NHL Hockey Player News

Eray has not recorded a point in the last four games and has just one assist in his last 10 games. Erat has not worked out for the Capitals since acquiring him from the Predators last season.

Skinner played 17:56 with two shots in his first game back from an upper-body injury. Skinner skated with Eric Staal for the first time in his career, but he has already been dropped to the third line with rookie Elias Lindholm and veteran Radek Dvorak for this afternoon's contest.

Westgarth missed the last 10 games after being injured on October 28. He had been taking part in full-contact practice so this is not surprising. He is not fantasy relevant however. Westgarth is a tough-guy who is averaging just 4:06 TOI through six games.

Berglund has missed the last three games after suffering an upper-body injury on November 16. After scoring 17 goals in 48 games (0.354 G/PG) last season, he has just one goal in 18 games (0.055 G/PG) this year. Monitor his status prior to puck-drop.

Ward allowed three goals on 29 shots in Monday's loss to the Bruins. It was a decent outing for his first start after missing nearly a month with a lower-body injury. He gets the nod this afternoon against Boston again. It is a tough matchup, but he will certainly be looking to redeem himself after Monday's loss.

Johnson allowed two goals on 32 shots in a win over the Blue Jackets on November 14. It was his second win of the season, to go along with his 2.30 GAA and .917 SV%. Today he faces a Hurricanes team who have lost three straight. Every time he starts he has spot start value because the Bruins are a great team.

McQuaid was a full participant in practice on Friday so there was some optimism that he could suit up this afternoon. however he will miss his seventh straight game after being injured on November 9.

Lehner allowed four goals on 41 shots in a loss to the Flyers on Tuesday. WIth Craig Anderson 1-6 in his last seven, the Senators will give Lehner a shot tonight. He has been good this season, posting a 2.37 GAA an .939 SV% in nine appearances. In his first career start vs. the Red Wings, Johan Franzen scored five goals in a game Lehner was pulled from.

Elliott allowed one goal on 14 shots in a relief effort of Jaroslav Halak last Sunday. He gets the nod tonight against the Stars and their 14th ranked offence (2.71 G/PG). It is not a great matchup, but you can do worse than Elliott tonight.

Fraser missed the last two games after injuring his MCL last Saturday. If he returns tonight, Morgan Rielly will come out of the lineup.

Bozak sits out his 12th straight game tonight, but is nearing a return. He wanted to play tonight, but team doctors decided it would be best that he does not. Monitor his status as Monday's contest vs. Columbus approaches.

Like Daniel Alfredsson, Weiss let head coach Mike Babcock know that he was ready to go tonight, but will sit. It will be the seventh straight contest that Weiss will miss after tweaking his groin on November 7. Consider him questionable for Sunday.

Alfredsson let head coach Mike Babcock know that he is ready to go tonight, but he will sit against his former team as the Red Wings go with the same lineup as Thursday. He will miss his fifth straight game after tweaking his groin in warmups last Friday.

Sulzer has appeared in one game with the Sabres this season, but has spent 10 games with Rochester where he had two goals and five assists. He is not fantasy relevant, having recored just 20 points in his first 107 NHL games.

Pavelec gave up give goals on 32 shots in his second loss to Chicago. He will be back in goal tonight against a Minnesota who he is 0-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .926 SV% against this season. The two losses is tough, but his numbers against the WIld have been strong. He will need to be on top of his game against Josh Harding.

Whitney has missed the last four games and has not been activated from IR yet. He would be activated before the game if he is healthy enough to play, but monitor his status following the Stars morning skate.

Ward allowed three goals on 29 shots in Monday's loss to the Bruins. It was a decent outing for his first start after missing nearly a month with a lower-body injury. He is expected to get the nod this afternoon against Boston again. It is a tough matchup, but he will certainly be out to redeem himself after Monday's loss.

Howard gave up two goals on 25 shots in a loss to the Predators on Tuesday. He will look to snap his six game losing streak when the Wings welcome the Senators to 'The Joe' tonight. Howard was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots the last time he faced Ottawa.

Mason allowed two goals on 34 shots in a win over the Senators on Tuesday. He was given Thursday off in favour of Ray Emery, but will start tonight against the Islanders. In his first start against New York he stopped 28 of 30 in a 5-2 win. He should make for a strong start tonight.

Bournival had to be helped off of the ice after suffering a bruised foot after blocking a shot last night. He underwent X-rays that revealed no broken bones, which is good news, but he remains doubtful for tonight's matchup with Pittsburgh.