NHL Hockey Player News

Eller was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but he skated as an extra, which suggests that he will not play tomorrow vs. the Ducks.

Grabner is eligible to return to the lineup on Saturday vs. the Lightning, but he has not skated since being injured, so do not expect him to play. His placement on IR and Griffin Reinhart’s return to the AHL opens up roster spots for Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic to come off of IR for Friday’s game.

Elliott has been a light participant in a number of practices for the better part of two weeks. There has been no details on how Elliott’s injured knee is progressing or when he is expected to return to the crease. The Blues have went 7-2-0 without Elliott, so there is no rush to get him back between the pipes at this time.

According to head coach Jack Capuano, Hamonic is “coming along” and there is a “good chance” that he will play on Friday in Detroit. Hamonic has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury.

According to head coach Jack Capuano, Boychuk is “coming along” and there is a “good chance” that he will play on Friday in Detroit. Boychuk has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury.

Etem, 22, has been recalled and will be in the lineup on Thursday. He will be filling in for Kyle Palmieri, who suffered a shoulder injury on Tuesday and will miss the next two games. Etem has four points (2G / 2A) in 21 games with the Ducks this season. In a short time with Norfolk, he collected three goals in five games.

Palmieri suffered a shoulder injury in the Ducks loss to the Maple Leafs last night. He has been sent back to Anaheim and will miss the remaining two games of the Ducks current road trip. Emerson Etem has been recalled and will skate in Palmieri’s spot on the second line.

Grigorenko was a minus-1 in 16:42 in his season debut on Tuesday. The Sabres are off until Saturday, so there is a good chance that Torrey Mitchell will be ready to return to the lineup. If not, expect Grigorenko to be recalled again.

Elias has missed the last five games with a groin injury, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Senators. Elias will skate on the second line with Travis Zajac and Martin Havlat. He has 11 points (3G / 9A) in 26 games this season.

Schneider allowed four goals on 33 shots in the Devils’ loss to the Stars on Saturday. He was surprisingly given Monday night off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. the Senators. Schneider is 2-4-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .921 SV% through the first half of December.

Larsson has missed the last seven games with the mumps virus, but he is on the ice this morning. Despite taking part in the morning skate, Larsson is skating on the fourth pair so he is not expected to be in the lineup tonight vs. the Senators.

Reinhart had one assist and a plus-2 rating in five games during his recall. His return to the AHL suggests that either Johnny Boychuk or Travis Hamonic will be ready to go on Friday in Detroit.

Gormley has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since November 16th. He heads back to the AHL to get back up to speed, but could be back with the Coyotes in the near future. He had one goal in six games before getting hurt.

Darling was great during his call-up. He started four straight games, going 3-1-0 with a 1.97 GAA and .939 SV%. Antti Raanta started the last two and Corey Crawford is on the verge of returning to the lineup, so Darling heads back to the AHL for the time being.

Head coach Mike Yeo is expected to address the media at 6 PM ET, so we should find out who his starter is then.

Darcy Kuemper was the scheduled starter last night, but Backstrom ended up getting the start because Kuemper came down with an illness. Backstrom allowed four goals on 38 shots in the loss and likely won’t start on Wednesday like originally expected. John Curry was reportedly pulled off of the ice with a 4-1 lead last night, so it looks like he will be on his way to Minnesota for tonight’s game. We will know at 6 PM ET.

Kuemper was scheduled to start last night vs. Chicago, but ended up serving as the backup because he was sick. Michael Russo from the Minnesota Star Tribune said that Kuemper looks like he got “hit by a bus” so he must not be doing very well. He is not expected to be available on Wednesday vs. Boston.

Quick allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Kings shootout loss to the Maple Leafs on Monday. Quick has lost three of his last four starts with a 2.23 GAA and .908 SV%. Quick will make his second start of the year vs. St. Louis. In their first meeting, Quick was excellent he posted a 43-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout win.

Rask stopped 29 of 31 shot attempts in the Bruins shootout loss to the Senators on Saturday afternoon. Rask has dropped four of his last five starts with a 3.37 GAA and .887 SV%. Tonight he draws a tough matchup in Nashville, but the goaltending matchup between Rask vs. Rinne should be excellent.

Gudas will miss his third consecutive game with a stomach virus. He is considered day-to-day.