NHL Hockey Player News

Mrazek surrendered four goals on 27 shots in the Red Wings 5-2 loss to the Lightning in Game 6. Detroit’s defence did not play well in front of Mrazek and if it weren’t for him the game would have been out of hand early. Tonight he will look to push the Red Wings into the second round, but he will be missing Niklas Kronwall (suspended) and Marek Zidlicky (concussion) in front of him.

Tonight will be Kindl’s first playoff game of the season. He has five points (1G / 4A) in 18 career NHL play off games. After serving as a healthy scratch in the first six games of the series, he will get in tonight because Marek Zidlicky is out with a concussion.

Marchenko, 23, failed to register a point in the first two games of the series. He sat the last four games, but with Niklas Kronwall suspended, Marcheko will get back into the lineup tonight. Overall he has two points (1G / 1A) in 15 games with the Red Wings this season.

Zidlicky suffered a concussion in Game 6 and will miss his first game of the season tonight in Game 7. He leads the league in games played this season with 90, having played 84 regular season games and six playoff games. With Zidlicky out, Jakub Kindl will get back into the lineup.

Kucherov returned to the game after the hit and is not feeling any ailments after being levelled by Kronwall. Luckily for the Lightning, they will have Kucherov while the Red Wings will not have Kronwall as a result of the hit.

Bishop allowed two goals on 24 shots in the Lightning’s 5-2 win over the Red Wings in Game 6. He looked shaky in the 3rd period, but Detroit was unable to get one past the 6-foot-7 net minder. He has posted gone 3-3 with a 2.18 GAA and .904 SV% in the series and if he doesn’t win tonight he will be hitting the golf course.

Gibson missed the entire first round against the Jets but will return to the lineup fir Game 1 and serve as Frederik Andersen’s backup. Gibson was 2-2 with a 2.69 GAA and .919 SV% in four games in last year’s playoffs. If Andersen falters, they won’t hesitate to go to Gibson again.

With John Gibson sidelined by an upper-body injury it has been all Andersen to this point in the postseason. After struggling a bit last season, posting a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV% in seven starts, Andersen has been perfect in 2015, going 4-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .924 SV% vs. the Jets. In three starts against the Flames this season, Andersen went 2-0-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .907 SV%.

Kronwall has been suspended for what the NHL’s department of Player Safety deemed as a “charge” for his hit on Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. Kronwall has no previous history of fine or suspension, so he has only been given one game and will be back for Game 1 in Montreal, should the Red Wings get by the Lightning tonight.

Hiller will return to Anaheim to take on the team that simply gave up on him last year. After spending seven seasons in Anaheim, Hiller signed with the Flames this offseason. Hiller went 1-2-0 with a 3.43 GAA and .889 SV% in three starts and one relief appearance against the Ducks this season. Despite the regular season struggles against his former team, Hiller comes in as a confident goaltender after posting a 2.20 GAA and .931 SV% in the first round.

Teravainen had one assist in two games in the first round but it looks like he will be in the lineup for Game 1 on Friday. With Teravainen likely back in, look for Kris Versteeg to be a healthy scratch.

Versteeg had one goal in six games during the first round and it looks like he will be a healthy scratch in Game 1 on Friday. With Versteeg likely out, Teuvo Teravainen is expected to get back into the lineup.

Burrows reportedly fractured and dislocated ribs in Game 3 when a linesman fell on him while trying to break up a fight between him and Flames defenseman Kris Russell.

Crawford struggled mightily in round 1, he was pulled in Game 1, allowed six goals in Game 2 and didn’t play until he replaced Scott Darling in the Blackhawks 4-3 win in Game 6. He stopped all 13 shots that he faced in that game which was enough for coach Joel Quenneville to give him the Game 1 start vs. Minnesota. Crawford was 2-2-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .948 SV% vs. the Wild this season.

Zuccarello was hit in the head by a Ryan McDonagh shot in the Rangers win over the Penguins in Game 5. Zucarrello had two assists i five games in Round 1, but now his status for the second round is in question.

Klein has been out since March 11th, but will be back in the lineup on Thursday vs. the Capitals. With Klein back in, Matt Hunwick is expected to take a seat. Klein had 26 points (9G / 17A) with a plus-24 rating in 65 games this season.

Bishop allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Lightning’s 4-0 loss to the Red Wings in Game 5. The Red Wings stifled Tampa Bay in Game 5 and have the Lightning up against the wall tonight. Bishop has had his fair share of struggles in the series—he ranks 11th in GAA (2.21) and 17th in SV% (.901) though five games.

Mrazek stopped all 28 shots that he faced to earn his second shutout of the series in the Red Wings 4-0 win in Game 5. Mrazek has posted the fourth best GAA (1.91) and fifth ranked SV% (.937) in the playoffs. Mrazek will look to finish the Lightning off at home—he has a 1.48 GAA and .941 SV% in two starts at Joe Louis Arena.

Hamonic has not suited up in the playoffs and that will continue tonight in Game 7. If the Islanders win tonight and continue in the playoffs, Hamonic might be able to return, but if they lose, you won’t be seeing him until September.