NHL Hockey Player News

Heinen has yet to record a point in four games with the Bruins this season and tonight he will come out of the lineup and Ryan Spooner will be back in.

Spooner was a healthy scratch on Thursday, but he will play tonight vs. the Canadiens. Spooner is expected to skate on the Bruins’ second line with David Krejci and David Backes. Danton Heinen will sit to make room for Spooner.

Khudobin allowed four goals on 24 shots in the Bruins’ loss in Toronto last Saturday. He started that night because Tuukka Rask was banged up and that will be the case again tonight. Montreal has won three of their first four games and they’re always a tough team to beat when Carey Price is in goal.

Lehtonen allowed four goals on 39 shots in the Stars’ loss to the Kings on Thursday, but it was a good enough outing for them to go back to him for a third straight game. Lehtonen is 1-2-0 with a 2.36 GAA and .925 SV% so far this season and draws a favourable home matchup against a Blue Jackets team that played last night.

Mason allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Flyers loss to the Ducks on Thursday. Mason has yet to record a win in two starts and one relief appearance this season, while posting a 3.47 GAA and .875 SV% in the process. He draws a fairly tough matchup tonight against a Carolina team who is surprisingly averaging 3.25 goals per game to kick off this season.

Schneider allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Devils loss in Boston on Thursday. Despite posting a strong 2.00 GAA and .938 SV%, Schneider is 1-2-1 in his first four starts of the season. It looks like he will face the Wild tonight—Minnesota comes in having won three in a row while outscoring their opponents 13-8.

Rask is dealing with some general soreness and is considered day-to-day. With Rask not available tonight, Anton Khudobin is expected to get the start and Zane McIntyre has been recalled to serve as his backup.

Jokinen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that he suffered on Thursday. With Jokinen out, the Panthers have recalled Kyle Rau from Springfield (AHL) and he will replace Jokinen on the second line.

Holtby allowed two goals on 28 shots in the Capitals win in Florida on Thursday. Holtby has been great to start the season, going 2-0-1 while only allowing a combined five goals on 80 shots (.938 SV%). Holtby was 3-2-0 with a 3.48 GAA and .876 SV% in five starts against the Rangers last year. Tonight he will go head-to-head with Henrik Lundqvist.

Khudobin allowed four goals on 24 shots in the Bruins’ loss in Toronto last Saturday. He started that night because Tuukka Rask was banged up and that will be the case again tonight. Montreal has won three of their first four games and they’re always a tough team to beat when Carey Price is in goal.

Luongo allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Panthers’ loss to the Capitals on Thursday. It was Luongo’s first loss of the year, but he still maintains a strong 1.98 GAA and .920 SV% through three starts. Tonight he faces an Avalanche team that is off to a 3-1-0 start while averaging and impressive 3.50 goals per game and that includes getting shutout on Tuesday.

Howard stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Red Wings’ 2-1 win over the Rangers on Wednesday. Howard was brilliant in his first start of the season, stealing one from the Rangers in New York. With Petr Mrazek starting yesterday, Howard will face the Sharks tonight in his second start of the week. San Jose comes in at 3-2-0 while averaging 2.80 goals for per game.

Pulock left Friday’s game with a lower-body injury after playing just 3:57 TOI in his season debut. Pulock was given a great opportunity with Nick Leddy out, but the injury forced him from the game and will force him to miss at least one month.

van Riemsdyk was set to face-off against his brother James tonight vs. the Maple Leafs, but he was spotted wearing a sling this morning after leaving last night’s game. Sporting a sling usually suggests a fairly serious injury and it will almost certainly keep him out of tonight’s contest.

Smith, 22, was a fourth round pick (104th overall) in 2012 and it looks like he will make his NHL debut on Saturday. The Stars are dealing with injuries to Patrick Sharp and Patrick Eaves, so it looks like Smith will draw in on the fourth line. He had 26 points (13G / 13A) in 65 games with Texas (AHL) last year and one goal in three games to start this season.

Howard stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Red Wings’ 2-1 win over the Rangers on Wednesday. Howard was brilliant in his first start of the season, stealing one from the Rangers in New York. With Petr Mrazek starting yesterday, it looks like Howard will face the Sharks tonight in his second start of the week. San Jose comes in at 3-2-0 while averaging 2.80 goals for per game.

Rau, 23, was a third round pick in 2011 (91st overall), but has only appeared in nine career NHL games (all last year). Rau has no points in two games with Springfield so far this season, but it looks like he will replace Jussi Jokinen in the Panthers’ lineup on Saturday.

McIntyre, 24, is 1-0-0 with a 0.44 GAA and .977 SV% in three games with Providence (AHL) so far this season. He has been recalled presumably to backup Anton Khudobin on Saturday because Tuukka Rask, who missed Friday’s practice, is dealing with a minor injury.

Schneider allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Devils loss in Boston on Thursday. Despite posting a strong 2.00 GAA and .938 SV%, Schneider is 1-2-1 in his first four starts of the season. It looks like he will face the Wild tonight—Minnesota comes in having won three in a row while outscoring their opponents 13-8.