NHL Hockey Player News

Poulin served as Michal Neuvirth’s backup on Tuesday, but with Jaroslav Halak set to return on Saturday, Poulin’s services are no longer needed.

Manning has not played since March 8th, so the Flyers have sent him back to the AHL with Michael Del Zotto nearing a return to the lineup.

Holtby allowed three goals on 33 shots in Monday’s 4-3 win over Buffalo. He has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .930 SV% in eight starts this month. Tonight will be his second start against Minnesota this month—he allowed two goals on 30 shots in a 2-1 loss that evening.

Ramo allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Flames loss in Colorado. Jonas Hiller started vs. St. Louis on Tuesday, so it will be Ramo tonight vs. the Flyers. Ramo has gone 5-6-1 with a 3.08 GAA and .897 SV% against Eastern Conference opponents this season.

Niemi was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots in the Sharks loss to the Jets on Tuesday. He has lost two in a row while allowing eight goals on 37 shots (.783 SV%). Despite the recent struggles, it looks like the Sharks will go back to Niemi tonight in Toronto. The Maple Leafs are terrible now, so Niemi makes for a nice start.

Byfuglien was held out of Tuesday’s game despite being a game-time decision. He did not participate in the morning skate, but did skate before—he will now turn his attention to Saturday’s game.

Little skated prior to the Jets morning skate, but did not participate in the full session. He will be held out of his sixth straight contest. His next chance to return is Saturday vs. Washington.

Krejci is nearing a return to the lineup, but it will not come tonight vs. the Senators. The Bruins have a back-to-back this weekend, so monitor Krejci’s status heading into Saturday.

Pavelec allowed two goals on 40 shots in the Jets win over San Jose on Tuesday. After seemingly yielding the starting gig to Michael Hutchinson, all of a sudden Pavelec has won two games in a row while stopping 53 of 56 shots (.946 SV%). Tonight he will get a shot at revenge vs. the Blues—he allowed a disastrous game-winning goal from outside the offensive zone in St. Louis nine days ago.

Brennan was posted seven shots and a minus-5 rating in three games since being recalled at the start of the week. He will sit in favour of Tim Erixon.

Erixon has sat out the last three games but will get back in tonight. He has no points and a minus-4 rating in four games with the Maple Leafs.

Cowen has played in the last four games but has not registered a point while posting a plus-1 rating and three shots on goal. Eric Gryba will replace him.

Gryba has sat out for the last four games, but he will replace Jared Cowen tonight vs. the Bruins. Gryba has 10 assists and a plus-11 rating in 62 games this season.

Schneider stopped all 35 shots that he faced in the Devils shutout win over the Penguins on Tuesday. He has won two in a row while stopping 65 of 66 shots (.985 SV%). Tonight he will take on an Islanders team who have lost four in a row while scoring just one goal in each contest.

Kinkaid allowed one goal on eight shots after replacing Cory Schneider in the Devils loss to the Wild on March 10th. Kinkaid is 4-4-3 with a 2.56 GAA and .915 SV% this season. Tonight he faces a Sabres team who is 1-4-2 while averaging 1.57 goals per game since the trade deadline.

Lehtonen allowed two goals on 20 shots in the Stars loss to the Blues on Sunday. Tonight would be his fifth consecutive start and he comes in at 4-1-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .904 SV% in his last six starts. Tonight he will face a Penguins team who have lost three in a row while being outscored 9-1.

Halak missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, but he will be available for Saturday in New Jersey. There is no word whether or not he will start, but The belief is if he is available, he will be in goal.

Liles suffered a lower-body injury on Tuesday and will be held out of tonight’s game in Montreal. Danny Biega will make his NHL debut with Liles out.

Biega, 23, will make his NHL debut on Thursday. He was a third round pick (67th overall) in 2010. In 64 games with Charlotte Biega has collected 14 points (2G / 12A). He will replace the injured J.M Liles.

Luongo will make his first start since March 3rd. He has missed the last six games, but will be back in the crease tonight vs. the Red Wings. It will be his fourth start against Detroit—in the first three meetings he has gone 2-1-0 with a 3.81 GAA and .888 SV%.