NHL Hockey Player News

The Sabres went with seven defensemen in St. Louis on Thursday but will go back to 12/6 today, so look for Evan Rodrigues to replace Bogosian as the 12th forward.

Rodrigues has been a healthy scratch for the last four games but will replace Scott Wilson in the lineup on Saturday afternoon. He's had a disastrous season, failing to score a goal with just three assists in 24 games.

Gallagher returned from a concussion on Thursday but missed Friday's practice with headaches. Gallagher was scheduled to undergo testing to determine whether or not the headaches were concussion-related or something else, but that hasn't been determined yet. The team elected to leave him back in Montreal for precautionary reasons as they travelled to Ottawa.

Binnington stopped 18 of 19 shots in the Blues win over the Sabres on Thursday. It was a very easy night for Binnington, who has now won eight of his last nine starts (8-1-0) while posting a 2.57 GAA and .909 SV%. Tonight he faces a Rangers offence that is red-hot, averaging 4.29 goals per game while going 4-3-0 in their last seven games.

Mueller has been a mainstay in the Devils lineup for a month but will get a night off in Washington. Connor Carrick will come in to replace him on the Devils' third pair.

Carrick has been a healthy scratch since December 29th but will draw in for Mirco Mueller in Washington. Carrick has missed some time due to injury this season as well, so he's only played in six games, tallying one assist and four shots.

With Mackenzie Blackwood out with an upper-body injury, Cormier comes up to be the backup. He has played nine games in both the AHL and ECHL this season and has never appeared in an NHL game.

Blackwood underwent dental work after Tuesday's game vs. the Islanders but started Thursday, where he was eventually yanked. It looks like the Devils will give him a night off on Saturday to get back to 100 percent, so Evan Cormier comes up to serve as Louis Domingue's backup.

Bratt has missed the last three games with an undisclosed issue but will be back on the top line in Washington. Bratt started to heat up before getting hurt, scoring two goals with four assists (six points) in his last eight games.

With Jake McCabe returning from his upper-body injury, Miller will be scratched for the first time since New Year's Eve. He's had a tough debut season in Buffalo, scoring just one goal on 49 shots (2.0 SH%) with five assists (six points) in 32 games.

McCabe missed Thursday's game in St. Louis but will replace Colin Miller on Saturday afternoon vs. the Canucks. McCabe has just two goals and five assists (seven points) in 41 games this season.

Domingue allowed one goal on 12 shots after replacing Mackenzie Blackwood in the Devils loss in New York on Thursday. Since joining the Devils, Domingue has gone 1-4-0 with a 3.99 GAA and .867 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances. Now he faces a Washington team that has gone 5-1-0 in their last six home games, so look elsewhere for a spot-start.

Varlamov stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Islanders shutout win over the Avalanche on Monday. It was a terrific outing for Varlamov, who was facing his former team for the first time. Varlamov has gone 3-2-0 with a 1.62 GAA and .947 SV% inn his last five starts and stopped 27 of 29 shots in a 3-2 shootout win in his first start vs. the Bruins this season.

Dell allowed one goal on 31 shots in the Sharks win over the Blue Jackets one Thursday. Dell has played well in January, going 3-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and .933 SV% in four starts. Tonight he faces a Dallas team that is riding a six-game winning streak, while scoring 3.33 goals per game.

Borowiecki missed the morning skate and was listed as a game-time decision in Detroit, but is not on the ice for warmups so look for Cody Goloubef to play on the third pair.

Crosby was scheduled to skate today but wasn't feeling well, so he will not play in Colorado. The Penguins will stick with the same lineup as Tuesday.

Murray allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Penguins win in Montreal last Saturday. Tristan Jarry has played great and that has limited Murray to just four starts since the start of December, but he is 3-1-0 with a 3.29 GAA and .890 SV% in four starts over that span.

Hart allowed two goal on 28 shots in the Flyers win over the Capitals on Wednesday. Hart is happy to be back in Philalphia, where he is now 12-1-2 with a 1.52 GAA, .945 SV% and one shutout at the Wells Fargo Centre this season. He draws a terrible assignment with the Lightning in town on Saturday. They are riding a nine-game winning streak and have scored at least four goals in six of those games.