NHL Hockey Player News

Hughes did not travel to Buffalo for Monday's game and isn't ready to play Tuesday back in New Jersey. This is the third straight game that Hughes has missed but the Devils reiterated that he is day-to-day and could be back for their next game.

Blackwood allowed two goals on 17 shots after replacing Louis Domingue in last night's blowout loss in Buffalo. On the tail-end of a back-to-back, Blackwood will make his 18th start of the season. The 22-year-old has gone 3-4-3 with a 2.74 GAA and .895 SV% on home-ice this season so it'd be wise to avoid him with the Golden Knights in town.

Petan filled in for Jason Spezza on the tail-end of the Maple Leafs' weekend back-to-back. However, the 36-year-old centre will be back in the lineup in Philadelphia, sending Petan back to the luxury box.

Spezza was a healthy scratch on Saturday but will replace Nic Petan in the lineup in Philadelphia. Spezza has elevated the Maple Leafs' third line in recent action, posting two goals four assists (six points) in his last six games.

Reimer allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Hurricanes win in Tampa Bay on Saturday night. All of a sudden, Reimer has won three consecutive games while stopping 87 of the 92 shots (.946 SV%) that he has faced. I don't care how good he's been as of late, you don't start Reimer in Boston. They have not lost in regulation in that building this season, so hard pass.

Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Lightning's loss in Washington last Friday. Vasilevskiy was 4-4-1 with a 2.92 GAA and .902 SV% in nine starts in November, not exactly what you paid for when you drafted him as the first goalie this fall. A road matchup vs. Nashville is far from an ideal setup but it's hard to bench your horses, so start him and hope things start to turn.

Subban stopped 29 of 30 shots in the Golden Knights win in New York last night. With Marc-Andre Fleury still away from the team, Subban will start on back-to-back nights instead of Garret Sparks getting the nod. He's played very well recently, winning three in a row while stopping 95 of 100 shots (.950 SV%). The Devils are playing horribly and just fired their coach, so it's a solid matchup but an inexperienced goalie starting on back-to-back nights is frightening.

Greiss stopped all nine shots that he faced before leaving Saturday's win over the Blue Jackets with dizziness. Greiss was able to backup Semyon Varlamov last night, so it looks like he'll be good-to-go tonight in Montreal. He was 6-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA and .932 SV% in November and gets ready to take on a Montreal team that is on an eight-game losing streak (0-5-3) while scoring 2.50 goals per game.

Backstrom has resumed skating with the team but will miss his sixth consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Washington is in Los Angeles tomorrow, so this should leave him questionable for the second half of the back-to-back.

Brown was a healthy scratch in Calgary on Saturday but will replace J.C. Beaudin in the lineup in Vancouver. Brown has one goal and five assists (six points) in 12 games with the Senators.

Roussel missed the first 28 games of the season but is set to play Tuesday vs. the Senators. Roussel, who had one assist in two games with Utica (AHL) during his conditioning stint, will skate on the Canucks' third line with Adam Gaudette and Nikolay Goldobin.

Virtanen missed the Canucks morning skate because he isn't feeling well and will be a game-time decision vs. the Senators. Even if Virtanen can't play, Antoine Roussel will make his season debut so they won't be left entirely shorthanded.

Demko gave up seven goals on 39 shots in the Canucks loss in Pittsburgh last Wednesday. It was a wild game and it ended up being Demko's worst outing of the season. After playing fantastic in October, Demko had a tough time in November, going 2-3-1 with a 3.73 GAA and .886 SV%. Despite losing three straight starts, Demko has some spot-start appeal with the Senators in town.

Killorn missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury but will be a game-time decision on Tuesday. Killorn was on the ice for Monday's practice and Tuesday's optional morning skate but his status remains uncertain. Cory Conacher was called-up from Syracuse (AHL) in case Killorn can't play.

Jones allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Sharks win in Arizona on Saturday. Jones is riding a four-game winning streak while posting a 1.72 GAA and .942 SV%. He was outstanding in November, leading all netminders in wins (10) even though he was 26th in GAA (2.62) and 40th in SV% (.902). Tonight he faces a Washington team that has won three in a row while scoring 13 goals (4.33 GF/gm).

Suomela missed Saturday's game in Arizona due to an upper-body injury that he suffered on Friday. Suomela was not on the ice for practice on Monday and he does not have a timetable for his return.

Hornqvist took a tumble in Monday's practice and will miss an extended period of time with a lower-body injury. The Penguins can't catch a break on the injury front and Hornqvist's injury likely led to the signing of Stefan Noesen on Monday.