NHL Hockey Player News

Virtanen was scratched from the lineup on Thursday and will be moved to IR so they can call up the newly acquired Ryan Spooner on Saturday.

Karlsson has missed the last 10 games with a lower-body injury but will play Saturday vs. the Canucks. Karlsson will skate with Marc-Edouard Vlasic and enters play with 43 points (3G / 40A) in 47 games this season.

Walker reportedly took a puck to the face against the Canucks on Thursday and is day-to-day with what the Kings are calling an upper-body injury.

Cernak missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but is set to play Saturday vs. the Canadiens. Cernak has settled right in with the Lightning, picking up nine points (2G / 7A) and a plus-14 rating in 34 games.

Allen allowed four goals on 44 shots in the Blues win in Nashville last Sunday. With the emergence of Jordan Binnington, Allen has only started twice in the last month of play. He has gone 2-0-0 with a 2.43 GAA and .930 SV% in two starts against the Avalanche this season.

Fabbri has been a healthy scratch for nearly one month but will play Saturday with Alex Steen out because of personal reasons. Fabbri has had a tough time getting going this season, scoring just two goals with three assists (five points) in 23 games.

Steen left the team to go back to St. Louis for the birth of his child, so Robby Fabbri will replace him in the Blues lineup on Saturday.

Jones allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Sharks loss to the Capitals on Thursday. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Jones, who leads the NHL in wins (13) with a 2.89 GAA with a .900 SV% in 15 starts. Jones stopped 25 of 27 shots in a 7-2 win in his first start against the Canucks (Feb.11).

The Blackhawks fourth line shuffle continues as Hayden will be replaced by Brendan Perlini on Saturday.

Perlini was a healthy scratch against New Jersey on Thursday but will replace John Hayden on Saturday. Perlini has three goals and one assist in 27 games with Philadelphia.

Klingberg was forced to leave Thursday’s game after blocking a shot but is ready to play in Carolina. Klingberg has cooled off recently, picking up just one goal and one assist in his last eight games.

Spooner has been with Bakersfield lately, scoring two goals with four assists (six points) in seven games. The 27-year-old heads to his third team of the season with three goals and two assists (five points) in 41 shots between the Rangers and Oilers this season.

Gagner was originally drafted by the Oilers back in 2007 and played seven seasons and 481 career games with Edmonton. The 29-year-old has only appeared in seven NHL games with Vancouver this season and has picked up 12 goals and 25 assists (37 points) in 43 AHL games while on loan with the Marlies. He is expected to report to the Oilers on Saturday.

Howard stopped 40 of 42 shots in the Red Wings win over the Senators on Thursday. Howard has won two in a row while stopping 72 of the last 76 shots (.947 SV%) that he faced. This afternoon he takes on a Flyers team that has won 10 of their last 12 (10-1-1) on the road, where he has gone 6-9-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .909 SV% this season.

Khudobin allowed five goals on 21 shots in the Stars loss in Tampa Bay on Thursday. Khudobin has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .922 SV% in five February starts. With Ben Bishop still out, Khudobin will make his 25th start of the season on Saturday. The 32-year-old has gone 5-8-3 with a 2.66 GAA and .921 SV% on the road this year.