NHL Hockey Player News

Neal missed Wednesday’s game vs. the Sabres with an illness but will draw back into the lineup vs. the Red Wings. Neal has just one goal and four assists in his last 19 games.

Smith stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Flames win over the Flames last Sunday. It was a strong outing vs. a weak opponent but Smith has mostly struggled as of late, going 2-2-0 with a 3.45 GAA and .869 SV% in his last five starts. However, he draws another nice matchup tonight against a Red Wings team that is 8-11-3 on the road.

Duclair has been in the lineup for 14 consecutive games but has just two goals and one assist during that time. With Brandon Dubinsky (hamstring) set to return to the lineup on Friday, Duclair looks like the healthy scratch.

Dubinsky has missed the last four games but was activated from IR on Thursday and is expected to replace Anthony Duclair in the lineup on Friday. Dubinsky, who will skate with Alexander Wennberg and Kevin Stenlund, has just 10 points (4G / 6A) in 32 games this season.

Smith stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Flames win over the Flames last Sunday. It was a strong outing vs. a weak opponent but Smith has mostly struggled as of late, going 2-2-0 with a 3.45 GAA and .869 SV% in his last five starts. However, he draws another nice matchup tonight against a Red Wings team that is 8-11-3 on the road.

Nedeljkovic has gone 20-5-0 with a 2.68 GAA and .903 SV% in 30 games with the Checkers this season. With Curtis McElhinney dealing with a knee injury, Nedeljkovic will back Mrazek up on Friday.

Mrazek allowed three gaols on 23 shots in the Hurricanes win over the Predators on Sunday. Mrazek has gone 3-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .900 SV% in his last four starts and will face the Senators for the second time this season—he allowed four goals on 31 shots in a 5-4 win in their first meeting (Jan.6).

Nilsson allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Canucks win over the Avalanche on Wednesday. Nilsson has played very well since joining the Senators, going 3-3-0 with a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in his first six appearances. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has won seven of their last nine games (7-2-0).

Holtby was forced to leave last Saturday’s game vs. the Blue Jackets after suffering an eye injury on a Cam Atkinson high-stick. Holtby says he’s good-to-go tonight and comes back at 2-2-0 with a 3.58 GAA and .895 SV% in his last five appearances. Holtby stopped 32 of 33 shots in a 4-1 win in his first start against the Islanders (Nov.26).

Brown, 24, was a sixth-round pick in 2013 and is set to make his debut after playing 167 games in the AHL and 54 games in the ECHL. Brown has just three games in 19 games with the Thunderbirds this season.

Weegar suffered a concussion in Montreal on Tuesday on a hit that resulted in Paul Byron getting suspended for three games. Josh Brown is expected to make his NHL debut in Weegar’s place on Friday.

Trocheck appears ready to return to the Panthers lineup ahead of schedule after suffering a gruesome ankle injury on November 19th. Trocheck had a solid year going before getting hurt, posting 14 points (3G / 11A) in 18 games. Trocheck shot just 6.0 percent over that stretch but is a career 10.8 percent shooter, so he should be capable of adding 10-plus goals in the remaining 37 games.

Luongo allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Panthers loss in Vancouver last Sunday. Luongo was scheduled to start Tuesday in Montreal but ended up backing up James Reimer. Luongo is in the middle of a dreadful stretch, having gone 0-5-0 with a 4.48 GAA and .851 SV% in his last six starts.

Rinne was pulled after he allowed five goals on 20 shots in the Predators loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday. Dating back to the middle of December, Rinne has gone 3-6-2 with a 3.36 GAA, .890 SV% and one shutout in his last 12 starts. The 36-year-old has been great on home-ice this season though—11-5-0, 2.01 GAA and .923 SV%.