NHL Hockey Player News

Prout had one goal and two assists in four games during his conditioning stint. Despite being called back up, he is not expected to play Wednesday.

Stralman has not played since November 8th and will miss at least the next three or four games. Erik Cernak has played well in Stralman’s absence, so there’s no need to rush the veteran defenseman back in the first half of the season.

Dubnyk allowed four goals on 14 shots in the Wild’s 4-3 loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday. It was a brutal outing for Dubnyk, who has lost three in a row while allowing a combined 11 goals on 68 shots (.853 SV%). The 32-year-old has regressed after a great October but remains 4-3-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .925 SV% on the road this season.

Luongo will miss his third straight game on Wednesday and head coach Bob Boughner said he has an “outside chance” to play this week. It seems more likely that Luongo will return to the crease next week, leaving James Reimer and maybe Michael Hutchinson to split their Friday/Saturday back-to-back.

Rittich allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Flames 2-0 loss in Vegas last Friday. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Rittich, who is 6-1-0 with a 1.86 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout in his last seven outings. Despite a strong start from Mike Smith in their last game, Rittich has clearly taken over as the Flames No.1 netminder. The Stars come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back having lost four of their last five games (1-3-1).

Steen has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury but will play Wednesday in Detroit. There is no word on where Steen will slot into the lineup but he has registered 10 points (5G / 5A) in 16 games this season.

Allen stopped nine of 11 shots after replacing Chad Johnson in the Blues 8-4 loss to the Jets on Saturday. Allen has had some struggles this season but has been much better as of late. In his last five starts, Allen has gone 2-3-0 despite posting an impressive 1.62 GAA and .942 SV%. Detroit caught fire for a bit but come into Wednesday having lost three in a row.

Gauthier has had a solid season as the Maple Leafs fourth line centre, playing just 8:34 TOI/gm. With Auston Matthews returning tonight, Nazem Kadri will move back to the third line and Par Lindholm will centre the fourth line, which leaves Gauthier as the odd man out.

Miller, who returned from a hand injury four games ago, is out until at least late-December/early-February. The Bruins blue line continues to take hits but could get Brandon Carlo back in the near future.

Reimer allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Panthers win over the Devils on Monday. It’s been a tough season for Reimer, who is 2-3-1 with a 3.36 GAA and .902 SV% on home-ice. As poor as he has played, Reimer has a solid matchup against the Ducks this evening. The Ducks have won three of their last four but rank second last in the NHL in scoring (2.19 GF/pg).

Andersen stopped 38 of 40 shots in the Maple Leafs win over the Bruins on Monday. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Andersen, who is 7-3-0 with a 1.92 GAA, .944 SV% and one shutout in November. Tonight he takes on a Sharks team that has lost three of their last four and are 4-5-3 on the road this season.

Matthews has missed the last 14 games with a shoulder injury but will be back tonight vs. the Sharks. With Matthews back, Frederik Gauthier will be a healthy scratch. In his first seven games, Matthews had 16 points (10G / 6A) but was held pointless in the next four games. Matthews will likely be back between Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen.

Kuznetsov has missed the last six games with a concussion but he appears to be progressing towards a return to the lineup. Kuznetsov will need to shed the non-contact jersey and become a full participant in practice before his return is imminent.

Howard was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in the Red Wings 7-5 loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday. The poor performance ended a long streak of great games for Howard, who comes into Wednesday at 5-1-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 SV% in November. Tonight he faces a Blues team that has lost four of their last five games.

Donato was sent down at the start of November after picking up just one goal in his first 11 games of the season. Since going to Providence, the 22-year-old registered five goals and four assists (nine points) in 10 games. Donato could return to the Bruins lineup in a large role because Patrice Bergeron remains sidelined.

Fritz has one assist in four games with the Islanders and 10 points (2G / 8A) in 17 games with Bridgeport this season. Fritz heads back to the AHL with Casey Cizikas being activated from IR.

Cizikas has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury but appears ready-to-go in Boston on Thursday. With Cizikas back on the active roster, the Islanders have assigned Tanner Fritz to Bridgeport (AHL).

Dell allowed six goals on 36 shots in the Sharks loss in Vegas on Saturday. Dell started for the second night in a row after posting back-to-back shutouts in his previous two starts. Dell has outplayed Martin Jones so far this season but is 1-2-2 with a 3.54 GAA and .893 SV% on the road. A matchup with a great Maple Leafs team, who might get Auston Matthews back is not ideal for Dell owners.

Gibson allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Ducks loss in Nashville on Sunday. The loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Gibson, who is now 4-4-2 with a 2.70 GAA and .910 SV% in November. With Ryan Miller facing the Lightning on Tuesday, Gibson will take on a Panthers team that has lost five of their last seven games (2-4-1).