NHL Hockey Player News

Bitetto has been in the lineup for the last two games because Dan Hamhuis is on IR, but Bitetto will come out so Matt Irwin can make his season debut. Bitetto has one assist in four games this season.

Irwin will make his season debut tonight, replacing Anthony Bitetto on the third pairing. The 30-year-old had just eight points (2G / 6A) in 50 games last season.

Clutterbuck will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury, so Tom Kuhnhackl will remain on the Islanders fourth line.

Athanasiou was originally listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game in Columbus, but was ruled out after the morning skate. With Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen both out, Thomas Vanek and Jacob De La Rose will move into the Red Wings’ top-6.

Anderson made his NHL debut on Saturday because Marcus Johansson was out with an illness, but with Johansson back he will sit tonight in Tampa Bay.

Johansson missed Saturday’s game vs. the Panthers but will draw back in tonight in Tampa Bay. Johansson, who will skate on a line with Pavel Zacha and Jean-Sebastian Dea, has just one goal and one assist in seven games this season.

Juulsen will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury, despite skating on Monday and expecting to play tonight. Karl Alzner will remain in the Canadiens lineup with Juulsen sidelined.

Orpik was not on the ice for Tuesday’s practice, making him questionable for Thursday’s game in Montreal. Christian Djoos skated on the Capitals third pair with Orpik out.

Talbot allowed a single goal on 32 shots in the Oilers 2-1 overtime win in Chicago on Sunday. Talbot has won two straight while stopping 62 of 64 shots (.969 SV%). He draws a strong matchup against a Wild team on the tail-end of a back-to-back. Talbot enters Tuesday at 2-1-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .909 SV% on home-ice.

Lehner allowed one goal on 23 shots in the Islanders 6-1 win in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Lehner, who comes into Tuesday’s game at 3-2-1 with a 2.39 GAA, .929 SV% and one shutout in his first six starts with the Islanders.

Krug has missed the first 11 games of the season but will play tonight in Carolina. Krug will replace Matt Grzelcyk on the second pairing and top power-play unit.

Howard stopped 38 of 40 shots in the Red Wings 2-1 loss to the Jets on Friday. Despite going 1-3-0 in his last four starts, Howard has been impressive by posting a 2.26 GAA and .938 SV%. Tonight he faces the Blue Jackets for the first time since opening night, when he allowed three goals on 39 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss.

Rittich allowed three goals on 15 shots after replacing Mike Smith in the Flames 9-1 loss to the Penguins last Thursday. Rittich will make his fourth start of the season tonight—he is 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .946 SV% in his first three starts (all on the road).

Price stopped all 33 shots that he faced in the Canadiens shutout win in Boston on Saturday. It was an outstanding outing for Price, who has now won two in a row and three of the last four while posting a 1.98 GAA and .930 SV%. Tonight the Canadiens will host a Stars team that is 0-3-0 on the road this season.

Saros surrendered four goals on 34 shots in the Predators 5-3 loss to the Oilers on Saturday afternoon. Saros has been average this season, going 5-2-0 with a 2.73 GAA and .912 SV%. Pekka Rinne was in the starter’s crease this morning, but Saros was the first goalie off, suggesting that Saros will make his fifth straight start.

Radulov has missed the last four games, but will play Tuesday in Montreal. The Stars are expected to break-up their dominant first line, but Radulov is still expected to skate with Tyler Seguin. The Russian winger has 10 points (4G / 6A) in six games this season and the duo of Seguin and Radulov is averaging 35 scoring chances for/60.

Brassard will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Brassard had been skating on the top line with Sidney Crosby, so with him out again Dominik Simon will get a shot in that spot. Brassard is day-to-day.

Letang left Monday’s practice with what was described as a nagging lower-body injury. Letang did not take part in Tuesday’s optional morning skate and is officially listed as a game-time decision. If Letang can’t play, look for Juuso Riikola to draw back into the lineup.

Bishop allowed two goals on 22 shots in the Stars loss in Detroit on Sunday. The loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Bishop, who heads to Montreal with an 0-2-0 record, 3.15 GAA and .867 SV% in two starts on the road this season.