Springfield after producing 29 points (13G/16A) in 30 games played and is expected to make his season debut Thursday vs. Vancouver. The 29-year-old left-winger appeared in 58 games for the Blues in 2022-23, where he had two goals, eight assists, 43 SOG, 25 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus.

Gadjovich has found himself the odd man out of the Panthers' lineup for 11 straight games due to illness and lack of roster room but will draw back in Thursday as he replaced Nick Cousins (concussion). The 25-year-old bruising left-winger has failed to pick up a goal in nine games this season, but has an assist, 43 PIMs, 10 SOG and a -2 plus/minus.