NHL Hockey Player News

Bartowski has yet to appear in a game this season. He had two assists in 11 games with Boston last season.

Niemi's leisurely ride through the NHL schedule continued on Thursday. He faced the most shots he had to this point (26) and turn away 25 of them. For the fourth time in four games, Niemi was given at least four goals of goal support. He will look to keep thing's rolling tonight vs. Ottawa.

Grigorenko who was a healthy scratch on Thursday will return to the lineup tonight vs. Chicago. He has no points and is a minus-1 while averaging 11:24 TOI in four games. The Sabres are expecting much more out of the 2012 12th overall pick.

Sulzer, who will make his season debut tonight, had three goals and one assist in 17 games with the Sabres last season.

That likely means that Tuomo Ruutu will make his season debut, but the Hurricanes have said they will make a decision on him tomorrow.

Mller had his first subpar performance of the season on Thursday. He allowed four goals on 33 shots in a 4-1 loss to Columbus. He is now 0-3-0 but that is not his fault. His 2.37 GAA and .938 SV% is more than acceptable, but the Sabres can't generate any offence. Against Chicago today, I don't suspect that will change.

Bobrovsky won each of his last two starts, vs. the Islanders and Sabres. His GAA has dropped to 2.28 and SV% up to .920. The Blue Jackets welcome the Bruins to town this afternoon, which usually is not a good matchup. However the were shutout by J.S Giguere on Thursday, so feel free to roll the dice with Bob.

Hunwick will go down to Lake Erie (AHL). Should he stay with Lake Erie and play it will be the first time since 2008-09 that he plays in the AHL.

This is the first time that Ruutu has skated on a regular line, opposed to being an extra. It could be a sign that he will return to the lineup tomorrow vs. Phoenix, but consider him questionable.

Campbell comes up as insurance for the Stars while Kari Lehtonen is day-to-day. He was 19-13-3 with a 2.65 GAA and .905 SV% with Texas last season and has won his only start this season.

Dubnyk has given up 13 goals in his first three starts leading to a 5.28 GAA and .847 SV%. He will go head-to-head with Jonathan Bernier, who's start has been the complete opposite to Dubnyk's. The Oilers will have to prove they can play defense before he becomes a viable option again.

With Fedor Tyutin returning from injury, Nikitin will take a seat. Nikitin is a plus-1 with one assist while averaging 21:43 through three games.

With Calvert out with a sore groin, Jenner will draw back into the Blue Jackets lineup. He dropped from their first line to a healthy scratch in two games, so don't expect him to stick in the lineup or have any fantasy relevance.

Boone Jenner will replace Calvert on the Blue Jackets third line. Calvert has no points while averaging 15:25 TOI in the first three games. Consider him day-to-day, but he should be back Tuesday vs. Detroit.

Hayes has no points while averaging 11:51 TOI in two games with the Blackhawks.

Pirri, who missed most of the preseason with an injury, was one of the last roster cuts the team made heading in to October 1st's opening game. Had he not gotten injured, it's safe to assume he would have made the team from the start. This is the chance of a lifetime for Pirri, who led the entire American Hockey League in scoring last season. If he can stick, he could be up permanently. To do that, he'll have to play responsible hockey on both ends of the ice.

Stalberg missed the Preds first four games of the season recovering from a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. He was expected to miss 4-6 weeks, but has returned after just two and a half. Expect Predators head coach Barry Trotz to ease him back into the lineup.

Halak continues to have a stranglehold on the Blues starting job, and for good reason. He is 3-0 with a 1.34 GAA, .948 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he will face a Rangers team who have been dominated in their last two games (outscored 15-2), so I think its safe to roll with Halak tonight.

Rask allowed just one goal on 29 shots on Thursday, but the Bruins couldn't beat J.S Giguere; resulting in a 1-0 loss. It was Rask's first loss of the season, but no fault of his own. He has allowed just three goals through his first three starts and has a .966 SV%. He will make his first road start of the season this afternoon in Columbus.

With Vincent Lecavalier and Scott Hartnell both out, the Flyers had to make two callups. Raffl who spent last season with Leksands in the Swedish league almost made the team out of training camp. He already has one goal and two assists with Adirondack.