NHL Hockey Player News

Hanzal will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Saturday night. Hanzal is listed as day-to-day and head coach Dave Tippett would not rule him out for Saturday.

Parise, who missed Tuesday’s game to be with his ailing father, lost his father to lung cancer this morning. Parise is on non-roster status, so if he wanted to play, someone would need to be sent down in order to make room for him.

Quick was pulled after he allowed three goals on nine shots in the Kings 7-6 OT loss to the Predators last Saturday. With four days off in between games, the Kings will come back with Quick tonight vs.the Rangers. Quick is 13-3-2 with a 1.94 GAA and .931 SV% at home this season and catches a break with Cam Talbot, not Henrik Lundqvist getting the start.

Miller made 29 saves on 30 shots in the Canucks 4-1 win over the Red Wings on Saturday. After getting Tuesday night off, he will be back in goal vs. Florida. Miller has been excellent as of late—he is 4-1-1 with a 1.66 GAA and .950 SV% over his last six outings. With Bobby Lu making his return home, this is a big one for Miller.

Niemi allowed two goals on 19 shots in the Sharks win over the Jets on Monday. He was given Tuesday night off, but it looks like he will be back in tonight in St. Louis. He faced the Blues on Saturday and was shelled for six goals on 27 shots in a 7-2 loss, so tread with caution here.

Rinne allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Predators 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Rinne, who gave up six against the Kings. Rinne has gone 7-0-1 with a 2.81 GAA and .906 SV% in his last eight starts. He will make his third start of the season vs. Dallas—he is 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .943 SV% in the first two.

Thornton took part in the Sharks morning skate, but will miss his fourth consecutive game. The Sharks power-play has been awful without Thornton, going 1-for-17 (5.8%) in the last three games.

Niemi allowed two goals on 19 shots in the Sharks win over the Jets on Monday. He was given Tuesday night off, but it looks like he will be back in tonight in St. Louis. He faced the Blues on Saturday and was shelled for six goals on 27 shots in a 7-2 loss, so tread with caution here.

Varlamov stopped all 54 shots that he faced in the Avs’ 2-0 shutout win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday. It was a ridiculous performance from Varly,who has been exceptional since returning to the crease. He has won four of six starts with a 1.79 GAA and .942 SV%. Tonight he faces a Sens team who have lost five of seven.

Crawford gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Blackhawks 2-0 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov was outstanding and a pair of early goals was all Colorado needed in this one. Crawford has won three of seven with a 3.13 GAA and .895 SV% since returning from his foot injury.

Lehtonen allowed five goals on 28 shots in Sunday’s OT loss to Chicago. The loss snapped a four game winning streak for Lehtonen, who was given Tuesday night off, but should be back in goal tonight. Lehtonen has gone 8-3-1 on the road this year, despite posting a less than stellar 2.95 GAA and .910 SV%.

Smith surrendered six goals on 39 shots in the Coyotes 6-0 loss to the Blues on Tuesday. The Coyotes rewarded him for Saturday’s win with another start, but Smith did not deliver. Despite another awful outing, it sure looks like Arizona will go back with Smith tonight vs. Winnipeg. He is 6-16-2 with a 3.57 GAA and .882 SV% this year, so yeah…stay away.

Head coach Mike Yeo said that Kuemper re-aggregated a lower-body injury and will miss a week or so. That leaves the Wild with veteran Niklas Backstrom and John Curry as their goaltending tandem with three games in four days.

Crawford gave up two goals on 24 shots in the Blackhawks 2-0 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov was outstanding and a pair of early goals was all Colorado needed in this one. Crawford has won three of seven with a 3.13 GAA and .895 SV% since returning from his foot injury.

Ortio, 23, has gone 17-8-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .916 SV% in 27 games with Adirondack this season. He has been recalled to serve as Jonas Hiller’s backup with Karri Ramo on IR.

Granlund was demoted yesterday, but with Josh Jooris placed on IR, he has been recalled again today. He has five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 29 games with the Flames this season.

Jooris finished Wednesday’s game, but he is reportedly battling a number of nagging issues. Expect a more detailed injury update in the next 24 hours. Markus Granlund has been recalled to replace Jooris.

Ramo was forced from Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury after a collision with teammate Raphael Diaz. There is no word on the nature or severity of the injury, but a more detailed injury report should be released in the next 24 hours. Joni Ortio has been recalled to replace Ramo for the time being.

Nestrasil, 23, has been out since December 8th with an upeer-body injury. The young forward has one goal and two assists in eight games since being claimed off of waivers from the Red Wings.

Boychuk, 25, had three goals and three assists in 31 games with the Hurricanes. He heads back to the AHL where he led the Checkers with 74 points (36G / 38A) in 69 games last season.