NHL Hockey Player News

Cizikas’ move to IR is retroactive to November 6th. Josh Bailey will remain in the lineup until Cizikas is 100 percent.

Visnovsky has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury he suffered on October 28th, but he will be back in the lineup tonight vs. Minnesota. Matt Donovan will come out of the lineup to make room for Visnovsky. He has six points (1G / 5A) in 17 games this season.

Halak allowed six goals on 40 shots as the Islanders blew a 3-0 first period lead to lose 6-4 on Saturday vs. St. Louis. The loss snapped his ridiculous 11-game winning streak, but don’t let the one bad start deter you from starting Halak tonight. He is 6-2-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .931 SV% on the road.

Hutchinson gave up two goals on 22 shot in Friday’s win over the Avalanche. He was won three of his last four starts with a 1.73 GAA and .940 SV%. He continues to make a strong case to supplant Ondrej Pavelec as the team’s number-1. Hutchinson will face the Stars in Dallas tonight, he has gone 3-1-2 on the road this year.

Sharp has been sidelined with a leg injury since November 4th, but will be back in tonight vs. New Jersey. Sharp was given a 3-4 week timetable, and he ended up missing just over four weeks. The emergence of Kris Versteeg in his absence means that Sharp will return on the Hawks third line with Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell.

Matthias was on the ice for the Canucks morning skate, but head coach Willie Desjardins did not have an update on him following the skate. He was unsure whether or not Matthias would be available tonight. Consider him a game-time decision.

Holtby stopped 33 of 34 shots in Saturday’s 4-1 win over New Jersey. He has won two in a row while turning aside 62 of 64 shots (.969 SV%) in the process. He is a risky start tonight vs. the highest scoring team in the NHL. He allowed four goals in a 4-3 loss in his first start vs. Tampa this season.

Eddie Lack was in the starter’s net this morning, but it will be Miller who gets the call in Montreal. He was yanked in his last outing after he gave up four goals on 14 shots. Tonight he will face the Canadiens in a building he has gone 11-6-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .935 SV% in in his career.

Mason turned aside 37 of 38 shots in Saturday’s 2-1 win in Los Angeles. It was a pretty impressive way for Mason to snap a five-game losing streak. Tonight, he takes on his former team for the third time this season—he is 1-1-0 with a 3.04 GAA and .900 SV% in the first two meetings.

Quick allowed two goals on 16 shots in the Kings loss to the Flyers on Saturday afternoon. It was not a busy day for Quick, but the Kings were stymied by Steve Mason at the other end. Quick has dropped three of his last four starts while posting a 2.54 GAA and .894 SV%. However, he is a must-start tonight in Buffalo.

Hemsky sat on Saturday vs. the Habs and the Stars walked away with a 4-1 win, so why change anything? Hemsky’s first two months in Dallas have been a disaster.

Lack stopped 41 of 45 shots that the Senators threw at him in Sunday’s overtime loss. He has played very well over the last week, stopping 76 of 80 shots (.950 SV%) that he has faced. Tonight it looks like he will face a slumping Canadiens—Montreal has lost six of their last seven.

Lehtonen allowed a single goal on 17 shots in the Stars 4-1 win over the Canadiens on Saturday. It was an easy win for Lehtonen, who has not had a lot of nights like that this season. On Tuesday he will face the Jets at home—Lehtonen is 5-3-5 with a 3.05 GAA and .899 SV% at American Airlines Center.

Stewart has seen his minutes drop significantly over the last two games. He played a season-low 7:48 on Saturday and won’t even play at all tonight vs. Los Angeles. He has just three goals and one assist in 27 games this season.

Drouin has had a difficult time staying in the lineup as of late. Tonight will mark the third time in seven games that the 2013 third overall pick will sit out. J.T Brown will be in for Drouin.

Chara has been skating with the team for the last two weeks, but Tuesday’s practice was the most promising to date. Chara skated with Dougie Hamilton and took part in contact drills, both signs he will be back on Thursday. Monitor his status over the next two days.

Price surrendered three goals on 28 shots in the Habs’ loss to Dallas on Saturday. Price has lost three consecutive while posting a 3.06 GAA and .909 SV%, but the Canadiens will stick with him tonight vs. the Canucks. Price was handed the overtime loss in his first meeting with Vancouver.

Backes left Monday’s game after taking a T.J Oshie shot to the face, but he returned later with a full cage. If he was able to return to the game last night, fully expect to see him in the lineup on Thursday.

Abdelkader has missed the last four games with a separated shoulder, but participated in his first practice since suffering the injury on Tuesday. He is not expected to be in the lineup tomorrow vs. the Maple Leafs and he is likely still at least one week away from returning.

Rychel, who started the Blue Jackets’ last game on a line with Ryan Johansen, goes from the top-line to the press box tonight. He has recorded three assists in his first four NHL games, but with Brandon Dubinsky coming back, someone has to come out.