NHL Hockey Player News

Smid has missed the last 10 games with an upper-body injury but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Panthers. He will replace Raphael Diaz.

Scrivens allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Oilers win over the Islanders on Sunday. He was given Tuesday night off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. the Blackhawks. It is not a desirable matchup for any net minder, but especially not an Oilers goalie. Scrivens has a 3.01 GAA and .898 SV% on the year.

Neuvirth was pulled after he allowed four goals on nine shots in the Sabres loss to the Rangers last Friday. Neuvirth has lost his last five outings with a 4.83 GAA and .870 SV%. He is a risky option, especially vs. the high-powered Lightning offence.

Prosser has missed the last two games with an illness, but returned to practice this afternoon. His return to the ice suggests that he could be back in the lineup on Saturday vs. the Predators.

Eriksson was on the ice this morning, but he still remains questionable for tomorrow’s game vs. the Flyers. It is an afternoon start, so the Bruins will not have a morning skate, monitor his status prior to game-time (1PM ET).

Letang missed practice on Thursday, but returned to practice on Friday and is fully expected to play tomorrow vs. the Canadiens. Monitor his status during the Pens’ morning skate.

McGrattan has not played since December 6th. He has no points with a minus-2 rating in eight games. There is a small chance that he is claimed by another team, so expect him to go down to Adirondack (AHL).

Bickel had one assist in nine games with the Wild this season. He heads back to the AHL where he has three assists in nine games.

Kinkaid surrendered three goals on 25 shots in the Devils loss to the Canadiens last Friday. Cory Schneider faced 42 shots last night, so he will likely get the night off tonight vs. the Islanders. He made 31 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss in his first start vs. the Isles.

Parise was on the ice before practice taking shots, but is expected to be a full participant this afternoon. Parise missed the last two games because of the death of his father; his return to practice today suggests that he should be available for Saturday’s game vs. the Predators.

Bailey missed Tuesday’s game vs. the Canucks with an upper-body injury, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Devils. Bailey will replace Cal Clutterbuck, who is out with an upper-body injury of his own.

Clutterbuck suffered an upper-body injury in the Islanders 3-2 loss to the Canucks on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Josh Bailey tonight. He is listed as day-to-day.

Bertuzzi, 39, has spent the last five seasons with the Red Wings, totalling 59 goals and 87 assists (146 points) in 300 games. He will report to Binghamton (AHL) for a 25-game tryout, if the Senators like what they see he will be called-up.

Halak gave up three goals on 20 shots in the Islanders 3-2 loss to the Canucks on Tuesday. After a seven-game winning streak, Halak has lost two in a row while allowing seven goals on 42 shots (.833 SV%). He draws a great matchup vs. the Devils—he has gone 2-0-0 with a 1.44 GAA and .952 SV% in his first two start vs. New Jersey.

Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 26 shots in the Blue Jackets win over the Stars on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back for Bob who had a rough outing vs. the Coyotes on the weekend. Tonight it looks like he will face a Maple Leafs team in a state of flux—they have a new head coach and have dropped eight of their last 10 games.

MacDonald served as a healthy scratch on Thursday, but with Nicklas Grossmann out with an upper-body injury, MacDonald was paired with Mark Streit in practice on Friday. Expect him to skate there tomorrow if Grossmann is out.

Grossmann played just 5:46 before retiring to the dressing room for the evening. He missed practice this morning and was replaced by Andrew MacDonald on the Flyers’ top-pair. His status for Saturday’s game is up in the air.

Kindl has missed the last five games with an elbow injury, but was back at practice on Friday morning. He is eligible to return to the lineup on Saturday vs. the Capitals, but there is no word if he will.

Thomas, 22, has nine goals and five assists (14 points) in 29 games with Hamilton this season. He has no points in three career NHL games. He skated on the Habs’ fourth line with Manny Malhotra and Michael Bournival.

Pulkkinen, 23, leads the AHL with 20 goals and is tied for second in points with 39. He failed to record a point in three games with the Red Wings last season. He is likely to make his season debut on Saturday in Washington.