NHL Hockey Player News

Koekkoek has appeared in five straight games but will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday with the recently recalled Adam Boqvist taking his spot.

Boqvist will appear in his seventh NHL game of the season in Vegas. The rookie defenseman has one goal on 10 shots while playing 14:27 ATOI in his first six games. He will replace Slater Koekkoek in the lineup.

Crawford stopped 29 of 30 shots in the Blackhawks' win in New Jersey last Friday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Crawford, who come into Tuesday's game at 2-2-2 with a 3.00 GAA and .913 SV% on the road this year. In his first start against Vegas, Crawford allowed three goals on 42 shots in a 5-3 win in mid-November.

Benn missed Monday's practice with an illness but will be in the lineup vs. the Maple Leafs. With Alexander Edler out, Benn has played big minutes on the Canucks blueline and comes in with an assist in three straight games.

Sutter was on the ice for Monday's practice but will miss his 12th consecutive game on Tuesday. Sutter's return appears extremely close, so look for him to play Thursday vs. the Hurricanes.

Merrill has played in seven straight games but will be replaced by Nick Holden on Tuesday. This is probably a case of getting Holden a game rather than a knock on Merrill's recent play. He will likely draw back in soon.

Holden has been a healthy scratch for the last six games but will replace Jon Merrill on Tuesday night. Holden has two goals, three assists and a minus-6 rating in 23 games this season.

Luff was a healthy scratch on Saturday but will replace Nikolai Prokhorkin on Tuesday. Luff has appeared in seven total games with the Kings this season, registering two assist and 10 shots in 10:16 ATOI.

Prokhorkin has been in the lineup for five straight games but will be replaced by Matt Luff vs. the Rangers. Prokhorkin played well in those five games, scoring two goals with two assists but will get a game in the press box.

Barber was called up from Laval (AHL) over the weekend and is leading the team with 18 points (6G / 12A) through 21 games. Barber is no stranger to posting high-end AHL numbers but has only appeared in three NHL games since being picked No.167 overall in 2012.

Lundqvist allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Rangers loss in Vegas on December 2nd. Alexandar Georgiev has been superb in his last three starts but Lundqvist will get a start tonight in Los Angeles. He is 1-3-1 with a 3.81 GAA and .892 SV% on the road this season and gets set to face a Kings team that has lost four straight.

Fleury will start for the first time since November 23rd. He was away from the team due to a personal reason but then sat as Malcolm Subban's backup for a few games as he got back up to speed. Fleury has gone 6-5-2 with a 3.01 GAA, .903 SV% and one shutout on home-ice this season and is 1-1-0 with a 2.91 GAA and .897 SV% in two games vs. Chicago.

Markstrom allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Canucks loss to the Oilers on December 1st. Thatcher Demko started the last two games but Markstrom will get back in the crease on Tuesday. He has gone 2-3-2 with a 2.81 GAA and .905 SV% on home-ice this year, but draws a tough matchup with the Maple Leafs in town--Toronto has won five of eight while scoring 3.38 goals per game since Mike Babcock was fired.

Gauthier was called up on Monday and will play in his third NHL game of the season. The 22-year-old power-forward has scored 10 goals with two assists (12 points) in 22 AHL games this season and will skate on the fourth line with Jordan Martinook and Brock McGinn in Edmonton.

Necas has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury but will draw back into the lineup in Edmonton. Necas, who has 16 points (6G / 10A) in 26 games this season, will skate on the third line with Ryan Dzingel and Lucas Wallmark.

Quick allowed two goals on 20 shots in the Kings win in Edmonton on Friday. Quick has lost five of his last six starts while posting a 2.52 GAA and .885 SV%. The Kings give up the least shots against per game but it hasn't done much to help quick this season. New York comes in having won six of their last nine (6-2-1) while scoring 3.11 goals per game.

Reimer gave up two goals on 34 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Boston last Tuesday. Petr Mrazek has started the last two games but it looks as if Reimer will start Tuesday in Edmonton. Reimer is 3-1-0 with a 1.75 GAA, .944 SV% and one shutout in his last four starts and gets set to face an Oilers team that has lost four of their last five home games.

Daley has been out since November 2nd but will play Tuesday in Winnipeg. In order for Daley to return to the lineup, the Red Wings had to waive Madison Bowey on Monday. Daley has no points in 11 games this season.

Abdelkader missed the last 12 games with a hand injury but will play Tuesday in Winnipeg. Abdelkader has been relegated to a fourth-line role at this point in his career and has just three assists in 16 games this season.

Zykov was sent to Chicago after serving his 20 game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL Performance Enhancing Substances Program. The 24-year-old had four points (1G / 3A) in five AHL games and returns to the NHL, where he had two assists in seven games before getting suspended.