NHL Hockey Player News

Although Rask started on Sunday, the Bruins are off until Saturday after today's game so there is a good chance that they turn to their number-1 this afternoon. Rask allowed two goals on 37 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Blackhawks yesterday afternoon. The two goals he allowed were soft, but he otherwise played very well. He will take on the Kings for the second time this month, the first time he was yanked after he allowed three goals on 18 shots in the first 21:45 of the contest.

Hutton allowed three goals on 30 shots in a shootout win over the Flyers on Thursday. After Devan Dubnyk struggled in his Predators debut, they appear ready to turn back to Hutton tonight vs. Dallas. Hutton is 1-1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .926 SV% against the Stars this season.

Fleury allowed three goals on 28 shots in a win over the Capitals on Wednesday. It was his fifth straight win and his league leading 27th of the year. His GAA and SV% having been taking a hit lately (3.09 / .898 over the last nine starts) but in win-only leagues he is fantasy gold. There is a good chance he moves to 6-0-0 in January when he faces the Panthers tonight, plus the Penguins could get as many as four players returning to their lineup tonight.

The Penguins held Neal out of Wednesday's contest because of an upper-body injury, with four days off in between games it was the smart decision to get their sniper back to 100 per cent. He has 36 points (17G / 19A) and a plus-9 rating in 27 games this season. Activate him in all formats.

Howard allowed two goals on 32 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Kings on Saturday. Howard stopped all three shootout attempts as he exorcised he shootout demons as he moved to 1-5 in shootouts this season. Tonight he will face St. Louis, a former divisional foe. He was 1-2-1 with a 3.54 GAA and .875 SV% against the Blues last season.

Helm has only played in one game since December 4 and has missed the last seven games leading up to tonight's meeting with the Blues. In 16 games this season, Helm has played very well recording seven goals and four assists (11 points) to go along with a plus-6 rating. He will skate on a line with Tomas Tatar and Drew Miller tonight in Detroit.

Despite starting 14 of their last 20 games, Grubauer was pulled in each of his last two starts and has been reassigned. This is a tough break for owners who invested on him, but if you did, evaluate the waiver wire options because Caps goalies are terribly risky right now.

It will be a battle of the back-up in this Monday matinee. Nilsson has not started a game since December 9 when he allowed five goals on 36 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Ducks. Overall with the Isles this season he is 0-2-2 with a 3.63 GAA and .873 SV%. He would be a risky spot start vs. the Flyers today.

Emery stopped all five shots that he faced to record the victory after replacing Steve Mason on Saturday vs. the Islanders. It was a win that won't help his fantasy owners because he didn't get the start, but he will look to duplicate that W vs. the same Isles team today. Emery is 6-8-0 with a 2.86 GAA and .897 SV% this season.

Martin skated with the team over the weekend and is on the ice for the gameday skate. He is skating alongside Brooks Orpik which suggests he will be back in tonight. Will update following the morning skate.

Helm is centering a like with Tomas Tatar and Drew Miller and also participating in penalty kill drills which would suggest he will be back tonight vs. St. Louis. We will have an official update following the morning skate.

Bolland has missed the last 35 games and will likely miss several more. The Leafs centre still doesn’t know when he’ll return to practice, let alone game action. “Who knows?” Bolland said Saturday after skating solo for the fourth time this week. Toronto is 14-15-5 since Bolland went out, but coach Randy Carlyle affirmed that the 27-year-old won’t be back until he’s 100 per cent. Bolland, who had six goals and four assists in his first 15 games with the Leafs, wants to go. But he understands the need for caution. “You want to be out there,” he said. “You think some days you can push it and you push it too much and you set yourself behind. You’re just hurting yourself. I think for myself it’s being patient and being ready when I’m ready.”

Ramo allowed two goals on 33 shots in Saturday's fight-filled 3-2 shootout loss to the Canucks. Ramo is now 2-3-1 with a 2.65 GAA and .908 SV% this month and draws a terrible matchup tonight in San Jose. The first time he faced the Sharks he gave up five goals on 35 shots in a 6-3 loss.

Lundqvist stopped all 38 shots that he faced in a 1-0 win over the Red Wings on Thursday. It was his fourth win in his last five starts and his third shutout of the season as Henrik is starting to look more like 'King Henrik' with each passing game. Tonight he is expected to face the Capitals, who he is 1-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .931 SV% against this season.

Today will mark Peters first start since December 27, he allowed four goals on 26 shots in a loss to the Penguins. With the emergence of Anton Khudobin, Peters has been bumped into the backup role once again. He is 7-9-4 with a 2.38 GAA and .922 SV% this season. Peters is also 0-1-1 in two starts against the Lightning.

Aulie hasn't played since December 5 and missed 21 games over the span. The 24-year-old defenseman has yet to record a point and is a minus-3 in six games this season. He will replace the injured Victor Hedman (foot) in the lineup tonight.

Hedman was injured after getting hit in the foot by a shot on Saturday, the injury will keep him out of tonight's lineup. After today the Lightning are off until Thursday. He is listed as day-to-day so there is a good chance that he could be back for that game vs. the Senators.

After not allowing more than two goals in 11 straight starts, Bishop surrendered five goals on 32 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Sharks on Saturday afternoon. Despite the rough outing he will get the start in the second game of the back-to-back today in Carolina. He is 2-0-0 with a 0.98 GAA and .966 SV% vs. the Hurricanes this season.

Smith has recorded one assist in 14 games with the Flames this season. He returns to the AHL where he has spent five games with Abbotsford this season, he has registered just one goal with the Heat. This clears space for Kris Russell to return from IR this week.

There was no further injury information, but McQuaid is out for the remainder of today's game. He missed nine games with a lower-body injury in December. The Bruins are already with Dennis Seidenberg and Dougie Hamilton on the blueline so losing McQuaid again would certainly test their depth.