NHL Hockey Player News

Paajarvi will miss his fourth straight game tomorrow vs. Montreal. He has no points in his first four games with the Blues.

The 30-year-old Lawson is 5-1-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .931 SV% in Binghamton. He has only made 10 NHL starts and they all came with the Islanders in 2010-11. He will play back-up to Robin Lehner in Columbus tomorrow.

When Anderson returns to the net according to MacLean depends "on his level of comfort". He will not make the trip to Columbus tomorrow and Robin Lehner will get the start. Nathan Lawson is expected to get recalled to back-up Lehner.

With Craig Anderson injured he will not make the trip to Columbus, so Lehner gets the nod. Lehner was peppered on Friday, he turned aside 53 of 57 shots in a loss to the Islanders. In four starts this season Lehner has made 45-plus saves on three separate occasion. He has seen a ton of rubber and has posted a .938 SV% in the process - that being said he has not chalked up a victory yet. The matchup vs. the Blue Jackets is a strong one, and he should be worth an add while Anderson is day-to-day.

Nichushkin scored his first NHL goal last night and was rewarded with a move to the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin today. This has happened before but he did not end up playing with them in-game. Dallas takes on the Bruins tomorrow, if he sticks on the first line, you should expect and increase in production from the talented Russian.

Kane has missed Jets practice yesterday and Monday's gameday skate. Monitor his status as puck-drop nears.

Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller said that Khudobin's skate went "OK" but that he needs more time. Justin Peters will start tomorrow and Khudobin should be considered questionable for Thursday's meeting with the Islanders.

Skinner has been out since October 24th, but was expected to potentially return this week. He was not on the ice with the Hurricanes this morning, hopefully the second opinion does not reveal a serious injury for Skinner. He had three goals and six assists (nine points) in his first 10 games.

On Friday, Elliott stopped all 31 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season. It was his also his first win of the season as well - he has posted a 2.07 GAA and .932 SV%. He has a good matchup vs. the Flames on Thursday.

Halak took the loss on Saturday after allowed four goals on 25 shots vs. the Lightning. After a blistering start to the season, Halak has cooled off as of late. His GAA now sits a 2.35 and SV% at .909. On Tuesday, he will face the Canadiens 15th ranked offence and the NHL's third best power-play (24.1%).

Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said that Vatanen is healthy enough to play but he wants to get Luca Sbisa in the lineup. Vatanen will sit after posting one goal and four assists with a plus-3 rating in 15 games.

Sbisa was recalled from the AHL on Sunday after a conditioning assignment. Sbisa had two assists in two games with Norfolk (AHL). In 41 games with the Ducks last season he had one goal and seven assists.

Olesz has two assists and a minus-1 rating in 10 games with the Devils.

Price stopped 21 of 25 shots in a loss to the WIld on Friday. It was only the second time this season Price has given up more than three goals in a start. He's currently sitting at 6-6-0 with a 2.19 GAA and .932 SV% through 12 starts. Price has a tough matchup tomorrow vs. St. Louis.

Peters has struggled since becoming the Hurricanes starter on October 24. His 0-5-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .890 SV% in five starts. Although he has a good matchup vs. the Flyers and their 29th ranked offence, it is hard to put much faith in Peters right now.

Andersen allowed three goals on 21 shots in a win over the Blue Jackets on October 27. The win moved him to 3-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .944 SV% as he continues to fill in for the injured Viktor Fasth. He will face the Rangers and their 27th ranked offence tonight. On a quiet night in the NHL he would be the best spot start option.

This would be the third game in the last four that Franzen has missed with a combination of an undisclosed injury and an illness. The Red Wings have won three straight with limited help from Franzen so they will likely let him sit so he can get to 100%. Franzen will likely be back in the lineup on Thursday vs. Dallas.

Emelin has not played in a game this season, but will be a welcomed addition to the Canadiens blueline. He could make his season debut tomorrow vs. St. Louis.

While Thomas has skated alone, he has yet to join his teammates and will not dress tomorrow vs. the Oilers. It will be the fifth straight game Thomas has missed with his leg injury. Consider him questionable for Thursday's contest vs. his former team, in Boston.

Ellerby was claimed off of waivers from Los Angeles on Saturday. The former 10th overall pick in 2007 has played 160 NHL regular season games with the Florida Panthers and the Kings. Ellerby has just two goals and 18 assists (20 points) in those 160 games- he isn't a fantasy worthy defenseman. He will be paired with Adam Pardy tonight.