NHL Hockey Player News

Kruger will be held out of tonight’s game with an illness. He will be replaced by Andrew Desjardins and is listed as day-to-day.

Everberg had three goals and nine assists (12 points) with the Avalanche this season. His shoulder surgery will keep him out for at least six months, which means that he likely will not be ready for training camp for next season.

Rinne allowed three goals on 23 shots in the Predators loss in Colorado on Tuesday. Rinne has lost his last three starts while posting a 3.53 GAA and .847 SV%. Tonight he will be making his fifth start of the season against the Wild—he has gone 2-1-1 with a 3.01 GAA and .895 SV% in the first four contests.

Niederreiter if fighting a nagging foot injury and will be held out of Thursday’s game in Nashville. He will be replaced by Sean Bergenheim and is listed as day-to-day.

Parise is reportedly dealing with a “nagging injury” but this looks like resting your star players for the playoff-bound Wild. Parise has 32 goals and 29 assists (61 points) in 73 games this season.

With Dubnyk not starting, the Wild feel it will be best to give him the night completely off and have Nicklas Backstrom dress as Darcy Kuemper’s backup tonight in Nashville. There is a chance that he plays on Saturday in St. Louis to keep him sharp going into the postseason.

Gelinas will miss tonight’s game with banged up ribs. He said it is not comfortable to twist, so he will sit out tonight and hopes to be in the season finale on Saturday.

Crawford surrendered two goals on 30 shots i the Blackhawks loss to the Wild on Tuesday. He has dropped two in a row while allowing four goals on 63 shots (.937 SV%). Tonight is his third start against the Blues this season—he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .933 SV% in the first two.

Pouliot suffered an upper-body injury in the Penguins OT loss to the Senators on Tuesday and leaves him questionable for Friday’s game. Monitor his status during the Penguins morning skate.

Vanek will be held out of a “nagging injury” but is expected to be fine heading into the playoffs. Vanek has collected eight goals and four assists (12 points) in his last 15 games and looks good entering the playoffs.

Hiller gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Flames 3-2 win over Arizona on Tuesday. He has won four of five while registering a 2.01 GAA and .937 SV% over that span. Tonight is his fourth start against the Kings—in the first three starts against L.A, he has gone 2-1-0 with a 3.15 GAA and .911 SV%.

Bobrovsky stopped all 35 shots that he faced in the Blue Jackets 5-0 win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. After having his eight-game winning streak snapped on Monday, Bob got back to his winning ways right away. Over the last month, Bobrovsky has won 11 of 13 while posting a 2.33 GAA and .932 SV%.

Datsyuk missed the morning skate just like he did on Tuesday when he played and he is expected to do the same tonight in Montreal. Playing on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Darren Helm, Datsyuk collected the game-winning goal and one assist in 17:38 TOI.

Miller has been sidelined with a knee injury since February 22nd and it was believed that he wasn’t going to be able to return until the playoffs, but he will be back as Eddie Lack’s backup tonight vs. the Coyotes. It remains to be seen if he will start in the season finale on Saturday vs. the Oilers.

Markstrom, 25, went 1-1-0 with a 3.08 GAA and .879 SV% in three games with Vancouver. With Ryan Miller set to return to the lineup tonight, he heads back to Utica where he has gone 19-7-2 with a 1.91 GAA and .932 SV% this season.

Hammond allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Senators OT win over the Penguins on Tuesday. After giving up three goals in the first period, Hammond buckled down and helped the Sens to a come-from-behind win. Hammond has won four of five while posting a 1.88 GAA and .931 SV%. He will look to keep the Senators alive tonight in New York.

Ward surrendered four goals on 25 shots in the Hurricanes loss in Buffalo on Monday. He has lost two of three while posting a 3.28 GAA and .853 SV%. Tonight will be his fourth start of the season against the Flyers—he is 3-0-0 with a 1.30 GAA and .944 SV% in the first three meetings.

With Karri Ramo out, Thiessen served as Jonas Hiller’s backup on Tuesday. Today he swapped spots with Joni Ortio and heads back to Adirondack.

Ortio, 23, will serve as Jonas Hiller’s backup while Karri Ramo is out. Ortio has gone 4-1-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .931 SV%in five games with the Flames this season. In 35 games in the AHL, he has gone 20-12-1 with a 2.64 GAA and .914 SV%.

Lack made 36 saves on 37 shots in the Canucks win over the Kings on Monday. Ryan Miller will return as Lack’s backup tonight and since Miller went down with a knee injury, Lack has gone 11-7-2 with a 2.56 GAA and .921 SV%. He draws a phenomenal matchup against a Coyotes team who has lost four of five.