NHL Hockey Player News

Raymond who was with his wife during the birth of his new baby girl during last night’s game also won’t be back in New York in time for tomorrow’s game.

Sekera passed his physical and has been cleared to play tonight, so it is up to coach Darryl Sutter to decide whether or not Sekera will be in the lineup tonight. It seems likely that he will play, but monitor his status during pre-game warmups.

Greening will play his first game since January 8th. He has just one goal and 27 PIMS in 20 games with the Senators this season.

Quincey was on the ice for the Red Wings morning skate, but will be held out of his fourth straight game with an ankle injury. He is nearing a return, but it doesn’t look like he will be back until Saturday.

Zetterberg joined his teammates on the ice late in the Red Wings morning skate, but was just taking things easy. However, it was a great sign that he was on the ice just five days after suffering a head injury. He will not play on Thursday or Saturday, but he has nearly one week to practice and get ready for the Rangers next Wednesday.

Ramo turned aside 26 of 27 shots in the Flames 3-1 win over the Devils on Wednesday. He has stopped 54 of 56 shots (.964 SV%) in his his last two starts, which has earned him a third consecutive outing. Tonight he starts on Long Island—Ramo has gone 5-3-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .931 SV% on the road.

Howard allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Red Wings 4-3 shootout loss to the Ducks on Monday. He was given Tuesday night off, but it will be Howie tonight in San Jose. Since returning from a groin injury, he has gone 1-1-2 with a 2.96 GAA and .901 SV%.

Hammond made 25 saves to earn his first career shutout last night vs. the Ducks. Hammond has won each of his first three NHL starts while posting a 1.00 GAA and .967 SV%. It will be interesting to see how he does on no rest against a tough Kings team in Los Angeles.

Karlsson played 9:01 with a minus-1 rating in last night’s loss to the Senators. He was sent down because it looks like Nate Thompson is ready to return to the lineup on Friday.

Quincey was on the ice for the Red Wings morning skate, but will be held out of his fourth straight game with an ankle injury. He is nearing a return, but it doesn’t look like he will be back until Saturday.

Khudobin allowed three goals on 19 shots in the Hurricanes loss in New Jersey last Saturday. Khudobin has been struggling mightily as of late—he has lost his last five starts while recording a 4.55 GAA and .829 SV%. Tonight will be his third start against the Capitals; he has gone 0-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .910 SV% in the first two.

Niemi allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Sharks loss to the Kings in their Stadium Series games last Saturday. He has gone 3-4-2 with a 2.98 GAA and .909 SV% in February. Tonight he will face a Red Wings team who have run into some inconsistency issues lately—Detroit has lost five of their last seven.

With Steve Mason returning in a back-up role on Thursday, the Flyers had to place Emery on IR in order to make room for Mason.

With Jiri Tlusty getting shipped out of town yesterday, the Hurricanes bumped Alex Semin to the top-line on Thursday. Semin has registered three assists and nine shots on goal in his last two games and Carolina is hoping that this is a sign of things to come.

Smith allowed five goals on 39 shots in Tuesday’s loss to the Islanders. He will start his fourth straight game, despite lost the last six straight games, while posting a 3.38 GAA and .892 SV%. Tonight he will face a Rangers team who have gone 8-1-2 while Henrik Lundqvist has been out.

Bergenheim was acquired from the Wild on Tuesday and he will make his Wild debut on a line with Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek. Bergenheim is a player that loves to shoot the puck, so if he gets a lot of time with a good palymaker, that could result in some fantasy success down the line.

Quick stopped all 20 shots that he faced in the Kings 1-0 shutout win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. Look at Quick go…He has now won eight consecutive games, while posting an outstanding 1.63 GAA and .940 SV%. He will take on the Senators at the STAPLES Center—he has gone 18-5-5 with a 2.11 GAA and .921 SV% at home.

Elliott allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Blues 4-2 loss to the Penguins on Saturday. He did not start on Tuesday, but after Jake Allen lost to the Habs, they will go back to Elliott tonight in Winnipeg. Elliott has gone 4-4-0 with a 3.29 GAA and .897 SV% in eight February starts and has gone 8-4-1 on the road this season.

Smith-Pelly will make his Montreal debut on Thursday after being acquired from Anaheim on Tuesday. He will replace Christian Thomas and likely skate on the third line with Jacob De La Rose and Brandon Prust.

Dubnyk allowed two goals on 19 shots in the Wild’s 2-1 loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. He failed to go 6-0-0 against Edmonton and it snapped a three-game winning streak. He has gone 13-3-1 with a 1.66 GAA and .935 SV% in 18 games with the Wild. Tonight he has a tough matchup vs. the Predators, a team that he played two games for last season.