NHL Hockey Player News

With Ron Hainsey's return looming, the Senators return a defenseman to Belleville and summon a forward (Filip Chlapik) with that roster spot.

Gustafsson was loaned to Team Sweden for the World Juniors, where he had one goal and three assists in seven and earned a bronze medal. He had one goal in 22 games with the Jets earlier in the year but will get his first taste of the AHL upon his return to North America.

Bourque sat in favour of Jansen Harkins last night but will replace the rookie on the fourth line in Boston. Bourque is scoreless in his last five games and has just one goal in his last 10.

Harkins and Gabriel Bourque have a bit of a fourth-line rotation going on right now. Harkins entered the lineup for Bourque last night but will head back to the press box in Boston.

Fantenberg had a tough night in Tampa Bay on Tuesday, so he'll come out in Florida and give Jordie Benn a chance to get back in the lineup. Benn has been a healthy scratch for six games and Fantenberg has been held scoreless eight a minus-8 rating over that span.

Benn has been a healthy scratch for the last six games but will replace Oscar Fantenberg in the lineup on Thursday. Benn has six assists and 50 shots on goal while playing 16:42 ATOI in 37 games this season.

Brossoit allowed one goal on 11 shots in a relief effort in the Jets loss to Toronto last Thursday. With Connor Hellebuyck going last night in Toronto, Brossoit draws the unenviable task of starting in Boston tonight. The 26-year-old is 3-2-0 with a 3.04 GAA and .904 SV% on the road and the Bruins are 14-2-9 in Boston, so look elsewhere tonight.

Demko allowed three goals on 16 shots after replacing Jacob Markstrom in the Canucks blowout loss in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. It was a rough night for both netminders but they'll give Demko his 14th start of the season in their second game of a Florida swing. He is 3-4-0 with a 3.13 GAA and .902 SV% on the road, so it should be easy to find a better option on an 11-game slate.

Blackwood allowed four goals on 41 shots in the Devils loss to the Islanders on Tuesday. He has now lost two in a row while giving up four goals in both starts and tonight he faces the Rangers for the third time this season--he is 1-1-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .906 SV% in the first two meetings.

Kase appeared in five games with the Flyers earlier in the year, scoring one goal on five shots in 10:44 ATOI. He has three goals and four assists (seven points) in 29 AHL games.

Vorobyev has appeared in the last two games with the Flyers and has suited up in 20 games overall, posting one goal and two assists. He returns to the AHL, where he has five goals and nine assists (14 points) in 19 games.

Aho did not appear in a game during his call-up and goes back to the AHL with the Islanders off until Saturday. He could return to the team before their game vs. the Bruins but he's going to the Sound Tigers to get some playing time. He has two goals and 18 assists (20 points) in 34 games this season.

Gostisbehere was hurt late in Wednesday's game in Carolina and missed Thursday's game vs. the Capitals. The third-pairing defenseman is scheduled to undergo surgery next Tuesday and will keep him sidelined until late-January/early-February.

Hogberg allowed one goal on 11 shots after replacing Craig Anderson in the Senators loss in Washington on Tuesday. The 25-year-old has gone 0-2-1 with a 3.23 GAA and .895 SV% in five road appearances this season but draws a decent spot-start matchup in Detroit. The Red Wings have lost two in a row on home-ice but are a hideous 11-30-3 on the season.

Johnson has been out since December 4th but will travel to Florida for Sunday's game. This doesn't necessarily mean that he will play against the Panthers, but could join the team for practice at the very least.

Silfverberg was hurt early in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jackets and will not play on Thursday. With Silfverberg dealing with an upper-body injury, Maxime Comtois is expected to play on the Ducks' second line.

Stalock allowed four goals on 37 shots in the Wild's loss to the Flames on Sunday. Stalock has lost three in a row 0-2-1 while allowing a combined 13 goals on 94 shots (.862 SV%). Tonight he faces a Flames team that has struggled in Calgary lately, losing five of their last six (1-4-1) while averaging 2.17 goals per game.

Donskoi was crushed in the neutral zone by Ryan Lindgren on Tuesday and did not return to the loss in New York. Lindgren was originally expected to have a hearing with the NHL DOPS but they decided not to suspend him after reviewing the hit. The Avalanche do not have a time table for Donskoi's return.