NHL Hockey Player News

Rask was held off of the ice at Wednesday's practice and will not backup Jaroslav Halak on Thursday. Rask is scheduled to start Saturday and the Bruins expect him to be ready.

Kahkonen allowed two goals on 21 shots in the Wild's loss to the Kings on Tuesday. Kahkonen wasn't very busy but Cal Petersen was terrific at the other end, handing Kahkonen his second straight loss. With Cam Talbot still sidelined, Kahkonen will make his fifth consecutive start on Thursday and enters play at 2-2-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .918 SV%.

Oettinger will make his first career NHL start on Thursday. With Ben Bishop out long-term, Oettinger will get a few starts behind Anton Khudobin this season. The 22-year-old netminder was 15-16-4 with a 2.57 GAA and .917 SV% in the AHL last season. The former first-round pick has a strong pedigree and makes for a solid spot-start option against an injury riddled and bad Red Wings team.

This was a necessary move if Markus Nutivaara is to make his season debut, so Tippett goes to the taxi squad and either Juho Lammikko or Ryan Lomberg will replace him upfront.

Oettinger will make his first career NHL start on Thursday. With Ben Bishop out long-term, Oettinger will get a few starts behind Anton Khudobin this season. The 22-year-old netminder was 15-16-4 with a 2.57 GAA and .917 SV% in the AHL last season. The former first-round pick has a strong pedigree and makes for a solid spot-start option against an injury riddled and bad Red Wings team.

Wilson will be a game-time decision for the second straight game but participated in the morning skate, which is a good sign for his availability tonight. Wilson will skate with Nicklas Backstrom and Jakub Vrana if he plays.

Vanecek allowed just two goals on 34 shots in the Capitals' win over the Islanders on Tuesday. It was another solid showing from the young netminder, who is now 3-0-2 with a 2.70 GAA and .918 SV% on the season. With a shorthanded group in front of him, goal support may be difficult to come by but the Islanders have had their own offensive struggles, scoring just 1.83 goals per game (30th).

Howard was a second-round pick in 2003 and played 14 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, going 246-196-70 with a 2.62 GAA and .912 SV% in his career.

Merzlikins allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Blue Jackets' win over the Lightning last Saturday. With Joonas Korpisalo on the losing end of Tuesday's game, Merzlikins will start Thursday's rematch vs. the Panthers. Through three starts, the 26-year-old netminder is 1-1-1 with a 3.34 GAA and .891 SV%.

Eller left Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury and will miss Thursday's game vs. the Islanders. With Eller out, T.J. Oshie is expected to shift to centre for the game and Michael Sgarbossa is expected to see some PP2 time.

Bratt has cleared COVID-19 protocol and has been added to the added roster, which clears the way for him to make his season debut on Thursday. It seems likely that Bratt will replace Nick Merkley in the lineup since Merkley was sent to the taxi squad in a subsequent move. Bratt has three straight seasons of 30-plus points, scoring a career-high 16 goals with 16 assists (32 points) in 60 games last year.

Price allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Canadiens' win in Vancouver last Saturday. With four days off between games, it's no surprise that Price will start for the second straight game. He's alternated good and bad outings to start the season, posting a 3.14 GAA and .893 SV% in his first four outings. Tonight he'll face a Flames team that is coming off of back-to-back losses to the Maple Leafs and are 2-2-1 through five games.

Wolanin played 7:35 TOI before departing Wednesday's loss in Vancouver with a lower-body injury. If Wolanin can't play in Thursday's rematch, look for Josh Brown to draw back into the lineup after sitting as a healthy scratch last night. Mike Reilly would take over on PP2.

Bozak was on the receiving end of a cheap shot from Mark Stone during Tuesday's game in Vegas. With Bozak out for at least Thursday's game, Sammy Blais will draw into the lineup and skate on the third line with Robert Thomas and Mike Hoffman.

The Golden Knights gave no indication of what is ailing McNabb or how serious it is but placing him on IR will force him to miss at least seven days. With McNabb out, Nick Holden was recalled from the taxi squad and should make his season debut on Thursday.

Shesterkin allowed three goals on 19 shots in the Rangers' loss to the Penguins on Sunday. Shesterkin was a trendy pick in season-long league drafts and has been a huge disappointment so far this season, going 0-2-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .886 SV% in three starts and one relief appearance. Tonight he'll face a Sabres team that has shown signs of life after a slow start, scoring 3.20 goals per game in their last five games.

Hart gave up six goals on 26 shots in the Flyers' loss in Boston last Saturday. Hart showed his frustration in the losing effort and comes into Thursday's game in New Jersey having lost three in a row while allowing a combined 14 goals on 91 shots (.846 SV%). It has been a struggled for Hart recently but he has a solid matchup vs. a Devils team averaging just 2.33 goals per game (26th) through their first six games.

Halak allowed one goal on 17 shots in the Bruins' win over the Flyers last Saturday. Halak has had an economical start to the season, stopping 45 of the 48 shots (.938 SV%) that he's faced in his first two starts. On Thursday, he'll take on a Penguins team that has run into injury issues but have still managed to win four of their last five while averaging 3.60 goals per game.