NHL Hockey Player News

Vrbata is set to miss his third straight game tonight vs. Chicago and was moved to IR this afternoon in order to activate Derek MacKenzie.

MacKenzie has missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury but is expected to replace Chase Balisy in the lineup tonight. MacKenzie has four assists in 16 games this season.

Bernier allowed two goals on 27 shots in Colorado’s shootout loss in Minnesota on Friday. With Semyon Varlamov still sick, Bernier will draw another start tonight vs. Calgary. Bernier is 2-0-1 with a 1.61 GAA, .937 SV% and one shutout in his previous three outings.

The veteran picked up one assist in 12 games with the Kings this season, but will head back to the AHL, where he collected nine points (1G / 8A) in 27 games with the Toronto Marlies last season.

Daley was injured in Friday’s overtime loss in New York and will undergo an MRI later today. Daley will be replaced by David Booth, who will draw in as a 12th forward, making Xavier Ouellet their sixth defenseman.

Paajarvi was nicked up when he blocked a shot against Nashville on Friday night. Samuel Blais was recalled this week and will take Paajarvi’s spot in the lineup tonight vs. Minnesota.

Blais was recently called up after he collected 13 points (5G / 8A) in 11 games with San Antonio (AHL). Tonight he will replace Magnus Paajarvi and is expected to skate on the Blues’ third line. Blais has one assist in four NHL games this season.

Dubnyk surrendered four goals on 34 shots in the Wild’s win in Buffalo on Wednesday. Alex Stalock gave him the night off on Friday, meaning Dubnyk starts tonight in St. Louis. Dubnyk enters Saturday as the winner of five of his last six starts, posting a 2.00 GAA, .938 SV% and three shutouts in the process.

Seidenberg picked up an assist in last night’s game in Philadelphia, but will come out on the tail-end of a back-to-back tonight in Ottawa. Thomas Hickey will take his spot on the Islanders blueline.

Hickey has been a healthy scratch in the last two games, but will draw back in for Dennis Seidenberg tonight in Ottawa. HIckey has just three assists on the year, but has added 19 shots, 19 blocks and 16 hits in 16 games this season.

Quine has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but will replace Anthony Beauvillier in the lineup tonight in Ottawa. Quine has one assist in four games this season.

Beauvillier has appeared in the last five consecutive games, but will be replaced by Alan Quine in the lineup tonight. Beauvillier has had a sluggish first quarter of the season, registering two goals and three assists in 18 games this season.

Marchand has yet to be cleared to play, so he will miss his sixth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. The Bruins have played week without Marchand, going 4-1-0 in those five contests.

Rask allowed four goals on 27 shots in the Bruins’ loss in Anaheim on November 15th. Rask has struggled mightily this season, leading to Anton Khudobin starting the last four games, but Rask will get an opportunity to earn more starts with a good outing tonight. Rask has gone 3-3-1 with a 2.56 GAA and .904 SV% on home ice so far this season.

Carrick has been a mainstay on the Maple Leafs blueline for the majority of the season but will be replaced by Roman Polak as the Maple Leafs go with a heavy lineup against the Capitals.

Polak has been out of the lineup since November 2nd, but will replace Connor Carrick tonight vs. the Capitals. The Maple Leafs are putting an emphasis on a heavy lineup tonight, so the big 6-foot-1, 235 lbs. defenseman will play his sixth game of the season.

McElhinney allowed one goal on 39 shots in the Maple Leafs’ win in Boston on November 11th. McElhinney was much better in his third start than he was in his first two and now comes into Saturday at 2-1-0 with a 3.05 GAA and .910 SV%. Tonight he faces a Washington team that uncharacteristically rank 20th in the NHL in scoring (2.83 GF/PG) so far this season.

Halak allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Islanders loss in Carolina last Sunday. Halak has lost his last three starts in ugly fashion, allowing a combined 13 goals on 93 shots (.860 SV%). He will look to get back on track tonight in Ottawa—that will be tough than it sounds because he is 2-5-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .890 SV% on the road.

Leivo drew into the Maple Leafs lineup last night, recording one goal on three shots in 10:02 TOI. Despite scoring his first goal of the season, Matt Martin will draw in for the winger.

Martin was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last night in Carolina, but will draw back into the lineup tonight vs. Washington. Martin, who has just seven points (1G / 6A) in 22 games this season and will replace Josh Leivo tonight.