NHL Hockey Player News

Sikura appeared in four straight games and had one goal and two assists, but will come out of the lineup with Matthew Highmore replacing him vs. Nashville.

Highmore was a healthy scratch against the Flames on Tuesday but will replace Dylan Sikura on Thursday. Highmore has one goal and one assist in 12 games this season.

Marchessault was not on the ice for Thursday's morning skate and will not be available against the Kings. With Marchessault still out, the Golden Knights are expected to keep Chandler Stephenson on the William Karlsson line and Paul Stastny between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.

Subban allowed four goals on 18 shots in the Golden Knights loss in Anaheim on December 27th. Marc-Andre Fleury started the last five games but struggled vs. the Penguins on Tuesday, so they'll get Subban in the cage tonight vs. a Kings team that played last night. Subban has gone 1-1-1 with a 3.19 GAA and .900 SV% in three starts at T-Mobile Arena.

Merzlikins stopped 37 of 40 shots in the Blue Jackets win in Anaheim on Tuesday. Merzlikins has been sensational since taking over for Joonas Korpisalo on New Year's Eve. Merzlikins is 4-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .940 SV% in five starts and draws a great matchup against a Sharks team that is now missing Logan Couture.

Subban allowed four goals on 18 shots in the Golden Knights loss in Anaheim on December 27th. Marc-Andre Fleury started the last five games but struggled vs. the Penguins on Tuesday, so they'll get Subban in the cage tonight vs. a Kings team that played last night. Subban has gone 1-1-1 with a 3.19 GAA and .900 SV% in three starts at T-Mobile Arena.

Dell allowed three goals on 27 shots in the Sharks loss in St. Louis on Tuesday. The loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Dell, who is now 3-3-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .917 SV% in his last seven outings. Tonight he faces a Blue Jackets team that is 5-0-1 while averaging 3.17 goals per game in their last six road games.

Talbot stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Flames win in Chicago on Tuesday. Talbot continues to play well, having gone 4-2-0 with a 2.07 GAA and .938 SV% in his last seven outings (six starts). One of those losses came against the Wild, who he'll face again tonight. He stopped 31 of 33 shots in a 3-0 loss in Minnesota two days before Christmas.

Crawford allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Blackhawks 2-1 loss to the Flames on Tuesday. Robin Lehner is expected to return as Crawford's backup tonight but he'll make his third straight start on Thursday. Crawford has stopped 45 of 49 shots (.918 SV%) in his previous two outings and faces a Predators team that has gone 1-4-1 while scoring 3.00 goals per game in their last six games.

Ritchie had one assist in 8:15 TOI in his return to the lineup on Tuesday but will be replaced by David Backes on Thursday.

Backes has been a healthy scratch for the last three games but will replace Brett Ritchie on Thursday, getting him in the lineup during their "moms" trip. Backes has scored just one goal with two assists in 15 games this season.

Kulikov has been out since November 29th but will likely replace Sami Niku or Anthony Bitetto on the third pair on Thursday. He has one goal and three assists in 25 games this season.

Caggiula has been battling concussion symptoms for a long time and Thursday will be his first game since November 10th. Caggiula will draw in on the Blackhawks' top line with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik and comes in with three goals and one assist in 15 games this season.

Ullmark allowed two goals on 34 shots in the Sabres win over the Panthers. Ullmark has started seven straight games, going 3-4-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .905 SV%. He starts in St. Louis, where the Blues have won six in a row while scoring 3.67 goals per game.

Binnington allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Blues win over the Sharks on Tuesday. Dating back to the middle of December, Binnington has gone 7-1-0 with a 2.76 GAA and .906 SV%. He'll face a Sabres team that has lost nine of their last 10 road games (1-6-3) while scoring just 2.30 goals per game.

Halak allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Bruins loss to the Oilers last Saturday. Halak and Tuukka Rask have alternated starts for the last eight games and their goalie rotation will continue tonight vs. Winnipeg. Halak has lost three of his last four starts (1-1-2) while posting a 2.20 GAA and .927 SV%. The Jets have gone 2-0-1 while scoring 3.00 goals per game in the first three games of their road-trip.

Krug missed the morning skate because he has the flu and head coach Bruce Cassidy has labelled him as a game-time decision. With Krug not on the ice, John Moore skated with Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk was on PP1 and Steven Kampfer was on PP2.

Lindgren was hurt in a fight with Nazem Kadri after hitting Joonas Donskoi and did not return to Tuesday's game. He was originally expected to face supplemental discipline but then the NHL Department of Player Safety changed their mind, making him eligible to play on Thursday. He has no points in his last seven games.

Shesterkin allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Rangers win over the Avalanche on Tuesday. Shesterkin had a tough start, giving up two early goals but settled in and recorded a win in his NHL debut. On Thursday he will face a Devils team that has won four of their last five road games (4-1-0) while scoring 3.20 goals per game.

Chiarot suffered a lower-body injury in Detroit on Tuesday and will miss Thursday's game vs. the Oilers. With Chiarot out, Marco Scandella will be on the top-pair with Shea Weber and Cale Fleury will be back in.