NHL Hockey Player News

Vanek will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. Vanek has had a good season but he has missed games on a frequent basis. Take him out of your lineups.

Samuelsson (finger) has only appeared in three games this season in his return to the Red Wings. He will be in the lineup today when the Wings take on the Blackhawks.

Franzen left Thursday's game with a lower-body injury but will not miss any time. Franzen is slowly starting to find his scoring touch lately, he has two goals and four assists in his last six games.

Bryzgalov played very well yesterday allowing just one goal on 34 shots in a 3-1 win over the Bruins yesterday. He will be back between the pipes vs. a Capitals team who have won four out of their last five.

Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 24 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Oilers on Thursday. He has a tough matchup vs. the West's second best team, the Anaheim Ducks.

Niemi is coming off of shutouts on back-to-back nights on Wednesday and Thursday. He made 22 saves against the Ducks in a 4-0 Sharks win, and followed that up with 27 against Detroit. His 2.14 goals-against average is seventh in the league, while his .924 save percentage ranks fifth.

Justin Falk is expected to be the scratch on D for the Wild.

Thompson will be eligible to return to the lineup next Saturday against the Islanders.

Rallo had no points in 3 games with the Panthers.

Reimer allowed three goals on 22 shots in a 6-3 win over the Hurricanes on Thursday. He will get the call again tonight marking his fifth start in Toronto's last six games. He has a fairly tough matchup against a Senators team that despite a bunch of injuries continues to find ways to win. Reimer is 1-0-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .907 SV% in his only start vs. Ottawa this season.

Crosby was hit in the mouth with a slapshot this afternoon and did not return. He was brought to the hospital during the game. It sounds like he will just need dental work and no other injury was sustained. There should be more information on his injury tomorrow or Monday.

Ruutu left the game with a lower-body injury and will not return. He had hip surgery in the offseason and missed the Hurricanes' first 29 games, no word if that is what is bothering him.

Allen, 22, has appeared in 12 games with the Blues this season, posting an 8-3-0 record with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. In 35 games with the Rivermen, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound goaltender has a record of 13-19-2 with a 2.89 goals against average, .904 save percentage and two shutouts. Allen is obviously the goalie of the future for the Blues, and only holds value in deep-keeper leagues.

Leopold has two goals, six assists and a minus-6 in 24 games this season. Leopold is a solid defenseman who can contribute on the offensive end. He put up 24 points in 79 games last season. Moving to a better team should increase his fantasy value, however he is still a low-end fantasy option.

Gulutzan said he’ll wait and see about the goaltending situation for Monday’s game against the Ducks, when the Stars will be playing the second game of a back-t0-back.

Fiddler didn’t practice Saturday.

Petersen practiced on the 4th line Saturday.

With Ponikarovsky and Gionta returning from injury the Devils could afford to send Pensonen down to make room for Tallinder to return.

I would expect Burns to move back to forward after Demers returns to the lineup. Burns has five goals and five assists in nine games as a forward, including goals in three straight games.

Demers was not at the Sharks’ morning skate. “Not feeling good today, won’t play tonight,” head coach Todd McLellan said. He is not a fantasy relevant player having scored just one goal in 15 games this season.