NHL Hockey Player News

Varlamov made an absurd 57 saves on 60 shots in Colorado’s win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. It was an extremely impressive outing for Varlamov, who has been volatile so far this season. Tonight he faces a Flyers team that has lost four of their last six (2-3-1) while averaging just 2.50 goals per game.

Grimaldi has been in the lineup for the last two games after being called up from the AHL but will not play Saturday because of an illness. With Grimaldi out, the Avalanche are expected to go with 11 forwards and seventh defensemen.

Zadorov has sat out as a healthy scratch for the last three games, but will return to the lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Zadorov comes into play having scored one goal and one assist in eight games.

McCann has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury, but will play tonight vs. the Rangers. McCann will centre the third line with Jamie McGinn and Nick Bjugstad on his wings.

Dubnyk surrendered three goals on 31 shots in the Wild’s win over the Canadiens on Thursday. Dubnyk extended his winning streak to three having allowed eight goals on 94 shots (.915 SV%). Tonight he will take on a Blackhawks team that has lost five of their last seven games.

Holtby allowed three goals on 38 shots in the Capitals win over the Islanders on Thursday. Holtby has won three of his last four starts despite posting a 3.63 GAA and .905 SV%. The 28-year-old comes into Saturday’s game in Boston at 4-1-0 with a 3.42 GAA and .896 SV% in five road starts this season.

Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Lightning’s overtime loss to the Rangers on Thursday. The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for Vasilevskiy, who will make his 13th start of the season tonight vs. the Blue Jackets. Columbus comes into Saturday having won four of their last five contests.

Brickley has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but will play tonight against the Rangers. Brickley has had a really nice start to the season, collecting two goals and five assists (seven points) in eight contests. He will skate on the Panthers’ second line with Vincent Trocheck and Radim Vrbata, making him an interesting daily fantasy play.

Sceviour has missed the last five contests with an upper-body injury, but will return tonight vs. the Rangers. In six games this season, Sceviour has scored one goal with one assist. He will skate on the fourth line with Derek MacKenzie and Michael Haley tonight—limiting his fantasy value.

Hellebuyck allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Jets win over the Stars on Thursday. Hellebuyck extended his wining streak to three, allowing just four goals on 84 shots (.952 SV%). Hellebuyck has been one of the pleasant surprises to start 2017-18 and will make his fourth straight start tonight against a Montreal team that comes in at 4-8-1.

Allen stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Blues’ shutout loss to the Flyers on Thursday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Allen, who has allowed just six goals on 112 shots (.946 SV%) in his last four starts. Tonight he faces a Toronto team that has lost four of their last five games.

Neuvirth stopped all 33 shots that he faced in the Flyers’ shutout win in St. Louis on Thursday. Despite having a depleted blueline in front of him, Neuvirth stood tall and recorded his first shutout of the season. Tonight he faces a Colorado team that has won three of their last four while averaging 4.00 goals for per game.

Bieksa has missed the last four games with a hand injury, but will draw back into the lineup tonight vs. the Predators. Bieksa, who has recorded two assists in seven games so far this season, will replace Jaycob Megna tonight and is expected to skate with Sami Vatanen.

Gibson allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Ducks loss to the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. With the loss, Gibson moves to 3-3-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .927 SV% on home ice this season. Tonight he will look to win his sixth game of the season against a Predators team that hasn’t scored as much as they’d have liked to so far.

Ritchie will miss his seconds straight game with an upper-body injury that he suffered din Vancouver on Monday. The soonest that Ritchie can return is Monday vs. the Jets. The power forward has not performed as the Stars had hoped he would, collecting just two points (1G / 1A) in 12 games this season.

Hanzal will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury that he suffered last Friday in Calagary. Hanzal has had a tough start to his Stars career and his next chance to play will be Monday vs. the Jets.

Forsling will miss his his second straight game with an upper-body injury that he suffered last Saturday in Colorado. With Forsling out, Cody Franson and Connor Murphy will both remain in the lineup.

Atkinson will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury that he suffered in St. Louis last Saturday. The injury is not believed to be serious, so he should be available for Tuesday’s game against Nashville.

Johansson left Wednesday’s game after crashing face-first into the board in Vancouver. He will be held out for a suspected concussion and is questionable for Sunday’s game in Calgary.