NHL Hockey Player News

Halverson was brought up to be Antti Raanta’s backup on Thursday, but his return to the ECHL suggests that Henrik Lundqvist will be ready to go on Sunday or Monday.

Reimer was yanked after he allowed four goals on 19 shots in the Panthers’ loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. Reimer has lost five in a row while allowing 13 goals on 157 shots (.917 SV%). Tonight he will face a slumping Wild team that has lost three of their last four while averaging just 1.25 goals for per game.

Dumba missed the last two games, including last night’s contest with an illness, but is set to go on the tail-end of the Wild’s Florida back-to-back. Dumba is expected to replace Gustav Olofsson in the lineup and enters play with 25 points (7G / 18A) in 59 games this season.

Allen allowed one goal on 33 shots in the Blues’ win in Minnesota on Tuesday. Allen has won two in a row while stopping 59 of 60 shots (.983 SV%). The 26-year-old has gone 14-8-2 while posting a 2.46 GAA and .908 SV% on home ice this season. Tonight he will take on a Ducks team that has won three of their last four.

Lehner surrendered six goals on 30 shots in the Sabres’ loss to the Flyers on Tuesday. Despite a rough loss on Tuesday, Lehner will start again tonight in Columbus. Lehner has lost five of his last six starts (1-3-2) while posting a 3.94 GAA and .874 SV%. He has not faced the Blue Jackets yet this season, but they are a terrible road matchup for him this evening.

Kuemper allowed five goals on 29 shots in the Wild’s loss in Winnipeg on February 28th. Devan Dubnyk started seven of the last eight games including last night, so Kuemper will start tonight in Florida. He has gone 4-2-2 with a 3.69 GAA and .896 SV% on the road this season.

Howard will start his first NHL games since December 20th after a two-game conditioning stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). He won both of his AHL starts, including a 21-save shutout on Tuesday. He had a really nice season going before he got hurt and he will look to pick up where he left off three months ago. Howard is 5-7-1 with a 1.96 GAA and .934 SV%.

There are reports that Mark Stone suffered an injury in last night’s game against the Coyotes and that is why Varone has been recalled. The 26-year-old forward has not made an impact in six games with the Senators this season, but has 42 points (13G / 29A) in 51 games to lead Binghamton this season.

Sestito played just 1:02 TOI during Wednesday’s game in Winnipeg, but that was enough time for him to get in a fight with Chris Thorburn and get ejected for blasting Enstrom into the boards from behind. Sestito is not a regular member of the Penguins lineup (for good reason) so this suspension does not affect them at all.

Namestnikov played just 6:52 TOI before exiting Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury. Namestnikov doesn’t have a big fantasy impact given he has just nine goals and 15 assists (24 points) in 62 games this season, but he plays a key role in the Lightning offence, especially after they traded Valtteri Filppula to Philadelphia.

Johnson left last night’s game following a hit from Wild forward Nino Niederreiter. His injury could leave a big hole in fantasy lineups as he has been hot for the better part of two months—Johnson has collected six goals and 12 assists (18 points) in his last 17 games. The Lightning get back in action on Saturday, so expect an update on Johnson’s status in the next 24 hours.

There is no word on what is ailing the young defenseman but assistant coach Martin Gelinas said that Hamilton should be back “sooner rather than later” during a postgame interview. The Flames are red-hot and losing Hamilton for any period of time would be a big blow to their blueline.

Rinne made 39 saves on 42 shots in the Predators’ shootout loss in Anaheim on Tuesday. Dating back to February 11th, Rinne has gone 4-3-2 with an ugly 3.76 GAA and .873 SV%. He has not been playing very well but tonight he faces a Kings team who are going through struggles of their own.

Quick surrendered two goals on 31 shots in the Kings’ shootout win over the Maple Leafs last Thursday. He has won two of three starts while posting a 2.60 GAA and .919 SV% since returning to the Kings’ crease on February 25th. Tonight he faces a Predators team that has lost three consecutive games.

Rinne made 39 saves on 42 shots in the Predators’ shootout loss in Anaheim on Tuesday. Dating back to February 11th, Rinne has gone 4-3-2 with an ugly 3.76 GAA and .873 SV%. He has not been playing very well but tonight he faces a Kings team who are going through struggles of their own.

Vasilevskiy allowed one goal on 34 shots in the Lightnings’ overtime loss to the Rangers on Monday. Since Ben Bishop was traded, Vasilevskiy has gone 3-0-1 while allowing just six goals on 137 shots (.956 SV%). The 22-year-old has been excellent as Tampa Bay’s No.1 and tonight he faces the Wild for the second time—he stopped 37 of 38 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss in the first meeting.

Bernier allowed three goals on 27 shots in the Ducks’ shootout win over the Predators on Tuesday. Bernier has won three of his last six outings with John Gibson sidelined, while posting a 2.93 GAA and .901 SV% in the process. Tonight he will take on a Blackhawks team that has won seven in a row and who are great on home ice.