NHL Hockey Player News

Murray allowed four goals on 25 shots in the Penguins win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday. Since returning to the Penguins crease, Murray is 3-0-0 with a 3.33 GAA and .900 SV%. The 23-year-old has not been nearly as good on the road as he has on home ice. Luckily for him he catches the Stars on the tail-end of a back-to-back, but they’ve been one of the best home teams in the NHL this season.

Quick allowed five goals on 36 shots in the Kings loss in Nashville on February 1st. Quick has allowed a combined 10 goals in his last two starts and has lost seven of his last eight starts while posting a 3.84 GAA and .874 SV%. The 32-year-old will look to get back on track tonight in Florida—he is 11-10-0 with a 2.66 GAA and .916 SV% on the road this season.

Greiss gave up five goals on 50 shots in the Islanders loss in Toronto on January 31st. He has not seen a lot of playing time recently, but is expected to get the nod tonight after Jaroslav Halak started in Buffalo yesterday. In his last six starts, Greiss has gone 2-4-0 while allowing at least four goals in five of those six games—during that stretch he has a 4.50 GAA and .878 SV% while facing an average of 36.8 shots per game.

Holtby allowed two goals on 39 shots in the Capitals win in Columbus on Tuesday. Holtby has won three of his last four starts while posting a 3.43 GAA and .904 SV%. He hasn’t been great, but he’s done enough to get the W’s. Tonight he faces the Blue Jackets for the third time this season—he has gone 2-0-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .932 SV% in the first two meetings of the season.

Smith allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Flames win in Chicago on Tuesday. David Rittich started last night, giving Smith an extra day of rest prior to tonight’s game in New York. Smith ended a five-game winning streak by winning his last two starts with a 2.48 GAA and .922 SV%. Even with the back-to-back, he is a must-start against a Rangers team that is in complete free-fall mode—they’ve lost four in a row and seven of their last eight.

Gibson took part in full practice on Thursday but the Ducks were very tight lipped about whether or not he will be available for Friday’s contest. “I can’t really talk about it,” Gibson told reporters and head coach Randy Carlyle rarely divulges any goaltender information. Monitor his status during Friday’s morning skate, but it looks like Ryan Miller might make a fifth straight start.

Smith has been a healthy scratch for the last three games, but will be back in the lineup vs. the Penguins. Smith has four goals and five assists in 31 games this season. There’s no word on who will come out in favour of Smith, but head coach Ken Hitchcock said Smith will play.

Dickinson has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but will be back in the lineup vs. the Penguins. Dickinson has not registered a point in 12 games with the Stars. There’s no word on who will come out in favour of Dickinson, but head coach Ken Hitchcock said Dickinson will play.

Heatherington has been a healthy scratch for the last five games but head coach Ken Hitchcock said that he will be back in tonight, on the second game of a back-to-back. Julius Honka left yesterday’s game with an upper-body injury, so it seems highly unlikely that he will play tonight. Regardless of who comes out, Heatherington will be back in. He has no points in four games with the Stars.

Honka played just 6:06 TOI before leaving last night’s game in Chicago with an upper-body injury. Honka did not return to the game and is questionable for Friday’s game vs. the Penguins. Head coach Ken Hitchcock already said that Dillon Heatherington will play tonight, so it seems highly unlikely that Honka will play.

Lehtonen stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Stars win over the Wild on Saturday. Lehtonen has won four straight games while posting a really impressive 1.24 GAA and .954 SV%. Ken Hitchcock’s coaching style has served Lehtonen very well. During four seasons under Lindy Ruff, Lehtonen had a 2.73 GAA and .908 SV% in 232 games and in his first 17 games with Hitchcock behind the bench he sits with a 2.22 GAA and .919 SV%.

Comrie, 22, has gone 15-8-2 with a 2.54 GAA and .921 SV% in 25 games with Manitoba this season. With both Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson out with concussions, Comrie comes up to serve as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup. The second round pick has allowed nine goals on 74 shots (.878 SV%) in two career NHL games.

Hutchinson was recalled because Steve Mason is out with a concussion and now he is dealing with a concussion of his own. Hutchinson was hit by a shot during practice and will miss an unknown amount of time. Eric Comrie has been recalled to serve as the Jets’ No.2