NHL Hockey Player News

Mrazek stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Red Wings 3-1 win over the Coyotes on Saturday. He has won three in a row while posting a 0.67 GAA, .973 GAA and one shutout. He has been red-hot which is why Mike Babcock will go with Mrazek over a healthy Jimmy Howard tonight vs. the Penguins.

Howard reiterated that he thinks he is ready to play on Wednesday after finishing practice on Monday with no pain. He will need to visit with doctors for the next day or so and will need to be medically cleared.

Wisniewski will miss his second straight game tonight, but after tonight the Blue Jackets are off until Friday. Coach Todd Richards said “it’s possible” that Wisniewski will play this weekend.

Prout suffered the injury on Saturday and he will miss tonight’s game but could be ready to return to the lineup by the weekend.

Bobrovsky, who has been out since January 21st, skated in full gear on Monday. He is 2 1/2 weeks into a 4-6 week timetable, so he is still a ways away, but it is a good sign that he is progressing and could return at the front-end of the original timeframe.

Phaneuf skated on his own prior to practice, but did not join the team for the full session. This suggests that his timetable has been pushed back and that it is unlikely that he will be in the lineup vs. New York on Tuesday.

Bernier missed his scheduled start on Saturday due to an illness, but his return to practice this morning is a good sign that he should be available to start Tuesday’s game against the Rangers.

Schneider allowed one goal on 34 shots in the Devils win over the Maple Leafs on Friday night. He was given Saturday night off, but will be back in the crease tonight with the Oilers in town. The matchup doesn’t get any better for Schneider, who is 3-0-1 with a 1.21 GAA and .961 SV% since the All Star break.

Prout joins James Wisniewski and Ryan Murray as injured Blue Jackets defensemen who likely won’t play tonight. With Prout out, Jordan Leopold will be in the lineup.

McElhinney made 34 saves on 35 shots in the Blue Jackets 4-1 win over the Senators on Saturday. He started both games of the back-to-back and all he did was stop 66 of 68 shots (.971 SV%) earning two straight wins. Tonight he will face a Kings team who are 2-3-0 while averaging 2.20 goals per game since the All Star break.

de Haan missed Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury that he suffered on Saturday in Boston. He was replaced by Brian Strait and it will remain that way until de Haan is ready to return to the lineup. Monitor his status prior to Tuesday’s game.

Schilling played on Friday vs. the Ducks, recording one shot and a plus-1 rating in 13:42. He was a healthy scratch last night with Mike Green returning to the lineup, so Schilling heads back to Hershey before the Capitals leave for their California road-trip.

Martinez was crunched by Cedric Paquette on Saturday. Coach Sutter said the Kings have to be “careful and cautious” which would dictate that Martinez will not be in the lineup on Monday vs. the Blue Jackets. With Martinez likely out, expect Brayden McNabb to be back in the lineup.

Fast missed Sunday’s game after spraining his knee on Saturday in Nashville. With Fast out, J.T Miller should remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Fast will likely miss at least the next six games.

DeMelo, 21, has registered four goals and 11 assists (15 points) in 45 games with Worcester this season. With Marc-Edouard Vlasic on IR, DeMelo could make his NHL debut at some point this week.

Hanzal was already expected to miss at least the first two games of this week with an upper-body injury, so moving him to IR is just a formality to create a roster spot.

In the second period, Ekholm was injured went into the boards hard and was forced to leave the game. With Ryan Ellis already out, the Predators can’t afford to lose Ekholm too. Expect an update on his status on Monday.

Dubnyk stopped all 18 shots that he faced in the Wild’s 1-0 shutout win over the Avalanche on Saturday. Is this guy for real? In nine games with the Wild, he is 7-1-0 with a 1.31 GAA, .948 SV% and four shutouts. Yep, four shutouts in nine games…Unreal. In two starts and one relief appearance vs. the Canucks, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.89 GAA and .950 SV% this season (1 start with MIN).

Hall has missed the last two games and his return to Edmonton on Sunday suggests that he will miss both Monday and Tuesday’s games on the East Coast. With the Oilers season in the dumps, they will not rush their star winger back into the lineup for no reason.