NHL Hockey Player News

Vesalainen made his season debut vs. the Senators on January 23rd but was not in the lineup for the last three games. On Monday, he is expected to replace David Gustafsson in the Jets lineup and skate on the fourth line.

Anderson was sent home after the first period of Saturday's loss to the Flames because he was suffering from "flu-like symptoms." Anderson tested negative for COVID-19, so he is eligible to play tonight vs. the Canucks. He was on the ice for the morning skate and will skate in his usual spot with Nick Suzuki and Jonathan Drouin tonight.

Letang suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday and will not play Monday in New York. The Penguins' blueline continues to take hits, this blow bigger than the rest. With Letang out, John Marino is expected to be on PP1 and P-O Joseph on PP2.

DeSmith gave up four goals on 34 shots in the Penguins' win in New York on Saturday. DeSmith has won three straight starts despite allowing a combined 11 goals on 83 shots (.868 SV%). He'll be in tough on Monday with another matchup vs. the Rangers. New York's offence is starting to wake up, scoring 3.14 goals per game in their last seven games.

Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 38 shots in the Jets loss to the Canucks on Saturday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Hellebuyck, who is 4-2-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .910 SV% in his first six starts of the season. Winnipeg has struggled defensively early-on, leading to some un-Hellebuyck-like numbers so far. Tonight he faces a Calgary team that is .500 (3-3-1) and in the middle of the pack in goal-scoring (2.86 - 18th) through seven games.

Holtby stopped 36 of 37 shots in the Capitals' win over the Senators last Thursday. It was the first time all season that Holtby hasn't allowed at least three goals in a game and the matchup will get much tougher tonight in Montreal. The Canadiens have started the season 5-1-2 and lead the NHL in goals per game (4.13) so far.

Mete reportedly asked for a trade after sitting as a healthy scratch for the first eight games of the season. Mete will replace Brett Kulak and make his debut on the third pair with Alexander Romanov.

Mrazek was hurt early in Saturday's game and underwent an MRI on Sunday. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour said that Mrazek is going "be a little longer than we had hoped" and added that he may need to have surgery. With Mrazek out, the Hurricanes will turn to a goaltending duo of James Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic.

Vanecek allowed three goals on 43 shots in the Capitals' win over the Bruins on Saturday. Vanecek continues to stand tall in the face of a heavy workload, facing an average of 34.7 shots per game so far this season. With Ilya Samsonov still on the COVID-19 reserve list, Vanecek will make another start Monday vs. Boston. He's won three straight games while allowing eight goals on 107 shots (.925 SV%).

Halak allowed one goal on 17 shots in the Bruins win over the Penguins last Thursday. Halak is off to a terrific start this season, winning two of his three starts while posting a sparkling 1.30 gAA and .938 SV%. On Monday he will face a Washington team that has won three straight and continue to get more and more healthy.

Orlov was activated from the COVID-19 reserve list prior to Saturday's game but was held out. He will make his return to the lineup on Monday, skating on the third pairing with Nick Jensen.

Cernak has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury but said that he's good-to-go following the morning skate. Cernak has one assist and a plus-4 rating in four games this season.

Coyle was banged up on Saturday and missed Sunday's practice but head coach Bruce Cassidy expects him to be available for Monday's rematch. Coyle has two goals and two assists (four points) in eight games this season.

Price allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Canadiens' win over the Flames last Thursday. Jake Allen gave him the night off on Saturday, so it's no surprise that Price will start the front-end of Montreal's back-to-back on Monday. The Habs have been one of the most impressive teams in the NHL so far and Price comes in having won two straight while stopping 46 of the last 50 shots (.920 SV%) that he's faced.

Dumba missed Sunday's rematch vs. the Avalanche and was placed on IR on Monday. Dumba is expected to miss an extended period of time, so this move frees up a roster spot for the Wild to recall some reinforcements from the taxi squad.

Anderson was removed from Saturday's game for precautionary reasons due to "flu-like symptoms."Anderson has reportedly tested negative for COVID-19 so that's not a concern and he could play Monday vs. the Canucks if he's feeling better.

Johnson has not been in the lineup for the last two games and was absent from practice on Sunday. The Rangers called him day-to-day and Tony DeAngelo was placed on waivers, so look for Anthony Bitetto to be in the lineup on Monday.

Blackwell played just 2:53 in the Rangers game vs. the Penguins on Saturday and will miss 7-10 days with an upper-body injury. With Blackwell coming out of the lineup on Monday, look for Julien Gauthier to draw back in.

Stephens has been out since January 23rd with a lower-body injury and is expected to be out until early-April. With Stephens out, Alexander Volkov is expected to remain a regular in the Lightning lineup.