NHL Hockey Player News

Budaj allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Lightning’s win in Los Angeles on November 9th. With Andrei Vasilevskiy being a workhorse all season Budaj hasn’t played much but it looks like he’ll get his fourth start tonight in Pittsburgh. This is normally not the best building for a spot-start, but the Penguins offence has been lacklustre so far this season.

Holtby allowed two goals on 31 shots in the Capitals win over the Senators on Wednesday. With Philipp Grubauer starting last night, Holtby will go tonight in Toronto. The 28-year-old has gone 7-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .922 SV% in November. In his first start against Toronto this season, Holtby stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 2-0 loss

Jarry allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Penguins loss in Nashville on November 11th. With Matt Murray going last night, Jarry is given the unenviable task of facing the highest scoring team in hockey tonight. In his first two starts of the season, Jarry allowed six goals on 62 shots (.903 SV%).

Anderson allowed four goals on 31 shots in the Senators loss in Columbus last night. The Senators normally split their goalies in a back-to-back situation but Anderson reportedly asked to start again tonight vs. the Islanders. He is riding a personal four-game losing streak, having allowed a combined 12 goals on 109 shots (.890 SV%).

Lehner allowed one goal on 30 shots in the Sabres win over the Oilers last night. Despite starting twice in the last three days, Lehner will go again tonight in Montreal. In his first start against the Canadiens, Lehner allowed two goals on 40 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss.

Crawford surrendered three goals on 38 shots in the Blackhawks’ overtime loss in Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Crawford has lost four of his last six starts while posting a 3.22 GAA and .907 SV%. Tonight he will look to get a win over the Panthers in Florida—Crawford is 4-3-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .930 SV% on the road.

Mrazek gave up two goals on nine shots after replacing Jimmy Howard in the Red Wings’ loss to Edmonton Wednesday. With Howie going last night, Mrazek gets the nod tonight vs. New Jersey. The 25-year-old has barely played this season, going 2-3-1 with a 3.10 GAA and .905 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances.

Rittich is a 25-year-old goaltender that came over from the Czech Republic last year and started 31 games for Stockton (AHL). In six starts with the Heat this season, Rittich has gone 5-1-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .931 SV%, leading to him replacing the struggling Eddie Lack as Mike Smith’s backup. Rittich will make his first NHL start tonight and it will come against an Avalanche team that is averaging 3.33 goals per for.

Karlsson has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but could return tonight vs. the Jets. Karlsson is listed as a game-time decision so monitor his status when the Sharks take the ice for pregame warmups.

Jones was pulled after he allowed three goals on 14 shots in the Sharks OT loss in Vegas last night. It was an ugly outing for Jones, who will get a chance to bounce back right away tonight vs. the Jets. The 27-year-old has gone 5-4-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .907 SV% in 10 starts at the SAP Center this season.

Talbot missed Friday’s game in Buffalo with the flu but will return to the Oilers’ crease tonight in Boston. In his last start, Talbot stopped 20 of 22 shots in a win in Detroit last Wednesday. He has been below average so far this season, but he will go head-to-head with Tuukka Rask, who has also been terrible based on his standards as well.

Mason allowed one goal on 39 shots in the Jets win in Los Angeles on Wednesday. It was a nice outing for Mason, who struggled to start his Jets career but has since settled in. With Connor Hellebuyck starting on Friday, Mason will get a chance to extend his winning streak to three—he has won his last two by stopping 67 of 69 shots (.971 SV%).

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.