NHL Hockey Player News

Schneider allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Devils’ loss to Columbus on Sunday. Keith Kinkaid started on Tuesday, but is dealing with an injury, so Schneider will be in the cage tonight in Colorado. Schneider has lost six starts in a row while posting a 2.83 GAA and .907 SV%. Despite his recent struggles, he has an excellent matchup against the NHL’s worst team tonight.

Jones allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Sharks’ loss in Minnesota on Sunday. Jones has lost three of his last five starts (2-1-2) while allowing 12 goals on 134 shots (.910 SV%). Tonight he will make his 54th start of the season and second vs. the NHL’s top team—he posted a 24-save shutout in his first start vs. Washington.

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.

Dumba is battling an illness and will not play tonight in Tampa Bay. With Dumba out, Gustav Olofsson will be in the lineup for his second straight game. Dumba is also questionable for tomorrow’s game in Florida.

Grabner was on the ice for the Rangers’ morning skate, but will miss his fifth straight game with a hip injury. He is nearing a return to the lineup, but it won’t come until Sunday in Detroit at the earliest.

Neuvirth surrendered four goals on 29 shots in the Flyers’ loss in Pittsburgh on February 25th. Steve Mason has started the last four games and has played very well, but Neuvirth will start against a Maple Leafs team he has had success against. Neuvirth beat the Maple Leafs earlier this season and is 9-4-1 against them in his career.

Dubnyk allowed two goals on 20 shots in the Wild’s 2-1 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday. The Wild had a tough time solving Jake Allen at the other end and it led to Dubnyk’s third loss in six outings. Over that span he has a 2.36 GAA and .923 SV%, so if the Wild offence picks back up the wins will start pouring in again. Dubnyk comes into Thursday with an impressive 15-5-3 record on the road this year.

Bozak did not hit the ice this morning, but head coach Mike Babcock said he expects his centre to be in the lineup tonight. If Bozak can’t play, Eric Fehr will make his Maple Leafs’ debut and Brian Boyle will move up the lineup.

Halverson, 20, was a second round pick (No.59 overall) in 2014 and turned pro this season after spending three years with Sault Ste. Marie (OHL). Halverson has gone 9-14-0 with a 3.40 GAA and .886 SV% in 24 games with Hartford (AHL) and 3-1-0 with a 1.70 GAA and .943 SV% in four games with the Swamp Rabbits. He will serve as Antti Raanta’s backup with Henrik Lundqvist (lower-body) day-to-day.

Nash is battling an upper-body injury, but there is no word when he suffered the injury. With Nash out and Michael Grabner still not ready to play, Matt Puempel will draw into the lineup on Thursday. Nash is day-to-day, so monitor his status leading up to Sunday’s game in Detroit.

Lundqvist tweaked something in the Rangers’ win in Florida on Tuesday. Lundqvist finished the game with 43 saves, but won’t be available for tonight’s game in Carolina. He is listed as day-to-day, so monitor his status leading up to Sunday’s game in Detroit.

Raanta stopped all 38 shots that he faced in the Rangers’ shutout win in overtime on Monday. Henrik Lundqvist has started five of the last six games, but he is out with a lower-body injury, so Raanta will start tonight in Carolina. Raanta is on a three-game winning streak while posting a 1.63 GAA, .954 SV% and one shutout. He has also gone 9-1-0 on the road this season.

Enstrom was crushed from behind by Penguins’ tough guy Tom Sestito and was brought to hospital to get “checked for facial fractures” according to head coach Paul Maurice. Enstrom will likely miss Saturday’s game vs. the Flames.

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.

Ward allowed three goals on 21 shots in the Hurricanes’ loss to the Coyotes last Friday. Eddie Lack started the last two games, but it looks like Ward will start tonight vs. the Rangers. Ward is riding a six-game losing streak while posting a 3.21 GAA and .883 SV%. The veteran is also 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .902 SV% against the Rangers this season.

Andersen gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Maple Leafs’ win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Andersen, who will make his 54th start tonight. Andersen has gone 3-2-3 with a 2.48 GAA and .919 SV% in his last eight home starts. He stopped 30 of 33 shots in a 6-3 win in his first start against the Flyers.

Zykov, 21, was a second round pick of the Kings (No. 37 overall) in 2013 and it looks like he could make his NHL debut on Thursday. Zykov has recorded 15 goals and 15 assists (30 points) in 55 games with the Checkers this season. He is expected to play on the Hurricanes’ top line with Jordan Staal and Sebastien Aho.

Hjalmarsson has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, but will play Thursday vs. the Ducks. Hjalmarsson skated with newcomer Johnny Oduya in practice and is expected to be his partner in Oduya’s Blackhawks re-debut. Hjalmarsson has five goals and nine assists (14 points) in 60 games this season.

Crawford surrendered three goals on 35 shots in the Blackhawks win in Nashville last Saturday. Crawford has won four straight games while posting a 2.46 GAA and .926 SV%. The 32-year-old netminder has been great on home ice, going 13-5-3 with a 2.23 GAA and .928 SV% at the United Center this season. He also made 34 saves in a 3-2 win in Anaheim in his first start vs. the Ducks.