NHL Hockey Player News

Kuemper stopped 45 of 46 shots in the Coyotes 2-1 win over the Predators on Thursday. It was a much different performance than the one we saw in Detroit, when he was pulled. Kuemper has lost four of his last six starts (2-3-1) while posting a 3.52 GAA and .899 SV%. He is too inconsistent to trust every night, but tonight he gets a Bruins team on a back-to-back.

Spooner signed a two-year deal with the Rangers this offseason, that carries a $4.0M cap-hit. The Rangers will be retaining $900K. Spooner has terrible possession numbers, posting a 39.4 CorsiFor% and -7.1 CF% rel and has picked up just two points (1G / 1A) in 16 games this season. Spooner will likely slide into the Oilers bottom-6, where Strome was.

Strome signed a two-year contract that carries a $3.1M AAV cap-hit. Strome has significantly better possession numbers than Spooner, posting a 53.5 CorsiFor% and +3.2 CF% rel with the Oilers this season. However, Strome has had a really difficult time producing offence, picking up just two points (1G / 1A) in 18 games this season.

Hertl missed Thursday’s game vs. the Maple Leafs and is not expected to play on Saturday. When head coach Pete DeBoer was asked about Hertl’s status for Saturday’s game, he said “probably not.”

Steen missed the Blues morning skate and will not play Friday in Vegas. Steen is day-to-day, so he will be replaced by Brayden Schenn.

Despite being placed on IR on Thursday, Schenn will play tonight in Vegas. Schenn’s move to IR was retroactive to November 3rd, so he is eligible to be activated before tonight’s game. Schenn is expected to skate on a line with Tyler Bozak and Robby Fabbri and returns to the lineup with nine points (3G / 6A) in 12 games this season.

Rittich stopped all 21 shots that he faced in the Flames shutout win in Los Angeles last Saturday. Rittich has been way better than Mike Smith this season and could finally be handed the job as the Flames’ No.1 netminder. He comes in on a three-game winning streak, stopping 61 of the last 65 shots (.939 SV%) that he has faced.

Vasilevskiy was placed on IR on Thursday and sent to Tampa Bay to be re-evaluated. The original report of a fractured foot was confirmed and the Lightning’s No.1 netminder will miss at least one month. Louis Domingue is expected to take on a heavy workload until at least mid-December.

Allen allowed one goal on 19 shots in the Blues loss in Chicago on Wednesday. It was a solid outing for Allen, who was on the verge of losing his starting job last week. He will make his second straight start tonight in Vegas, who he stopped 31 shots against in a win on November 1st.

The Ducks were originally listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but have narrowed it down to back spasms and placed him on IR retroactive to November 9th.

Kinkaid stopped all 29 shots that he faced in the Devils shutout win in Philadelphia on Thursday. Kinkaid has played well in his last two outings, going 2-0-0 while stopping 58 of 60 shots (.967 SV%). The 29-year-old has gone 6-1-1 with a 1.99 GAA and .933 SV% on home-ice this season.

Koskinen allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Oilers win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. Koskinen continues to outplay Cam Talbot this season and comes into the weekend at 4-1-0 with a 2.52 GAA, .918 SV% and one shutout in five starts and one relief appearance. He has been worse on the road, but the Flames are just 4-3-1 on home-ice.

Fleury stopped all 29 shots that he faced in the Golden Knights win over the Ducks on Wednesday. Fleury has alternated wins and losses in his first six starts in November, going 3-3-0 with a 2.54 GAA, .910 SV% and two shutouts. One of those losses came against the Blues, who he’ll face again tonight—he allowed five goals on 26 shots in a 5-3 loss on November 1st.

Anderson allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Senators win over the Red Wings on Thursday. Anderson has won two in a row and three of his last four while posting a 3.36 GAA and .906 SV%. He’ll be in tough against a Penguins team that is struggling, but still tied for seventh in goals-per-game (3.29) through 17 games.

Brassard has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury, buts on the ice on Friday and declared himself a game-time decision. Brassard’s return would be welcomed, as Sidney Crosby is questionable with an upper-body injury. Brassard had five points (1G / 4A) in eight games before getting hurt.

Vatanen was forced to leave Thursday’s game in Philadelphia with a lower-body injury but has not been ruled out for Saturday’s game. Because of the early start, expect an update from the Devils a few hours before the 1:00pm puck-drop.