NHL Hockey Player News

Miller allowed four goals on 25 shots in the Canucks’ loss to the Jets last Thursday. Miller has lost three of his last four starts while posting an ugly 4.24 GAA and .850 SV%. Jacob Markstrom has played much better as of late, but Miller is expected to go tonight vs. the Kings. The veteran is 5-4-1 with a 2.57 GAA and .908 SV% on home-ice.

Maatta did not travel to New Jersey for Tuesday's game and will also miss tonight's game at home vs. the Hurricanes. The Penguins will get Trevor Daley back to replace Brian Dumoulin, who broke his jaw last night. Maatta is considered day-to-day.

Daley skated during Tuesday’s morning skate in a no contact jersey, but is ready to rejoin the lineup tonight after missing the last five games with an upper-body injury. Daley was originally listed as week-to-week, so his return to the lineup comes as a bit of a surprise. With Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Brian Dumoulin all out, Daley will likely play a big role in his first game back. He has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 31 games this season.

Murray allowed six goals on 23 shots in the Penguins’ loss in Columbus on Thursday. It was Murray’s worst outing of the season and it came against the hottest team in the league. Tonight he faces the Hurricanes on home-ice, where he is 7-0-1 with a 1.83 GAA and .943 SV% this season. Murray is a must-start in all formats.

Budaj stopped all 28 shots that he faced in the Kings’ shutout win in Nashville last Thursday. Budaj is now 3-1-2 with a 1.90 GAA and .931 SV% in the month of December. The 34-year-old won his first start vs. the Canucks and comes into tonight’s meeting in Vancouver with a 5-6-2 record, 1.92 GAA and .929 SV% on the road this season.

Smith left Tuesday’s game with an injury and the Senators announced that he will miss at least two games with an abdominal strain. With Smith out, the Senators have recalled Casey Bailey from Binghamton (AHL) to take his spot.

Luongo allowed three goals on 39 shots in the Panthers’ shootout loss to the Red Wings last Friday. Luongo has lost three of his last four starts while posting a 3.47 GA and .887 SV%. Bobby Lu has gone 3-3-3 across nine December starts and tonight he faces the Maple Leafs for the second time—he allowed three goals on 28 shots in a 3-2 loss in the first meeting.

Sekera missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness and will be reevaluated on Thursday morning and is considered a game-time decision vs. the Kings. Monitor his status during tomorrow’s morning skate.

Couturier will be back in the Flyers’ lineup tonight and will skate on the third line with Nick Cousins and Dale Weise. Couturier is an excellent two-way centre and enters Wednesday with eight points (5G / 3A) in 20 games this season.

Pickard allowed six goals on 31 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Flames on Tuesday. With Semyon Varlamov out, Pickard will start again tonight in Dallas. Pickard is 2-5-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .886 SV% in December, but has gone 5-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .923 SV% on the road this season. The Stars come in having won three of four.

Crawford allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Blackhawks’ loss to the Jets on Tuesday. In his first two starts since his appendectomy, Crawford has allowed a combine five goals on 68 shots (.927 SV%). Crawford has played well but has not recorded a win since returning. In his first start vs. the Predators, he allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 3-2 loss.

Subban has missed the last five games and will miss at least the next two games with an upper-body injury. Subban missed Wednesday’s practice and remains day-to-day. Subban could be back in the lineup vs. the Canadiens on January 3rd, a game you can imagine he doesn’t want to miss.

Megna will go from healthy scratch to tope line right winger. Megna has three goals in 18 games this season and will play with Daniel and Henrik Sedin tonight.

Edler has been sidelined since November 26th with a broken index finger, but it looks like he could return tonight vs. the Kings. His original timetable was 4-6 weeks and tonight would be exactly the one month mark. Edler is expected to skate with Troy Stecher and comes in with one goal and two assists (three points) in 21 games.

Lashoff has been a healthy scratch for the last six games, so he will return to Grand Rapids to get in some game action. Lashoff has one goal and two assists in 18 games with the Griffins.

Bertuzzi has been sidelined since November 26th, but recently resumed skating and will return to Grand Rapids to get some playing time. Bertuzzi has six points (3G / 3A) in 10 games with the Griffins this season.

The Panthers are still waiting for Huberdeau to make his season debut and he appears to be on track to play in mid-February. Expect Seth Griffith to continue to skate on the top-line, but Huberdeau should take that spot as soon as he is ready to go.

Ward allowed two goals on 33 shots in the Hurricanes’ win over the Bruins last Friday. Ward won his final three games before the Christmas break while posting a 1.28 GAA and .950 SV%. Ward has played very well in December, posting a .922 SV% across 10 starts, but he will be in tough tonight in Pittsburgh.