NHL Hockey Player News

Luongo will start Friday for the Panthers.

Luongo made 33 saves on 34 shots in the Panthers 2-1 shootout loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday. Bobby Lu had a strong month of December, going 7-2-2 with a 2.27 GAA and .917 SV%. He will look to carry that success into 2015 and it starts tonight with a juicy matchup at the Sabres.

Roberto Luongo
Schwartz (foot) returned to practice on Thursday; has been upgraded to day-to-day.

Schwartz, who injured his right foot blocking a shot on Dec. 16 in LA, has been upgraded from week-to-week to day-to-day. Schwartz will travel with the team on their west coast road-trip and could play this weekend if all goes well. In 31 games this season, he has 11 goals and 16 assists (27 points).

Jaden Schwartz
Elliott is expected to start Saturday in San Jose.

Martin Brodeur started last night, so Elliott is expected to get the nod tonight in San Jose. He allowed three goals on 47 shots in a loss to the Predators in his return from a knee injury on Tuesday. He has been great this year going 8-5-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .931 SV%, but draws a rough toad matchup tonight.

Brian Elliott
Brodeur starts Friday vs. Anaheim.

Brodeur stopped all 16 shots that he fced in the Blues 3-0 shutout win over the Avalanche on Monday. He has stopped the last 26 shots that he has faced dating back to December 23rd when he came in in relief of Jake Allen. He is 3-2-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .904 entering play vs. a strong Ducks team.

Martin Brodeur
Bishop is expected to start on Friday vs. the Penguins.

Bishop allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Lightning’s win over the Maple Leafs on Monday. He was held out of Wednesday’s game to nurse a minor injury, but should be back in the cage tonight in Pittsburgh. Bishop enters play at 18-6-2 with a 2.29 GAA and .914 SV%.

Ben Bishop
Price will play his 400th career game on Friday.

Price stopped 28 of 29 shots in the Habs 3-1 win over the Hurricanes on Monday. He was given Tuesday night off, but will start tonight in New Jersey. Price was red-hot to end the 2014 calendar year, winning six of seven with a 1.29 GAA and .956 SV%. He is a must start tonight vs. the Devils.

Carey Price
Versteeg could be sidelined for “a bit” with an apparent hand injury.

The Hawks may have suffered a significant loss to their lineup when a shot from Eric Fehr hit forwardKris Versteeg in the left hand early in the third period. Versteeg left the game and did not return and afterward coach Joel Quenneville said, "He could be out for a bit, but we'll know more (Friday)." Versteeg is third on the Hawks in scoring with nine goals and 18 assists and has a team-best plus-14 rating.

Kris Versteeg
Quick leads the Kings onto the ice for warmups.

Quick gave up two goals on 21 shots in the Kings 3-2 shootout loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. That is a bad loss for Quick and the Kings, Edmonton had lost nine straight entering Tuesday and Quick now sits at 15-9-7 with a 2.28 GAA and .920 SV% through the first three months of the season.

Jonathan Quick
Miller leads the Canucks onto the ice for warmups.

Miller allowed one goal on 32 shots in the Canucks win over the Sharks on Tuesday. He has won three of four while posting a 1.48 GAA and .954 SV%. Miller was pulled after allowing four goals on 22 shots in his last start vs. the Kings, but he will get a chance to atone for that tonight.

Ryan Miller
Keith Aulie has been suspended for two games for his head check on Matt Stajan.

Aulie was given a match penalty and a game misconduct late in the first period of an eventual 4-3 overtime loss to the Flames on Wednesday in Calgary.The Oilers face the Avalanche on Friday and the Islanders on Sunday. The 25-year-old will be eligible to return against the Red Wings on January 6th.

Keith Aulie
The Maple Leafs have placed Joffrey Lupul (lower-body) on injured reserve.

Lupul suffered a lower-body injury in the Maple Leafs win over the Bruins on Wednesday night. There is no word on how long the Leafs expect Lupul to be out for, but he is no stranger to the IR to this point in his career. Expect a more detailed injury report to be released on Friday.

Joffrey Lupul
Quick was the first goalie off for the Kings.

Quick gave up two goals on 21 shots in the Kings 3-2 shootout loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. That is a bad loss for Quick and the Kings, Edmonton had lost nine straight entering Tuesday and Quick now sits at 15-9-7 with a 2.28 GAA and .920 SV% through the first three months of the season.

Jonathan Quick
Miller will likely start on Thursday.

Miller allowed one goal on 32 shots in the Canucks win over the Sharks on Tuesday. He has won three of four while posting a 1.48 GAA and .954 SV%. Miller was pulled after allowing four goals on 22 shots in his last start vs. the Kings, but it looks like he will get a chance to atone for that tonight.

Ryan Miller
Holtby will start the Winter Classic.

Holtby allowed four goals on 39 shots in the Capitals loss to the Islanders on Monday. He went 8-2-3 with a 2.13 GAA and .929 SV% in the month of December. There has been an average of 4.50 goals per game in the six Winter Classics, but with the Hawks and Caps going head-to-head, this has the makings of a high-scoring game.

Braden Holtby