NHL Hockey Player News

Pickard allowed one goal on 13 shots after replacing Semyon Varlamov in Colorado’s blowout loss to the Maple Leafs last night. Things won’t get any easier tonight against the Blackhawks in Chicago. Pickard is 4-2-0 with a2.78 GAA and .913 SV% on the road this season, but should be avoided tonight.

Smith allowed three goals on 21 shots in the Coyotes’ loss to the Oilers on Wednesday. Smith has lost three in a row while allowing three goals in each start and posting an .883 SV%. Tonight he will face the Maple Leafs for the second time in just over a week—he allowed just two goals on 46 shots a win in Toronto on December 15th.

Talbot allowed two goals on 36 shots in the Oilers’ win in Arizona on Wednesday. Talbot has won three consecutive starts while posting a 1.92 GAA and .938 SV%. The 29-year-old netminder has gone 9-3-4 with a 2.52 GAA and .917 SV% on the road this season and will be in tough vs. the Sharks tonight.

Jones allowed one goal on 21 shots in the Sharks’ win over the Flames on Tuesday. Jones has won four of his last five starts while posting a .919 SV%. Tonight he will take on the Oilers on home-ice, where he has played great this season. Jones is 9-4-0 with a 1.63 GAA and .933 SV% at the SAP Center.

Markstrom stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Canucks’s win over the Jets on Tuesday. Ryan Miller started and lost on Thursday, so Markstrom will be back in tonight in Calgary. The 26-year-old netminder has gone 2-5-1 with a 2.41 GAA and .916 SV% in seven starts and three relief appearances on the road this season.

Montoya stopped all five shots that he faced after replacing Carey Price in the Canadiens’ loss to the Sharks last Friday. Montoya is 2-3-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .887 SV% in seven starts on the road this season. Those numbers are a tad inflated by a 10-0 loss in Columbus back on November 4th. Tonight he gets a chance to redeem himself in Columbus, against a Blue Jackets team that has won 11 in a row.

Andersen stopped all 38 shots in the Maple Leafs’ shutout win in Colorado last night. It was Andersen’s 13th win and first shutout of the season and despite the back-to-back, he will go again tonight in Arizona. Andersen lost in a shootout in his first start vs. the Coyotes and has gone 4-3-4 with a 2.51 GAA and .926 SV% on the road this season.

White has picked up five points (2G / 3A) and 60 penalty minutes in 30 games this season. He will come out of the lineup and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Chychrun played just 11:09 in Wednesday’s game vs. the Oilers and will not play tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. The rookie defenseman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and should be ready to go after the Christmas break.

Pitlick was hurt Monday in St. Louis and will miss the rest of the regular season with a torn ACL. Pitlick scored eight goals in 31 games and showed he was a capable NHL player, but his struggles with injuries continue.

Elliott allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Flames’ win in Arizona on Monday. Elliott has had his struggles this season, but with Chad Johnson losing three in a row while allowing a combined 12 goals, Elliott will start for the second time in three games. The veteran is 1-5-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .891 SV% on the road this season.

Roussel missed Friday’s morning skate because of an undisclosed injury and is listed as doubtful for Friday’s game vs. the Kings. Roussel, who has 17 points (5G / 12A) in 34 games this season, will be replaced by Patrik Nemeth as the Stars go with seven defensemen.

Johns suffered an undisclosed injury in the Stars’ loss to the Blues on Tuesday. It looks like Johns will sit out for the final game before the Christmas break, which means with Jamie Oleksiak or Patrik Nemeth will get back into the lineup. a

Coreau allowed four goals on 36 shots in the Red Wings’ loss in Pittsburgh on December 3rd. Coreau has gone 11-6-0 with a 2.18 GAA and .924 SV% in 17 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) this season. With Jimmy Howard out, Coreau is back with the Red Wings and will start tonight in Florida. The Panthers come in having lost three of their last five.

Bjorkstrand has been a healthy scratch for the last five games, so he will swap places with Dalton Prout, who had reached the end of his conditioning stint. Bjorkstrand has picked up 10 goals and four assists (14 points) in 20 AHL games this season.

Prout had two assists in seven games with Cleveland during his conditioning stint. He returns to the Blue Jackets, where he will likely serve as an extra defenseman.

Andrighetto, 23, has two assists in eight games with the Canadiens this season and 22 points (8G / 14A) in 19 AHL contests. Andrighetto is not expected to be in the lineup on Friday though.