NHL Hockey Player News

Wagner appeared in the last three games, but the Avalanche will give Mikhail Grigorenko a chance to play his former team tonight, so Wagner will be scratched.

After serving as a healthy scratch for the last three games, Grigorenko will return to the lineup tonight vs. his former team. Grigorenko has just two goals and 10 assists (12 points) in 41 games this season and likely won’t play a major role in Wednesday’s game.

Gibson allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Ducks loss to the Kings on Sunday. Gibson has gone 2-3-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .902 SV% in his last five starts. While January hasn’t been kind to Gibson, this is a nice matchup for the 22-year-old. The Wild have lost four in a row and are 2-5-2 while averaging 1.56 goals per game this month.

Varlamov stopped 36 of 37 shots in Colorado’s win in Winnipeg on Monday. It was a nice bounce back for Varlamov, who had allowed eight goals in his previous two outings. Tonight Varlamov will take on a Sabres team that has rattled off four wins in their last five games—Varly is 5-3-2 with a 2.98 GAA ad .908 SV% in his last 10 starts on home ice.

Jaskin served as a healthy scratch in the last two games, but he is expected to replace Ryan Reaves in the lineup on Wednesday. Jaskin has 10 points (3G / 7A) in 44 games this season.

Parayko missed the Blues morning skate on Wednesday and is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game vs. the Red Wings. Monitor Parayko’s status prior to and during pregame warmups.

Gunnarsson has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, but he is expected to be activated from IR and play on Wednesday vs. the Red Wings. With Gunnarsson back in expect Andre Benoit to be a healthy scratch.

Hamonic has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury, but he returned to practice on Wednesday and could return to the lineup on Friday. Monitor his status during Friday’s gameday skate.

Schwartz has not played since October 20th, but he finally returned to practice on Wednesday, which is an excellent sign that he could be back after the All Star break. Schwartz’s return would be huge for a banged up Blues team. His owned percentage has dropped to 49%, so he may be available in your league.

O’Neill did not play during his call-up, so he heads back to Albany, where he has three goals and four assists (seven points) in 10 games.

Bartley has not appeared in a game with the Canadiens since being acquired in the Jarred Tinordi trade. This is the reason why the Canadiens made the deal. Bartley is waiver exempt and Tinordi would have needed to clear waivers to be sent down. He is expected to play with St. John’s over the weekend and could return to the Habs next week.

Ward is dealing with concussions, so he has been moved to IR so the Hurricanes could recall Daniel Altshuller from Charlotte (AHL). With Ward out, the Hurricanes will turn to Eddie Lack as their No. 1 option between the pipes. This is a tough break for Ward, who has found his game in the last month or so—he has a 1.95 GAA and .921 SV% in the last month.

Altshuller, 21, has been recalled because Cam Ward is on IR due to concussions. Altshuller has gone 9-1-1 with a 1.71 GAA and .941 SV% in 11 games with Charlotte and could make his NHL debut during the Hurricanes Thursday-Friday back-to-back.

Elliott allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Blues win over the Penguins on Monday. Since Jake Allen got injured, Elliott has gone 4-1-0 with a 2.25 GAA and .932 SV%. Elliott has taken the job an run with it and is expected to start every game until Allen returns. Tonight he faces a Red Wings team that is 1-3-2 in their last six on home ice.

Lehner allowed three goals on 30 shots in the Sabres loss to the Bruins last Friday. It was an OK return for Lehner, who sat and watched Chad Johnson the last two games. Tonight Lehner will take on an inconsistent Avalanche team that has gone 5-3-0 while averaging 2.75 goals per game in their last eight contests.

Quick allowed two goals on 32 shots in the Kings win in Anaheim on Sunday. Quick has gone 4-1-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .928 SV% in January and has gone 13-7-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .912 SV% on home ice this season. Surprisingly, the Stars come in having lost six of their last seven games while being outscored 26-17 (2.43 G/PG).

Lehtonen allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Stars loss in Anaheim on Friday. Lehtonen has struggled recently, going 1-3-0 with a 4.19 GAA and .889 SV% in his last four outings. Tonight, he will take on a L.A Kings team that has alternated wins and losses to start 2016, going 4-2-1 and averaging just 2.29 goals per game in seven January games.

Ferraro was expected to play on Tuesday, but did not take the ice for warmups and will be scratched in Montreal. With Ferraro out, David Pastrnak will draw back into the lineup. Ferraro is considered day-to-day.

Hunt has been a healthy scratch in the last three games, but will play tonight as the Oilers’ seventh defensemen. He has no points and a minus-1 rating in seven games.

Gazdic was expected to be in the lineup tonight, but he will be a scratch after not taking the ice for warmups. With Gazdic out, the Oilers will go with seven defensemen.