NHL Hockey Player News

Pelech was a plus-1 with one shot in 13:19 in his NHL debut last Friday. He will come out of the lineup tonight in favour of Marek Zidlicky.

Zidlicky was a healthy scratch on Friday but will be back in the lineup on Monday. Zidlicky leads all Islanders’ blue liners with 2:12 PP TOI per game this season. Zidlicky has one goal and four assists (2 PPA) in 16 games this season.

Halak gave up two goals on 22 shots in the Islanders loss in Los Angeles last Thursday. Surprisingly, Thomas Greiss started two of three games last week, so the Islanders will open this week with Halak at home vs. Arizona. Halak has gone 3-2-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .923 SV% in five starts at the Barclays Center this season.

Condon was yanked after allowing four goals on 11 shots in Saturday’s loss to the Avalanche. After winning four of his first five starts with Carey Price out, Condon has now dropped two straight while giving up seven goals on 45 shots (.844 SV%). He isn’t Price, so struggles were expected at some point, but it will be interesting to see how he responds tonight vs. Vancouver.

Anderson made 33 saves on 34 shots in the Senators shootout loss to the Rangers on Saturday. It was a tough luck loss for Anderson, who has three of his last five. With Andrew Hammond out with an injury, look for Anderson to face the Red Wings for the second time this season. In the first meeting he was torched for five goals on 28 shots in a 5-3 loss.

Welsh has five goals and three assists (eight points) in 11 games with Chicago this season. The 27-year-old has two career NHL points in 25 games between the Hurricanes and Canucks. There is no word whether he will make his Blues debut on Monday.

Allen’s hot streak came to an abrupt end last week. He was yanked on Thursday and allowed three goals on 26 shots in a loss to Chicago on Saturday. Despite those losses, the Blues will come back with Allen tonight in Winnipeg. He has been great this season and has gone 3-2-0 with a 1.59 GAA and .942 SV% on Scottrade Center ice.

Markstrom stopped 42 of 45 shots that he faced to record the win in his season debut in Columbus last Tuesday. With Ryan Miller allowing seven goals in back-to-back losses over the weekend, it looks like the Canucks will turn to Markstrom tonight in Montreal. The matchup is an ugly one as the Canadiens rank second in the NHL with 3.50 goals per game.

Luongo allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Panthers win in Tampa Bay on Saturday. Despite allowing a combined 14 goals in his last four starts, Luongo is 2-2-0 over that stretch and will make his fifth consecutive start tonight. He takes on the Lightning at home this time, where he is 4-3-0 with a 2.32 GAA and .924 SV% this season.

Lack allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Hurricanes loss to Dallas on November 6th. After two strong years in Vancouver, Lack has struggled mightily so far in Carolina. In four starts the 27-year-old has gone 1-3-0 with a 3.46 GAA and .865 SV%. On Monday he will face a Ducks team he is familiar with, but has struggled against in his career.

Darling allowed one goals on 13 shots after replacing Corey Crawford in a loss in New Jersey back on November 6th. Darling has registered a 1-2-0 record, 3.11 GAA and .885 SV% this season. He should be a nice Sunday spot-start option with the Flames in town—Calgary is 6-11-1 on the year.

Kulikov left Saturday’s game in Tampa Bay with a lower-body injury and it will force him to miss Monday’s rematch. Kulikov is expected to miss a few days and could miss up to a week, so look for Steve Kampfer to replace him.

White will missed 2-4 weeks after suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s win in Carolina. White is a perennial fourth liner, so his fantasy value is limited at best. He had one goal and two assists in 17 games this season. Look for Brayden Schenn to be back in the lineup for White on Tuesday.

O’Connor, 23, has gone 0-5-1 with a 4.14 GAA and .859 SV% in six games with Binghamton (AHL) this season. It has been a struggle for O’Connor at the AHL level, so don’t expect him to get very much, if any playing time during his call up. He is expected to serve as Craig Anderson’s backup on Monday vs. the Red Wings.

Hammond suffered an undisclosed injury in Sunday’s practice that will likely force him to miss at least a couple of days. There was no information on the nature or severity of Hammond’s injury, but Matt O’Connor was called up so look for Craig Anderson to start on Monday vs. the Red Wings.

Sunday marks the Rangers’ fourth game in six days so they will give their veterean blueliner a day off. The Rangers want to keep Boyle fresh by periodically giving him a night off. With Boyle coming out, Dylan McIlrath will play his fourth game of the season.

The Rangers like to get Dan Boyle some rest here and there, so McIlrath will get back into the lineup on the second game of the Rangers’ back-to-back.

Bernier will start his first game since October 31st vs. the Penguins. That night he allowed four goals on 32 shots in a loss. Bernier has yet to win a game while posting a 3.02 GAA and .899 SV% this season. With James Reimer playing very well right now, Bernier will need a good outing tonight—however, he will be in tough vs. the red-hot Rangers.

Wagner failed to record a point in 11 games with the Ducks this season, but had two points (1G / 1A) in three contests with San Diego (AHL). Wagner will stay with the Avalanche and could make his Avs’ debut as soon as Tuesday.

Ramo stopped 34 of 36 shots in the Flames win in Washington on Friday. Ramo has won four of seven starts with a 3.00 GAA and .901 SV% since being recalled from Stockton (AHL). Ramo will start his eighth consecutive game tonight in Chicago—Ramo comes into play with a 2-4-0 record, 3.35 GAA and .894 SV% on the road.