NHL Hockey Player News

Gregor has played every game since January 9th but will be a healthy scratch Monday afternoon. He has one assist, nine shots, and a whopping 14 hits in his last three games.

Tavares has missed two of the last three games, one with an illness and, most recently, an undisclosed injury, but will return to the lineup Monday afternoon. In his last outing, Tavares played 20:54 time-on-ice and recorded three shots on goal. The veteran forward is averaging an impressive 3.7 shots per game over his last 10.

Rifai has played the last two seasons with the Toronto Marlies and has 11 points (2G / 9A) in 34 games this season. He is expected to skate on the third defensive pair with Maxime Lajoie.

Samsonov had the night off the Saturday, a 9-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, and will return to the crease Monday afternoon against the St. Louis Blues. Samsonov is riding a three-game winning streak and saved 29 of 32 shots (.906 SV%) in his last outing, a 4-3 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Bobrovsky will return to the crease for the fifth time in the last six games for the Panthers on Tuesday night. The All-Star netminder is riding a six-game winning streak and has been sensational throughout, allowing two or fewer goals in each contest and posting a marvellous .946 SV%. The Panthers have a favourable matchup on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, whom Bobrovsky made a 20-save shutout against earlier this season.

Ekblad did not play in the Panthers' dominating 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday due to a lower-body injury but could return to the lineup on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. After a four-point night on January 19th, Ekblad has been held without a point in eight of his last nine games.

Jackson Lacombe will draw back into the lineup on Monday, sending Vaakanainen to the press box as a healthy scratch. Vaakanainen has nine points (1G / 8A), 48 shots, and 56 blocks in 46 games this season.

Lacombe has been out of the lineup the last two games but will draw back in on Monday in favour of Urho Vaakanainen. The 23-year-old Lacombe has nine points (1G / 8A), 44 shots, and 85 blocks in 48 games this season.

Forsberg will start for the second time in the last four games when the Senators visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Forsberg returned from a groin injury last week and played his first game in over a month, saving 37 of 40 shots (.925 SV%) in a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Senators enter action as +143 road underdogs against a Lighting squad coming off an embarrassing 9-2 loss to the Florida Panthers over the weekend.

Gibson will return to the Ducks' crease after an ugly relief appearance in their previous game in which he allowed five goals on 14 shots (.643 SV%) vs. Toronto. The 30-year-old is having a nearly identical season to his not-so-special 2022-23 campaign, as he has an 11-19-1 record, 3.07 GAA and a .899 SV%. He takes on Buffalo on the road Monday for a matinee showdown, who has won two of their last three games but are struggling to score as they are 21st in the NHL in goals per game (2.93).

Lauko recorded an assist but played only 8:16 time-on-ice after suffering an upper-body injury. Newly signed Justin Brazeau will make his NHL debut in Lauko's absence.

Brazeau is an undrafted 26-year-old who has made his mark with the Providence Bruins of the AHL over the past two seasons, earning himself a two-year, two-way contract on Monday morning. In 49 games with Providence this season, Brazeau has 37 points (18G / 19A).

With Nils Lundkvist experiencing concussion-like symptoms, Jani Hakanpaa suffering from an upper-body injury, and Miro Heiskanen away from the team for the birth of his child, the Dallas Stars have opted to recall defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from the Texas Stars. Petrovic has played 263 career NHL games, mainly with the Florida Panthers between the 2012-13 and 2018-19 seasons, but has played exclusively in the NHL since 2019-20. The 31-year-old Petrovic has 16 points (3G / 13A) in 44 games with Texas (AHL) this season.

With Nils Lundkvist experiencing concussion-like symptoms, Jani Hakanpaa suffering from an upper-body injury, and Miro Heiskanen away from the team for the birth of his child, the Dallas Stars have opted to recall defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from the Texas Stars. The 30-year-old Pouliot is no stranger to the NHL with 221 games under his belt but has spent the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign with Texas (AHL), tallying 31 points (8G / 23A) in 44 games.

Heiskanen did not travel with the Stars to Boston and remained in Dallas to be with his wife for the birth of his child. The Stars are also without Jani Hakanpaa (upper-body) and will see Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot make their season debuts. Thomas Harley will likely see the greatest boost in playing time and offensive deployment on Monday with Heiskanen out of the lineup.

Fehervary played only 1:36 time-on-ice on Saturday before exiting the game with a lower-body injury and will be out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis. The hard-hitting Slovak defenseman had 12 hits and one assist in his last four games.

Derrick Pouliot and Alex Petrovic were recalled from the Texas Stars (AHL) on Monday morning. They will be drawn into the lineup for a Stars team without Hakanpaa and Miro Heiskanen (personal). Hakanpaa suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday's contest against the Edmonton Oilers and played only 11:47 on the ice.

On the front end of a back-to-back, the Stars will turn to Oettinger for the fifth straight game. Oettinger saw his seven-game winning streak snap on Saturday when he allowed four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%) in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Before that contest, Oettinger was playing remarkably, allowing two or fewer goals in four straight (4-0-0) while posting a tremendous .944 SV%. That said, the Stars will be without Miro Heiskanen (personal) on Monday and are +121 road underdogs against the Boston Bruins.

DeSmith will start on Monday, his first appearance in five games. The 32-year-old DeSmith has been serviceable when called upon this season but is riding a three-game losing skid (0-0-3) and has allowed three or more goals in each contest while posting an ugly .876 SV%. The Canucks enter action as -125 road favourites against the Minnesota Wild.

As has been the case most of the season, the Bruins will continue to alternate goalies and turn to Swayman on Monday after Ullmark played on Saturday. Swayman has a sub-.900 SV% in two of his last three games (0-3-0), a rarity for the All-Star netminder. The Bruins are -134 home favourites against a Dallas Stars club without their number one defenceman Miro Heiskanen (personal).