NHL Hockey Player News

Connauton is a little banged up and is not expected to play Friday vs. the Devils. Connauton will be replaced by Alex Goligoski, who returns after a one-game absence with an illness.

Goligoski was a late scratch due to an illness vs. the Oilers on Wednesday but is expected to play on Friday. Goligoski, who has 14 points (2G / 12A) in 34 games this season, is expected to replace Kevin Connauton.

Grubauer was pulled after allowed four goals on 14 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Sharks on Wednesday. Grubauer has lost four straight games while allowing a combined 12 goals on 101 shots (.881 SV%). As bad as he and the Avalanche have been as of late, he has a nice matchup against a Rangers team that is 6-10-2 on the road.

Neuvirth has a long list of injuries throughout his career so this comes as little surprise to Flyers fans. Neuvirth has only appeared in six games since returning from his most recent injury. The Flyers claimed Mike McKenna off of waivers from the Canucks to join Carter Hart as the Flyers 1-2 punch in net for the time being.

Backes has finished serving his three-game suspension and is set to return to the Bruins lineup vs. the Sabres. Backes brings very little offence to the table at this point in his career, having picked up just 10 points (3G / 7A) in 33 games this season.

Rask allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Bruins win in Chicago in the Winter Classic. Rask has won two straight while stopping 62 of 66 shots (.939 SV%). Tonight he will take on the Sabres for the third time this season—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.46 GAA and .907 SV% in the first two meetings.

The Canucks traded Anders Nilsson to the Senators for Mike McKenna and waived McKenna with the purpose of sending him to the AHL to replace Demko when they called him up. Despite losing McKenna on waivers to Philadelphia, Demko still comes up as the Canucks’ No.2 netminder. The 2014 second-round pick has gone 8-5-0 wit a 2.58 GAA and .911 SV% in 16 games with the Comets this season.

Rinne allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Predators win in Washington on Monday. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for Rinne, who finished December at 5-6-0 with a 2.86 GAA and .897 SV%. Rinne is under .500 on the road this season but is a great start against a Red Wings team that has lost six in a row and 10 of their last 11 (1-7-3).

Benn was forced to leave Wednesday’s game vs. New Jersey with an upper-body injury that he suffered after being hit by Miles Wood. Benn was on the ice this morning and wanted to play but the coaching/training staff want him to recover more thoroughly. Valeri Nichushkin will move to the Stars’ top-line with Benn out.

Khudobin stopped all 49 shots that he faced in the Stars shutout win in Nashville on December 27th. It was an outstanding performance from the Stars’ backup, who is tied for 12th in the NHL in SV% (.920) in 18 appearances. Tonight he faces a red-hot Capitals team but they come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back after a bad loss in St. Louis.

McKenna was acquired from the Senators earlier this week before being placed on waivers in order to send him to Utica (AHL). However, the Flyers goaltending situation has been a disaster this season so McKenna could allow them to return Carter Hart to Lehigh Valley (AHL) to get some playing time. The 35-year-old veteran has a 3.58 GAA and .892 SV% in 34 career NHL games.

Hutchinson surrendered four goals on 34 shots in the Maple Leafs loss to the Wild on Thursday afternoon. Hutchinson was a busy man in his Maple Leafs debut but draws a better matchup tonight with the Canucks in town. Vancouver will be without Elias Pettersson and come in at 11-11-3 on the road this season.

Nilsson was acquired from Vancouver on Wednesday and will make his first start with Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. Nilsson started the year at 3-0-0 but has gone 0-8-1 with a 3.57 GAA and .879 SV% in his nine starts since. A move to Ottawa might earn Nilsson more starts but he’s in a worse position. The Senators give up the third most Scoring Chances Against/60 in the NHL.

Riikola has been in the lineup for the last six games but will be replaced by Jamie Oleksiak on Friday. Riikola had one goal on 11 shots in those six games.

Oleksiak missed three games with a concussion and was a healthy scratch for the last three games but will replace Juuso Riikola on Friday. Oleksiak has 11 points (4G / 7A) in 32 games this season.

Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 24 shots in the Jets win in Edmonton on Monday. The loss snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Hellebuyck, who finished December at 7-4-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .916 SV%—his best month of the season so far. In his first start against the Penguins, Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 30 shots in a 4-3 loss (Nov.27).

Copley allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Capitals win in Ottawa last Saturday. Copley is riding a five-game winning streak, having posted an impressive 1.97 GAA, .936 SV% and one shutout over that stretch. Tonight he faces a Stars team that has won four of their last six (4-1-1) but will be without Jamie Benn.

Khudobin stopped all 49 shots that he faced in the Stars shutout win in Nashville on December 27th. It was an outstanding performance from the Stars’ backup, who is tied for 12th in the NHL in SV% (.920) in 18 appearances. Tonight he faces a red-hot Capitals team but they come in on the tail-end of a back-to-back after a bad loss in St. Louis.

Pageau has missed the first 41 games of the season but will return much earlier than expected. Pageau’s original timetable was late-February/early-March but will play Sunday vs. the Hurricanes. Pageau, who has 29 points (14G / 15A) in 78 games last year, will centre the third line with Zack Smith and Mikkel Boedker on his wings.

Sparks missed Thursday’s game in concussion protocol and the Maple Leafs confirmed that he suffered a concussion and is out indefinitely. The Maple Leafs will likely stick with Michael Hutchinson until Frederik Andersen is ready to return.