NHL Hockey Player News

Tatar missed Monday's practice with an illness, but he is back on the ice for the this morning's gameday skate, so he should be good to go tonight vs. the Blue Jackets.

Franzen missed Monday’s practice and is not on the ice this morning, which puts his status for tonight’s game in jeopardy. Expect an update from coach Mike Babcock following the morning skate. If he can not go, Daniel Cleary will remain in the lineup.

Bernier allowed one goal on 28 shots in the Leafs 4-1 win over the Red Wings on Saturday. He has won his last three starts with a 1.34 GAA and .963 SV%. Bernier has been red-hot as of late, winning seven of his last nine outings entering play tonight. Tonight he will take on a Ducks team who have won seven in a row.

Mason stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Flyers 5-1 blowout of the Hurricanes on Saturday. Mason is off to a 2-1-2 start to December—he has posted a 2.17 GAA and .926 SV% over that span. Tonight he draws a tough matchup with the Lightning in town, but he catches a break with Ben Bishop sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Nordstrom, 22, registered two assists in 10 games with the Blackhawks this season. In 17 games with Rockford he had eight goals and five assists (13 points). The trading of Jeremy Morin moves Nordstrom up one-spot on the depth chart.

Weber is expected to be out until after Christmas after having his knee scoped last week. They placed him on IR to make room to recall Mikhail Grigorenko from Rochester.

Grigorenko, 20, has recorded seven goals and 12 assists (19 points) in 27 games with Rochester this season. He has struggled to find his way in his first two attempts to stick with the Sabres, recording just eight points (3G / 5A) in 43 games. The 2012 first rounder (12th overall) will look to impress during his recall so he doesn’t go back to the minors.

Ben Bishop suffered a lower-body injury in Monday’s loss to the Penguins, so Vasilevskiy, 20, has been recalled and is expected to back-up Evgeni Nabokov tonight. Vasilevskiy was the 19th overall pick in 2012 and he has gone 8-3-3 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV% with Syracuse—this is his first season in North America.

Nabokov allowed three goals 21 shots in relief of Ben Bishop, who was injured in the first period last night’s game. Nabby is expected to start tonight with Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to be his backup. Nabokov has a 2.99 GAA and .893 SV% in eight games this season. He will take on a Flyers team who are finally getting it together;having won three of their last four.

Bishop finished the first period, but told coach Cooper that he could not go back in for the second. Bishop stopped four of five shots in the first, before being replaced by Evgeni Nabokov for the second. The Lightning are back in action tonight, so it is unlikely that Bishop will be ready to go, so look for Nabokov to start in goal.

Gorges took part in the Sabres' morning skate and said that he would give it a go tonight. Gorges is not on the ice for warmups, so he will not play vs. the Senators. He will be replaced by Tyson Strachan.

Lecavalier has not been in the lineup in two weeks. He last suited up on November 29th vs. the Rangers and will be a scratch for the seventh consecutive game tomorrow. "It's not just because it's Tampa," Lecavalier said after Monday's practice. "I just want to play. I said pretty much everything last week. There's nothing to say. Practice hard and be ready mentally if I get a chance to play."

Gibson was with the team today, but did not practice with them. He went onto the ice after and took shots for the first time since suffering the groin injury. He is still a ways away from being ready, but with the addition of Ilya Bryzgalov, he is expected to go to the AHL anyways.

Fleury stopped 26 of 27 shots in the Penguins win over the Flames on Friday. He was given Saturday night off, but will be back in goal tonight vs. the Lightning. It is a meeting between the second and third best offences in the league, so this one could be a high-scoring affair.

Trouba missed practice on Monday, but is expected to be in the lineup tomorrow. The Jets already have a ton of holes on the blue line because of injuries, so missing Trouba would be a huge loss. He has two goals and six assists in his last nine games.

DeKeyser has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury that he suffered last Wednesday. With DeKeyser expected to be back in, either Brian Lashoff or Xavier Ouellet will come out of the lineup. DeKeyser has 11 points (1G / 10A) in 29 games this season.

Abdelkader has missed the last seven games, but head coach Mike Babcock expects to have Abby back in the lineup tomorrow against Columbus. Abdelkader has 15 points (7G / 8A) and a plus-6 rating in 24 games this season.

LaBarbera’s run with the Ducks is over now that Ilya Bryzgalov is ready to resume his NHL career. The only way LaBarbera will be back is if either Bryz or Frederik Andersen gets injured and the Ducks elect to recall LaBarbera instead of John Gibson (when healthy).

Tyutin was a full participant in the Blue Jackets’ practice on Monday and could be back on the blue line tomorrow vs. the Red Wings. Tyutin has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since November 14th. If Tyutin returns, expect Kevin Connauton to take a seat.

Semin will miss his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. The Hurricanes have recalled Justin Shugg and he will serve as their 12th forward on Tuesday.