NHL Hockey Player News

Varlamov allowed one goal on 22 shots in the Islanders win over the Red Wings on Friday. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for Varlamov, who will make his 35th start tonight vs. the Sharks. In his first start against the Sharks, Varlamov stopped 24 of 26 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss (Nov.23).

McDavid missed the last six games with a quad injury but will play tonight in Los Angeles. McDavid is expected to start with Sam Gagner and Alex Chiasson on his wings and returns to the lineup with 17 points (8G / 9A) in his last 12 games.

Jones allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Sharks loss in New Jersey on Thursday. With Aaron Dell going last night, Jones will start tonight against the Islanders. Jones has struggled for most of the season but has played well recently, stopping 62 of the last 64 shots (.969 SV%) that he's faced. Jones is 4-10-2 with a 3.19 GAA and .896 SV% on the road this year.

Bellows had two goals and one assist in seven games with the Islanders earlier in the season. The former first-round pick has picked up 24 points (16G / 8A) in 45 AHL games.

Ladd played 11:25 TOI vs. the Red Wings on Friday but heads back to the AHL ahead of Sunday's game vs. the Sharks. Kieffer Bellows was recalled from Bridgeport to take his spot on the roster.

Khudobin allowed one goal on 10 shots after replacing Ben Bishop in the Stars loss to the Blues on Friday. Khudobin has played very well in February, going 3-0-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .923 SV% in five appearances (four starts). Today he'll look to stay hot vs. the Blackhawks, who he is 1-1-0 with a 1.45 GAA and .961 SV% against this season.

Korpisalo has been out since December 29th but comes back up after a one-game conditioning stint. Korpisalo, who was red-hot before he got hurt, stopped 32 of 34 shots in a winning effort in his game with Cleveland. Elvis Merzlikins has had a more difficult time recently, so Korpisalo should get a decent workload upon his return.

Johansson allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Sabres loss to the Ducks on February 9th. Carter Hutton started the last five games, including yesterday, so Johansson will start today vs. the Jets. Johansson has gone 0-1-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .889 SV% in his first three career NHL games (two starts) and will face a Winnipeg team that is 6-3-0 with 3.67 goals per game in their last nine games.

Seeler played 12:23 TOI vs. the Predators on Friday but will be replaced by Lucas Carlsson in the lineup on Sunday afternoon. Seeler has just one assist in three games since joining the Blackhawks.

Carlsson was recalled with Erik Gustafsson staying back in Chicago with a trade looming. Carlsson has posted 59 points (14G / 45A) in 117 AHL games over the last two seasons and will replace Nick Seeler to make his debut on Sunday.

With Cody Eakin set to make his Jets debut, Shaw will sit out in Buffalo. Shaw has picked up just one assist in his last nine games.

Crawford stopped 42 of 43 shots in the Blackhawks win over the Predators on Friday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Crawford, who comes into Sunday's game at 5-7-3 with a 2.87 GAA and .917 SV% on the road this season. As for the Stars, they've gone 6-4-0 with just 2.80 goals per game in their last 10 home games.

Hellebuyck surrendered four goals on 30 shots in the Jets loss in Philadelphia yesterday. Despite the disappointing result, the Jets will stick with Hellebuyck this afternoon in Buffalo. The Sabres have won three in a row on home ice while scoring 4.00 goals per game and Hellebuyck comes in at 12-8-2 with a 2.80 GAA and .919 SV% on the road.

Rittich was pulled after he allowed four goals on 15 shots in the Flames 8-4 loss to the Blackhawks on February 15th. Cam Talbot ended up starting the last two games but Rittich gets a chance to get back on track with a nice matchup in Detroit. He's lost his last two while giving up a combined eight goals but stopped 27 of 28 shots in a winning effort in his first start vs. the Red Wings.

Melchiori has been with the Binghamton Devils (AHL) throughout the season but signs an NHL deal that takes him through the rest of the season. During his time with Binghamton, Melchiori has five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 54 games. He has two assists in 30 career NHL games, all with the Winnipeg Jets.

Bozak was not on the ice for the Blues morning skate and is expected to miss his second straight game on Sunday. Oskar Sundqvist is expected to remain in Bozak's spot on the third line.