NHL Hockey Player News

Polak has played in 10 straight games but will be replaced by Taylor Fedun tonight.

Fedun has been a healthy scratch for the last three games but will replace Roman Polak in the lineup on Friday. Fedun hasn’t played a lot this season but has played at a 34-point pace, scoring two goals with seven assists (nine points) in his 22 games.

Dowling has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but will replace Alexander Radulov, who is out with a lower-body injury. Dowling will start on the top-line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and comes in with five points (3G / 2A) in 22 games this season.

Radulov has appeared in all but one game this season (missed as a healthy scratch) but will not play tonight in Florida. With their top-line right-winger out with a lower-body injury, Tyler Seguin will shift to the wing and Justin Dowling will play centre.

Bishop allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Stars loss to the Oilers on Monday. Bishop has lost two straight but he's only allowed more than two goals in one of his last eight games--he is 4-2-2 with a 1.74 GAA, .945 SV% and one shutout over that span. He is also 3-3-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .912 SV% on the road this year.

Boyle missed Monday's game against the Senators but will be a game-time decision tonight vs. the Stars. Boyle has scored four goals and four assists (eight points) in 24 games since being signed by the Panthers.

Kuemper went down without contact and was forced to leave late in Thursday's loss to the Wild and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks. This is a huge blow for the Coyotes but Antti Raanta is a more than capable starter who will carry the water for the Coyotes moving forward. Don't expect to see Kuemper until early-January at the absolute earliest.

Bobrovsky stopped 29 of 30 shots in the Panthers win over the Senators on Monday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Bobrovsky, who has been so good in his last six starts--going 3-3-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .953 SV%. Tonight he faces a Stars team that has gone 8-7-2 while scoring 2.59 goals per game on the road this year.

Howard has been out since November 27th with a groin injury but has recently joined Grand Rapids (AHL) on a conditioning stint. He will make one more start with the Griffins on Friday and is expected to re-join the team and start Sunday vs. Arizona. The 35-year-old has gone 1-7-0 with a 3.41 GAA and .904 SV% on home-ice this season.

Larsson was forced to leave Thursday's game in Philadelphia in the second period and did not return. The Sabres did not have much of an update on Larsson on Friday but head coach Ralph Krueger said that he will miss the final two games before the Christmas break.

The Canucks did not have an update on Leivo's status postgame but head coach Travis Green said that he doesn't think "it's going to be great though." Zack MacEwen was called up on Friday, suggesting that Leivo will miss Saturday's game at the very least.

MacEwen has one goal and one assist in eight games with the Canucks this season. MacEwen was called up because Josh Leivo was hurt on Thursday night, so look for him to draw into the lineup Saturday vs. the Penguins.

Jarry stopped 33 of 34 shots in the Penguins win in Calgary on Tuesday. His brilliant run continued, as he's now 5-1-0 with a 1.31 GAA, .955 SV% and three shutouts in his last six outings. Tonight he sees an Oilers team that has lost five of their last six (1-4-1) while averaging just 2.33 goals per game.

Rodrigues was not on the ice for Friday's practice and is officially day-to-day with a lower-body ailment. With Rodrigues, Jack Eichel and Johan Larsson all dealing with injuries, the Sabres may need to recall a forward for Saturday.

Eichel was a late scratch on Thursday but was on the ice for Friday's practice. Eichel remains day-to-day and is questionable to play Saturday but the good news is that it clearly isn't a serious injury for the red-hot forward.

It looked Moore was going to play Tuesday but suffered a setback and will miss his 15th straight game on Friday. With Moore out, Dmytro Timashov will remain in Toronto's lineup for at least one more game.

Di Pauli was originally a fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2012 but signed with the Penguins in 2016 and has appeared in 127 AHL games since. The 25-year-old forward has four goals and five assists (nine points) inn 19 AHL games this season.

Czuczman is in his third year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has one goal and seven assists (eight points) in 21 games. He has not played in the NHL since 2013-14 when he had two assists in 13 games. He'll be the Penguins' seventh defenseman with Justin Schultz out week-to-week.

Smith allowed six goals on 26 shots in the Oilers 6-5 loss to Minnesota on December 12th. It has been a struggle for Smith recently, as he's gone 0-2-1 with a 4.63 GAA and .838 SV% in his last four appearances (three starts). Tonight he faces a red-hot Penguins team that has won six of their last seven (6-1-0) while scoring 3.00 goals per game.