NHL Hockey Player News

Jones was a surprise scratch on Friday with the team not announcing his absence prior to warmups.

Howden will return to the lineup on Friday after missing one game with an illness. Howden has 16 goals and six assists in 47 games this season. Alexander Holtz will sit in his place.

Holtz is the odd-man out on Friday as Brett Howden is set to return from an illness. Holtz has three goals and seven assists in 46 games this season.

Zamula was a surprise scratch on Friday with the team not announcing his absence prior to warmups. Erik Johnson will draw into the lineup in his place.

Johnson will make his first appearance since November 20th filling in for the injured Egor Zamula (upper-body). Johnson has one goal and one assist in 15 games this season.

Hill will get the nod between the pipes for the tail-end of the Golden Knights back-to-back on Friday. Hill didn't enjoy his best performance his last time out, allowing four goals on 28 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Blues. The 28-year-old netminder owns an 18-8-3 record and a .901 SV% on the season. Hill and the Golden Knights enter action in Dallas on Friday at +125 on the money line.

Despite essentially sharing the Islanders' net with Marcus Hogberg the last month, Ilya Sorokin will return to the crease in hopes of his fourth win in his previous five starts. The 29-year-old Russian netminder has struggled more often than not this season, as shown by his 14-14-4 record, 2.81 GAA and .902 SV%. He hosts the surging Philadelphia Flyers, who have won five of their last seven games.

Johansson will get the nod in the front-end of Tampa Bay's back-to-back when they travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Friday. Johansson struggled his last time out, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Monday. The Lightning backup owns a 5-4-1 record and an .899 SV% on the season. He's got a great chance of getting back in the win column on Friday as the Lightning enter action at -225 on the money line.

Fedotov has only played once in the last two weeks but will return to the crease for the Flyers on the tail end of a back-to-back. The 28-year-old Fedotov saved 26 of 28 shots (.929 SV%) in his most recent outing. He has a 3.29 GAA and .879 SV% in 13 appearances this season (4-5-3). The Flyers enter Friday's contest as +130 road underdogs against the New York Islanders.

McLeod has missed the previous three games due to an undisclosed injury but will return to the lineup on Saturday against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers. The 25-year-old McLeod is averaging 15:35 time-on-ice and has 24 points (10G / 14A) in 45 games this season.

Ekblad has not played since January 8th, missing seven straight games, but returned to practice on Friday. The 28-year-old Ekblad is averaging 23:32 time-on-ice, his highest total in four seasons, recording 20 points (2G / 18A), 55 blocks, and 59 hits in 41 games this season.

Zucker had a strong performance in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken, tallying two points (1G / 1A), but has missed the last two games due to an illness. The 33-year-old Zucker has only topped 48 points once in his career, a 67-point campaign (33G / 31A) in the 2017-18 season as a member of the Minnesota Wild, but is well on pace to do so this season. He has 35 points (16G / 19A) in 46 games.

Dobson exited Monday's 3-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets after 15:38 time-on-ice due to a lower-body injury. The talented 25-year-old defenseman will be sidelined week-to-week but fortunately will not require surgery to address the injury. The Islanders's offense, which ranks third-worst in the league with only 124 goals through 46 games, will greatly miss the services of Dobson's 24 points (6G / 18A) from the blue line. The Islanders signed Tony DeAngelo on Friday as a potential replacement on the top powerplay unit.

Jeremy Swayman was battling an undisclosed ailment that prevented his from suiting up on Thursday, resulting in Boston recalling DiPietro from Providence (AHL) to serve as Joonas Korpisalo's backup in their 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. The 25-year-old DiPietro has been outstanding in the AHL this season, posting a 1.95 GAA and .930 SV% in 22 games (14-5-3) with Providence.

Brown played his second game with Boston this season in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators but has been reassigned to Providence (AHL). The 32-year-old has 25 points (9G / 16A) in 37 games with Providence this season.

Stephenson exited Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals after only 10:15 due to an upper-body injury. He skated on his own at practice on Friday and is a game-time decision ahead of Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 30-year-old Stephenson is averaging 19:35 time-on-ice and has 33 points (8G / 25A) in 48 games this season.

Evans played 20:53 time-on-ice in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals, showing no signs of an injury, but was absent from practice on Friday due to an undisclosed ailment. The 23-year-old Evans is averaging 20:04 time-on-ice, recording an impressive 21 points (5G / 16A) from the blue line in 47 games this season.

McCann showed no signs of an injury in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals, but was absent from practice on Friday due to an undisclosed ailment. The 28-year-old McCann is averaging a career-high 17:38 time-on-ice, recording 36 points (14G / 22A) and a +7 plus/minus in 49 games this season.

Rust was limited to 11:41 time-on-ice before exiting Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury. An update on Rust's status should be provided before the Penguins return to action on Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. The 32-year-old Rust has been producing at a tremendous rate, with 30 points (14G / 16A) in his last 27 contests.

DeAngelo started the 2024-25 season with St. Petersburgh SKA (KHL), scoring 32 points (6G / 26A) in 34 games before being released from his contract. The 29-year-old has 210 points (48G / 162A) in 371 career NHL games. His contract is worth a league-minimum, one-year, $775,000. With Noah Dobson (lower body) out week-to-week, DeAngelo could potentially find himself on New York's top powerplay unit.