NHL Hockey Player News

Phillips left Monday's game in the first period and did not return. He will be replaced Patrick Weircioch in the linkup tonight. He is listed as day-to-day.

Zibanejad must have been injured in Monday's win over the Lightning. He did only play 10:18, which suggest that he left early (averages 14:17). He will be replaced by Matt Kassian.

Craig Anderson is still not ready which leaves Lehner to make his seventh straight start. He stopped 35 of 38 shots in a shootout win over the Lightning last night. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the young goaltender. He has a nice matchup tonight vs. the Panthers.

Quick stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 3-2 win over the Flyers last night. He has won each of his last three starts, which will earn him the start on back-to-back nights. This is the second time this season that he has started both games of a back-to-back, he is 0-2 in the second games so far.

Bernier is 25-16-7 with a 2.61 GAA and .925 SV% this season. His return could not have come at a better time. The Leafs are sliding in the wrong direction in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Tonight, they have a tough test with Maple Leafs killer Ryan Miller in goal for the Western Conferences best squad.

Weise will see a specialist, at this time there is no word on how long he will be out.

Eller missed just one game with a lower-body injury. Eller will replace Dale Weise (wrist) in the Habs lineup.

Crawford stopped 15 of 17 shots in a 2-0 loss to the Predators on Sunday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Chicago twinetender. Despite the loss, the Hawks will return to Crawford tonight vs. Dallas. He has gone 2-1-0 with a 2.30 GAA and .913 SV% against the Stars this season.

Niemi surrendered two goals on 25 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals on Saturday. He was given last night off so he should be back in goal tonight vs. the Oilers. Niemi has gone 6-1-1 with a 1.86 GAA and .931 SV% in March. He has posted a 2.01 GAA and .922 SV% while going 1-1 vs. the Oilers this season.

Bertuzzi missed Sunday's game with the flu, but will be back in the lineup tonight in Columbus. Bertuzzi is obviously far from the player he was in 2002-03 when he had 97 points with the Canucks, but he had been a 40-point player in recent years the Red Wings. Clearly with only nine goals and seven assists (16 points) in 54 games this season, he is not going to come close to 40 points.

Jurco skated this morning for the first time in more than two weeks this morning. He will miss his seventh straight game tonight in Columbus, but this could be the last one that he misses. He has 10 points (5G / 5A) in 26 games this season.

Abdelkader will miss his fifth straight game tonight, but is expected to miss four more games at most.

Korpikoski will miss his second straight game after being hit in the face with a puck in practice on Monday. This means Rob Klinkhammer will remain in the lineup. Korpikoski is day-to-day.

Yakupov will miss his fourth straight game with what is now being called a fractured ankle. There is no timetable for Yak's return, but with the Oilers clearly out of the playoff mix, there is no reason to rush him back.

Niemi surrendered two goals on 25 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals on Saturday. He was given last night off so he should be back in goal tonight vs. the Oilers. Niemi has gone 6-1-1 with a 1.86 GAA and .931 SV% in March. He has posted a 2.01 GAA and .922 SV% while going 1-1 vs. the Oilers this season.

Howard gave up four goals on 25 shots in a 4-3 OT loss to the Wild on Sunday. The Red Wings were flat in the third period, but despite an ugly stat line, Howie was great yet again. He has won four of his last six with a 2.74 GAA and .907 SV%. He will get another start tonight in a huge clash with the Blue Jackets.

Bickell skated with the team this morning and is expected to travel with the Blackhawks on their upcoming three-game road-trip. Tonight will be the third straight game that he has missed.

Scrivens was already scheduled to start Tuesday, but after Viktor Fasth was injured in practice on Monday, Scrivens will be the Oilers clear number-1 for the near future. Scrivens allowed three goals on 15 shots after replacing Fasth in Saturday's 8-1 loss to the Flames. The last time Scrivens faced the Sharks, he stopped all 59 shots (not a typo) he faced in a 3-0 win.

The Coyotes announced this afternoon that Smith's injury is not as serious as originally feared and that he might just be dealing with a minor strain. They are encouraged with how well he is walking today and are hoping that he will only miss the rest of the current road-trip (2 games) at most. He will continue to be evaluated and we will pass on any further details.

Emmerton skated in seven games during his call-up. he hast six shots and a minus-1 rating. He will go back to the AHL with Mitch Callahan being recalled and Todd Bertuzzi set to return to the lineup.