NHL Hockey Player News

Orpik was not on the ice for Tuesday’s practice, making him questionable for Thursday’s game in Montreal. Christian Djoos skated on the Capitals third pair with Orpik out.

Talbot allowed a single goal on 32 shots in the Oilers 2-1 overtime win in Chicago on Sunday. Talbot has won two straight while stopping 62 of 64 shots (.969 SV%). He draws a strong matchup against a Wild team on the tail-end of a back-to-back. Talbot enters Tuesday at 2-1-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .909 SV% on home-ice.

Lehner allowed one goal on 23 shots in the Islanders 6-1 win in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Lehner, who comes into Tuesday’s game at 3-2-1 with a 2.39 GAA, .929 SV% and one shutout in his first six starts with the Islanders.

Krug has missed the first 11 games of the season but will play tonight in Carolina. Krug will replace Matt Grzelcyk on the second pairing and top power-play unit.

Howard stopped 38 of 40 shots in the Red Wings 2-1 loss to the Jets on Friday. Despite going 1-3-0 in his last four starts, Howard has been impressive by posting a 2.26 GAA and .938 SV%. Tonight he faces the Blue Jackets for the first time since opening night, when he allowed three goals on 39 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss.

Rittich allowed three goals on 15 shots after replacing Mike Smith in the Flames 9-1 loss to the Penguins last Thursday. Rittich will make his fourth start of the season tonight—he is 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .946 SV% in his first three starts (all on the road).

Price stopped all 33 shots that he faced in the Canadiens shutout win in Boston on Saturday. It was an outstanding outing for Price, who has now won two in a row and three of the last four while posting a 1.98 GAA and .930 SV%. Tonight the Canadiens will host a Stars team that is 0-3-0 on the road this season.

Saros surrendered four goals on 34 shots in the Predators 5-3 loss to the Oilers on Saturday afternoon. Saros has been average this season, going 5-2-0 with a 2.73 GAA and .912 SV%. Pekka Rinne was in the starter’s crease this morning, but Saros was the first goalie off, suggesting that Saros will make his fifth straight start.

Radulov has missed the last four games, but will play Tuesday in Montreal. The Stars are expected to break-up their dominant first line, but Radulov is still expected to skate with Tyler Seguin. The Russian winger has 10 points (4G / 6A) in six games this season and the duo of Seguin and Radulov is averaging 35 scoring chances for/60.

Brassard will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Brassard had been skating on the top line with Sidney Crosby, so with him out again Dominik Simon will get a shot in that spot. Brassard is day-to-day.

Letang left Monday’s practice with what was described as a nagging lower-body injury. Letang did not take part in Tuesday’s optional morning skate and is officially listed as a game-time decision. If Letang can’t play, look for Juuso Riikola to draw back into the lineup.

Bishop allowed two goals on 22 shots in the Stars loss in Detroit on Sunday. The loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Bishop, who heads to Montreal with an 0-2-0 record, 3.15 GAA and .867 SV% in two starts on the road this season.

Darling will make his first start of the season after stopping 25 of 26 shots in a win with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) during his conditioning stint. Tonight he will start on home-ice, where he was 6-7-3 with a 3.24 GAA and .888 SV% in 16 appearances last season. The Bruins are 2-2-2 on the road.

McAvoy’s move to IR is retroactive to October 18th, so he’s eligible to return whenever he is 100 percent. McAvoy did not skate on Monday after retuning to the ice on Saturday, so his move to IR suggests that he may have suffered a setback. McAvoy won’t play Tuesday, but monitor his status as the week progresses.

Hutton allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Sabres win vs. the Canadiens last Thursday. Hutton has won two in a row while turning away 50 of the last 55 shots (.909 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight he takes on a Calgary team that comes in on the tail-end of a back-to-back—they won 3-1 in Toronto last night.

Vasilevkskiy surrendered two goals on 31 shots in the Lightning’s win in Vegas on Friday. Vasilevskiy has won four of his last five starts (4-0-1) while posting a stellar 1.98 GAA, .933 SV% and one shutout. Vasilevskiy is the top goaltending option in fantasy and is a must-start regardless of the matchup.

Murray stopped 38 of 39 shots in the Penguins 9-1 win in Calgary last Thursday. Since returning to the Penguins crease, Murray has gone 3-0-0 while allowing just six goals on 123 shots (.951 SV%). Tonight he faces an Islanders team that is averaging the second fewest shots per game (25.7) and 3.00 goals for per game.

Korpisalo allowed four goals on 38 shots in the Blue Jackets 5-4 overtime win vs. Buffalo on Saturday. The Blue Jackets will stick with Korpisalo for the third straight game. He is 4-0-0 despite posting an ugly 3.64 GAA and .897 SV% through four starts.