NHL Hockey Player News

Salvador is a little banged-up and with eight defensemen on the roster there is no reason to risk playing him this afternoon vs. the Islanders. Anton Volchenkov will slide into the lineup.

Thomas surrendered five tallies on 32 shots it a 5-4 loss to the Capitals on Thursday. Thomas has struggled recently allowing 35 goals in his last 10 starts. 3.50 GA per game is not exactly what you should be looking for in a fantasy backstop. He appears to be in-line to get the call today vs. Columbus. He allowed four goals on 30 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Feb 1.

Holtby allowed four goals on 34 shots, but walked away with the win over the Panthers on Thursday. Holtby has now won his last three starts and five of his last six. However that streak could come to an end this afternoon as he gets the start in Boston against the 37-16-5 Bruins.

Nabokov allowed four goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 OT win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday. Despite not having John Tavares or Frans Nielsen, the Islanders were able to push five past a rusty-looking Jonathan Bernier. This afternoon, Nabby will face the Devils for the third time this season. In the first two contests he has gone 1-1-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .907 SV%.

Bobrovsky surrendered four goals on 34 shots in 5-2 loss to the Devils on Thursday. Bob put the Jackets in a hole early, allowing three goals 8:54 into the first period. He will look to get back on track this afternoon vs. the Panthers. He stopped 35 of 36 shots in a 4-1 win against Florida on February 2.

The Islanders have returned Kevin Poulin to the AHL to get some game action, so Nilsson has been recalled and could start on Sunday after going 7-1-0 in his last eight starts with the Sound Tigers.

Poulin has not started since January 27, so the Islanders have returned him to Bridgeport to get some starts.

Heeter will serve as Steve Mason's backup with Ray Emery sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Emery was not at practice on Friday, evidently due to his lower-body injury. Cal Heeter has been recalled on an emergency basis and will serve as Steve Mason's backup this afternoon.

With Ray Emery day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Mason will get the nod in goal after a disappointing start on Thursday. He allowed four goals on 16 shots before being yanked in favor of Emery, who didn't fare any better. This afternoon he will go head-to-head with 'King Henrik' as the Flyers welcome the Rangers to Welss Fargo Center.

Ott will likely play on the Blues third line and see significantly less minutes. He has nine goals and 11 assists in 59 games this season.

Halak, 28, has played 40 games for the Blues, posting a 24-9-4 record with a .917 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average. He has four shutouts this season, tied for second in the NHL, and is best known for leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference finals in 2010.

The 6-2, 231-pound Stewart has 15 goals and 11 assists in 58 games for the Blues this season after leading St. Louis last year with 18 goals and 36 points. Stewart, 26, was Colorado's first-round pick (18th overall) in 2006. In six NHL seasons, Stewart has 115 goals and 228 points in 377 games.

Miller and Ott will join the Blues in Phoenix, where they play Sunday. They were scratched by the Sabres just before the warmup for tonight's game against San Jose in First Niagara Center. Miller is 15-22-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .923 SV% with the Sabres, but receives a huge fantasy boost by going to the Blues.

Elliott allowed three goals on 31 shots in a win over the Jets before the break. He will remain a backup once Ryan Miller arrives in St. Louis.

Enroth allowed four goals on 33 shots in a win over Bruins on Wednesday. He will get the call tonight, but will likely become the backup once Jaroslav Halak arrives in Buffalo.

Niemi stopped 19 of 21 shots in a win over the Blue Jackets in his final start before the break. He did not see any crease time in Sochi, but will hop back into the cage tonight vs. the Sabres. Niemi has been challenged for starts by Alex Stalock, and if Stalock continues to see starts, Niemi's value takes a hit.

There were rumours swirling around Girardi and possibly being dealt before the trade deadline. Girardi has tallied four goals and 13 assists (17 points) with a plus-4 rating in 60 games this season. Girardi's extension carries an AAV of $5.5 million US.

Koivu will miss his 17th straight game tonight. "Wait another day and get a good team practice on Sunda and then look at it again [for Calgary on Monday]," Koivu said. "It's getting better and it's pretty much the same story it's been this whole week. It's slowly getting there and getting more comfortable on skates, but it's still not quite where I want to be, especially battles and things like that.

Butler left Thursday's game after playing just 8:51 and did not return. Butler did not take part in Friday's practice and is likely to be replaced by Derek Smith tomorrow. Butler has two goals and eight assists (10 points) in 59 games.