NHL Hockey Player News

Faksa will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury but has been moved to IR to make room for Stephen Johns (head) to be activated.

Johns missed the first 47 games of the season with post-traumatic headaches but has been activated from IR and will replace Miro Heiskanen, who is in concussion protocol. Johns had 15 points (8G / 7A) while averaging 2.7 hits and 2.1 blocked shots per game in 75 games last year.

Heiskanen was forced to leave Thursday's game vs. the Sabres with an "upper-body injury" that he suffered when he was kneed in the head. Heiskanen is in concussion protocol, so he'll be replaced by Stephen Johns on Saturday.

Khudobin stopped 24 of 26 in the Stars loss in San Jose last Saturday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Khudobin, who has gone 7-5-1 with a 2.36 GAA and .930 SV% on the road this year. Tonight he'll face the team that originally drafted him, who have lost four of their last six home games while scoring just 2.17 goals per game.

Smith stopped 30 of 32 shots in the Oilers win over the Predators on Tuesday. Smith has won four straight games while posting a rock-solid 2.26 GAA and .936 SV%. He will look to stay hot against a Coyotes team that has lost five of their last six road games while scoring just 1.50 goals per game.

Sikura has played in the last two games but will come out of the lineup in Toronto with Brandon Saad returning from a 12-game absence due to an ankle injury.

Saad has missed the last 12 games with an ankle injury but will play tonight in Toronto. Saad, who will replace Dylan Sikura in the lineup, could be back on the top line with Jonathan Toews. He has just 11 goals and eight assists (19 points) in 36 games this season.

Rooney sat our of Thursday's game in Washington but will replace Michael McLeod in the lineup on Saturday. Rooney has just one goal and one assist in 27 games this season.

Varlamov allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Islanders' loss to the Rangers on Thursday. Varlamov has lost three straight (0-2-1) while posting a 4.20 GAA and .875 SV%. This afternoon he faces the Capitals for the third time this season--he is 1-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .925 SV% in the first two meetings.

Fleury stopped 33 of 35 shots in the Golden Knights' win in Ottawa on Thursday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Fleury, who will make his 34th start of the season on Saturday. He is 6-3-1 with a 2.34 GAA, .925 SV% and one shutout on the road this year. Since joining the Golden Knights, Fleury is 1-1-2 while allowing a combined 17 goals on 136 shots (.875 SV%) in four starts vs. Montreal.

Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Panthers win over the Canucks on January 9th. He missed the last two games with an upper-body injury but returns tonight in Detroit. He has gone 4-7-2 with a 3.83 GAA and .866 SV% in 15 road games this year and posted a 22-save shutout in his first start against the Red Wings (Nov.2).

Ullmark stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Sabres win in Dallas on Thursday. Ullmark has won three in a row while posting a terrific 1.34 GAA and .948 SV%. Tonight he face a Predators team that has been in a tail-spin since Christmas, losing seven of their last 10 (3-6-1) while scoring 2.80 goals for with 3.70 goals against.

Crawford allowed one goal on 33 shots in the Blackhawks win in Montreal on Wednnesday. Crawford has performed well in January, going 2-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .927 SV% in four games. Tonight he faces a Maple Leafs team that has lost four of their last five (1-2-2) even through they've averaged 3.80 goals for per game.

Andersen stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Maple Leafs shootout loss to the Flames on Thursday. It was a good outing for Andersen, but he's now lost four of his last five starts (1-0-2) while posting a 3.92 GAA and .875 SV%. Tonight he faces a Blackhawks team that has won the first two games of their road-trip and are riding a three-game winning streak.

Schneider allowed three goals on 23 shots after replacing Louis Domingue in the Devils loss in Washington on Thursday. Since coming up from the AHL, he's made two relief appearances, stopping 33 of the 37 shots (.892 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he makes his first NHL start since November 8th and comes in at 0-5-1 with a 4.42 GAA and .859 SV% on the year.

Price stopped 40 of 41 shots in the Canadiens win in Philadelphia on Thursday. Price has gone through his struggles this season but is red-hot coming into Saturday's game vs. the Golden Knights. Price has won three in a row while posting an impressive 0.66 GAA, .982 SV% and one shutout. He has given up six goals on 54 shots (.889 SV%) in two career starts vs. Vegas.

The injury is believed to be a pulled groin and will sideline the breakout netminder for at least a couple of weeks. Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to return to the crease on Saturday, replacing Driedger.

Elliott allowed three goals on 33 shots in the Flyers win in St. Louis on Wednesday. Alex Lyon started Thursday, so they'll come back to Elliott tonight vs. the Kings. He is 2-1-2 with a 2.74 GAA and .900 SV% on home ice this year and draws a nice matchup with Los Angeles in town. The Kings have lost six of their last seven (1-5-1) while averaging 2.14 goals per game.

Oesterle missed Thursday's game in Vancouver and will likely sit out of Saturday's game in Edmonton as well. Kyle Capobianco was called up from the AHL to take Oesterle's spot on the roster.