NHL Hockey Player News

Ernie will miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury but head coach Jeff Blashill believes he could be back in on Sunday. Evgeny Svechnikov will continue to skate in Erne’s spot on Friday.

Abdelkader was banged up while blocking a shot in the third period of Wednesday’s loss in Ottawa. With Abdelakder out, Givani Smith was recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) and will make his NHL debut on Friday.

DeKeyser missed Wednesday’s game in Ottawa and the Red Wings are expected to be without him for at least two more weeks. Madison Bowey and Alex Biega will likely split time as the Red Wings’ sixth defenseman while DeKeyser is out.

Glendening was forced to leave Wednesday’s game in Ottawa with a hand injury and is expected to miss at least two weeks. Glendening was previously skating on the second line, so the Red Wings will shuffle their lines up for Friday’s game with Glendening sidelined.

The Devils were expecting to get Butcher back on Friday night but they will continue with a third-pair of Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson for at least one more game. After tonight they are off until next Wednesday, so it gives Butcher almost an extra full week to get back to 100 percent.

Nilsson allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Senators win over the Red Wings on Wednesday. Nilsson is playing outstanding hockey right now, making 127 saves on the last 133 shots (.955 SV%) that he has faced in his last three outings. He has a chance to stay hot on Friday when the Senators host an Islanders team on the tail-end of a back-to-back.

Blackwood stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the Devils shutout win over the Canucks last Saturday. Blackwood lost his first three starts of the season but has since won two in a row while stopping 54 of the 56 shots (.964 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he faces a Coyotes team that has won four of their last five, but come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back.

Howard gave up four goals on 40 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Canucks on Tuesday. Howard was great in the first two periods but allowed four consecutive in the third, leading to his fourth straight loss. During his losing skid, Howard has allowed a combined 16 goals on 145 shots (.890 SV%). He was 1-2-1 with a 3.87 GAA and .884 SV% vs. the Sabres last year.

Nilsson allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Senators win over the Red Wings on Wednesday. Nilsson is playing outstanding hockey right now, making 127 saves on the last 133 shots (.955 SV%) that he has faced in his last three outings. He has a chance to stay hot on Friday when the Senators host an Islanders team on the tail-end of a back-to-back.

Raanta allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Coyotes win over the Senators last Saturday. With Darcy Kuemper playing extremely well, Raanta has been limited to just two starts in the first nine games. Raanta has played well too though, stopping 63 of the 68 shots (.926 SV%) that he has faced so far. On Friday, he takes on a Devils team that is 27th in the NHL in goal-scoring (2.38 GF/gm).

Dansk was lit up for six goals on 37 shots in the Golden Knights loss in Philadelphia on Monday. After a brutal performance, Dansk and Garret Sparks swap spots and the 25-year-old heads back to Chicago. He is 0-1-0 with a 7.11 GAA and .720 SV% in the AHL this season.

Oscar Dansk struggled in his NHL appearance, so Sparks come up to serve as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup while Malcolm Subban is out. Sparks has started the 2019-20 season at 2-2-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .936 SV% in five AHL games.

Smith was a second-round pick (No.46 overall) in 2016 and is poised to make his NHL debut on Friday night. Luke Glendening left Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury, so Smith is expected to replace him in the Red Wings' bottom-6. The 6-foot-2, 220 lbs. winger has two goals and two assists (four points) in four AHL games this season.

Quick stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Kings win in Winnipeg on Tuesday. After a dreadful start to the season, the Kings gave Quick a few games to reset and he has since won two in a row while stopping 49 of the 52 shots (.942 SV%) that he has faced. Los Angeles is doing a great job of limiting the opposition right now, giving up the second fest shots against per game (28.0) but Quick remains a risky option in St. Louis.

Mrazek was pulled after he allowed four goals on 13 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Anaheim last Friday. It was a brutal outing for the Canes’ netminder but he comes back well-rested tonight in Columbus. He has won four of his first five starts while posting a 2.64 GAA and .893 SV% and tonight he faces a Columbus team that ranks 25th in the NHL in scoring (2.44 GF/gm).

Varlamov stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Islanders win in Winnipeg last Thursday. Varlamov and Thomas Greiss have alternated starts this season and tonight is Varlamov's turn in the rotation. He has won two straight while stopping 67 of the last 70 shots (.957 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he faces a Coyotes team that has won four straight while averaging an impressive 4.25 goals per game.

Hutton surrendered three goals on 28 shots in the Sabres win over the Sharks on Tuesday. The Sabres have been alternating between Hutton and Linus Ullmark but they'll start Hutton for the second straight game for the first time since the first two games of the season. He has been spectacular, posting a 1.65 GAA, .943 SV% and two shutouts in his first six starts of the season.