NHL Hockey Player News

Rinne allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Predators loss in Chicago on Tuesday. Rinne has dropped two straight starts but is 4-2-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .902 SV% in December. Tonight he faces a Flyers team that is under .500 and with a rookie netminder making his second career start. Rinne is 3-3-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .925 SV% on the road.

Luongo allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Panthers win in Buffalo on Tuesday. Luongo has won two straight while allowing just five goals on 64 shots (.922 SV%). Tonight he faces a high-powered Maple Leafs squad for the second time in a week. Luongo allowed three goals on 32 shots in a 4-3 overtime win vs. Toronto last Saturday.

Mrazek stopped all 23 shots that he faced in the Hurricanes shutout win over Arizona on Sunday. Mrazek played well Sunday after allowing a combined nine goals in his previous two starts. Overall, he is 5-6-2 with a 2.56 GAA and .899 SV% on the season, including a 21-save performance in a 3-1 win in his first start against his former team.

Greiss stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Islanders win in Colorado on Monday. Greiss has won three straight while allowing just six goals on 77 shots (.922 SV%). Greiss has been rock-solid this season, including in nine games on the road, where he has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.37 GAA and .931 SV%. However, there are few places in the NHL that are tougher to play in than Vegas.

Johnson has split his season between the NHL and AHL and will play his first NHL game since October 23rd. The 24-year-old has one assist in 13 games with the Blackhawks and seven points (4G / 3A) in 10 games with Rockford.

Varlamov allowed three goals on 20 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Islanders on Monday. Varlamov is in the middle of a rough stretch, having lost four of his last five while allowing a combined 21 goals on 135 shots (.844 SV%). Despite starting in the second game of a back-to-back, Varlamov has a good chance to get back in the win column in Arizona.

Grubauer made 35 saves on 36 shots in Colorado’s win over the Canadiens on Wednesday. It was one of the best outings of the season for Grubauer, who has gone 3-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .893 SV% in five games at the Pepsi Center this season. He draws an excellent matchup of the season vs. a struggling Chicago team that is on the tail-end of a back-to-back.

Petan has been a healthy scratch for the last 10 games but is expected to play on Thursday. There is no indication on who Petan will replace but it sounds like it could be Adam Lowry who is nicked up.

Biega has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace Troy Stecher in the lineup on Thursday. Biega has four assists and 29 shots in 11 games this season.

Stecher is in concussion protocol after being hit by Danick Martel during Tuesday’s game vs. the Lightning. Alex Biega will replace Stecher in the lineup.

Allen stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Blues win in Edmonton on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back performance from Allen, who has now won three of his last four while allowing 11 goals on 106 shots (.896 SV%). In his first start against the Canucks, Allen was yanked after allowing three goals on six shots in a 6-1 loss on December 9th.

Markstrom gave up two goals on 22 shots in the Canucks win over the Oilers on Sunday. Markstrom is riding a five-game winning streak while only giving up nine goals on 142 shots (.937 SV%). One of those wins came against the Blues, who he will face again tonight—he stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 6-1 win in St. Louis on December 9th.