NHL Hockey Player News

Muprhy, 21, is arguably the Hurricanes best offensive defenseman but will sit out the Hurricanes season opener but could be back in the lineup on Saturday according to coach Bill Peters.

Harrington, 21, was one of Pittsburgh’s final roster cuts earlier this week after finishing plus-1 in five NHL preseason games. Harrington played in 76 AHL regular-season games as a rookie last season for WBS, tying for second among team blueliners with 24 points (5G / 19A) while helping his team allow the fewest goals in the AHL.

Kostka signed a one-year deal worth $650K with the Rangers this offseason. He has been recalled after the Rangers found out they would be without Dan Boyle for the next 4-6 weeks after he broke his hand in the opener. It will be between Kostka and Matt Hunwick to replace Boyle.

The other member of the Ducks' goaltending tandem John Gibson was shelled for six goals on 39 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Penguins in the season opener. Andersen had a 20-5-0 record with a 2.29 GAA and .923 SV% in his first NHL season and followed it up with a nice preseason, so expect another strong season behind a great Ducks team. He will face the Red Wings, who beat the Bruins 2-1 in their opener.

Panik was claimed off of waivers from the Lightning on Wednesday and it looks like he will play on the Maple Leafs third line with Peter Holland and Daniel Winnik on Saturday. Panik has a lot of offensive skill, but still needs to work on the defensive part of his game.

Larsson, 22, was injured in the preseason against the Maple Leafs but is apparently close to returning so he will start the season in the AHL. Larsson had 15 goals and 26 assists (41 points) in 51 games with Rochester last season.

Halak finished with 29 wins, a 2.25 GAA and .921 SV% be- tween the Blues and the Capitals last season. He moves to an Islanders team who beefed up their entire roster this offseason, especially their blueline last week by adding Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk. He should start his Islanders career with a great matchup against a Hurricanes team missing two of their best players.

Kane last just thee shifts in the Jets season opener vs. the Coyotes. He totalled just 1:24 of ice-time before retiring to the dressing room for the night. Kane missed 18 games with a variety of injuries last season; one of which was a hand infection that cost him six games. Winnipeg is back in action on Saturday, expect an update on Kane on Friday morning.

Boyle, who signed a two-year deal worth $9 million this offseason broke his hand early in the third period of his Rangers debut. He had two shots, two penalty minutes and a plus-1 rating in 14:01 of playing time before sustaining the injury. New York is back in action on Saturday, expect them to place Boyle on IR and recall a defenseman from Hartford (AHL). Matt Hunwick will likely slide in for Boyle against the Blue Jackets.

Lehtonen struggled in the lockout shortened season, but bounced back to the tune of 33 wins, 2.41 GAA and .919 SV% last year. He has a more powerful offence in front of him this season, so expect more goal support and more wins, with similar numbers to the ones he posted last season. However, he draws a rough opening matchup against the Blackhawks.

Rask allowed one goal on 20 shots in a 2-1 win over the Flyers last night. The Bruins are one of three teams who are starting the season with back-to-back games and they will turn to last year's Vezina Trophy winner for both games. He was 1-3-0 with a 3.29 GAA and .871 SV% in four regular season starts against Detroit last season.

Grabner started the season on injured reserve and will be out until mid-to-late November after having surgery Thursday. The speedy winger will look to improve on his 12 goal, 14 assist performance from last season when he returns.

There was no report of an injury to Coburn this morning, but the news just came down as the Flyers hit the ice for warmups. Nick Schultz will slide into the lineup and make his Flyers regular season debut.

This summer's fourth overall pick is expected to make a full recovery, but will have to wait until next season to crack the Flames roster. This injury also means that Bennett will not be able to participate in the IIHF World Junior Championships starting on Boxing Day. Bennett has a bright NHL future ahead of him and he will be back in Flames camp next fall.

Tanev suffered an undisclosed injury in Wednesday's season opening 4-2 win over the Flames. Head coach Willie Desjardins did not shed any light onto Tanev's situation but hopes he is back for their next game which comes on Saturday. Tanev finished Wednesday's game with two assists, two shots and a minus-1 rating in 19:45 TOI. Note that Tanev had just 11 assists in 64 games last season.

Pavelec has lacked consistency throughout his career and that is to be expected again this season. He finished last season with just 22 wins, a 3.01 GAA and .901 SV% in 57 games. Expect him to be marginally better across the board this season, but the Jets did not do enough this offseason to suddenly become a playoff team. Pavelec is a nice third goaltending option and can put numbers up for you when he has favourable matchups.

Muzzin was on the ice for Kings practice this afternoon, but apparently the injury won't stop him from skating and he may even take warmups, but he will miss a couple more games. Muzzin's fill-in Brayden McNabb was a minus-1 with no shots in 23:27 TOI.

The numbers may have suggested that Frederik Andersen would get the start in tonight's season opener, but Gibson is from Whitehall, PA., a suburb located just six miles south of Pittsburgh, so he gets the nod vs. the Penguins. Gibson had a superb late-season run with the Ducks and should be in for a great season. However, both of these young goaltenders are talented and will battle all year long for playing time. For now it is Gibson who starts game 1 of the 82 game marathon.

Varlamov went 1-2 with a 2.31 GAA and .913 SV% in three preseason outings. Despite some legal troubles last season, Varly turned-in a great season in his first under head coach Patrick Roy. He led the NHL in wins (41) and finished with the league's third highest SV% (.927) and 20th GAA (2.41). The Avalanche appear ready to make another playoff push and they will lean heavily on Varlamov to get them there.

Wideman, who is the highest paid player on the Flames roster will be a healthy scratch tonight on the second night of a back-to-back. Wideman had no points and was a minus-1 in 16:30 against Vancouver last night. Raphael Diaz will enter the lineup fo Wideman.