Hemsky has been skating for the last few days as he works his way back from a bone bruise on his ankle. He is listed as day-to-day, but could play on Friday if Thursday's practice goes well.
After skating on his own on Monday, Yak was ready to join the team today. He is still listed as questionable for Friday, but his presence at practice is a positive step in his recovery.
Klein is a 6-foot-1, 199 lbs. defenseman who is a right handed shot. The Rangers were in need of a right handed defenseman, while the Predators have Shea Weber and Seth Jones who are much better players than Klein. Klein carries a $2.9 million US cap hit and is signed until the 2017-18 season. He has one goal, two assists and 75 hits to go along with his minus-11 rating in 47 games this season.
The Rangers had been trying to move Del Zotto for awhile now, but finally pulled the trigger this afternoon. Del Zotto carries a $2.55 million US cap hit but is a pending restricted free agent at the end of the season. Del Zotto has regressed since his 2011-12 season when we saw him total 41 points (10G / 31A) in 77 games. He has developed some bad habits in his own end of the rink which the Predators will attempt to fix. He has 11 points (2G / 9A) with a minus-5 rating in 42 games this season.
Parise is skating at Wild practice and taking part in power-play drills which suggests he will be back tomorrow. We will have better indication after the morning skate, but monitor his status tomorrow, so far all signs point to him returning.
Tanguay has been out since November 2 which caused him to miss 36 games. The Avalanche assigned Brad Malone to Lake Erie (AHL) this afternoon to clear space for Tanguay to be activated. This move had been foreshadowed throughout the month, Tanguay has been skating furiously lately. At 34-years-old, Tanguay is passed his prime years, but can still be a serviceable fantasy asset. He registered nine points (3G / 6A) with a plus-8 rating in 13 games this season. He finished third on the Flames with 27 points (11G / 16A) in 40 games last season, so if you need depth at either wing position take a look at Tanguay (6% owned in Yahoo!)
Malone has recorded two assists in 15 games with the Avalanche this season, but will return to Lake Erie where he has eight points (4G / 4A) in 15 games. His assignment means that Alex Tanguay is ready too come off of IR.
Doherty is a 22-year-old defenseman who was selected in the second round (57th overall) in 2009. He is currently in his third full season with Worcester where he has eight points (3G / 5A) in 37 games. He has totalled four goals and 20 assists (24 points) in 140 games with Worcester. He was likely recalled as blueline insurance with Scott Hannan on IR.
Raanta stopped 18 of 20 shots in a win over the Oilers on January 12. The Blackhawks will be on the tail-end of a back-to-back on Thursday, so it looks like Raanta will get his 16th start of the season. In his previous 15 starts the rookie netminder is 12-1-3 with a 2.25 GAA and .911 SV%. Behind a strong Hawks offence, he is a solid spot-start option every time he is in the cage.
Despite missing the morning skate, Desharnais will be in the lineup tonight vs. the Penguins as the Habs make no changes up front.
Diaz has yet to record a goal in 46 games this season and has just one assist and a minus-5 rating in his last 16 games.
Emelin was a minus-2 on Saturday vs. the Maple Leafs and has just two assists, a minus-7 rating with 35 hits and 16 blocked shots in his last 10 games.
Byron left Monday's contest and did not return. He played just 6:16 and was a minus-1 before retiring to the dressing room for the evening. Byron is expected to be replaced by T.J Galiardi.
Ramo allowed three goals on 27 shots in Monday's loss to the Sharks. Ramo is currently 2-4-1 with a 2.71 GAA and .905 SV% in January, a month where he has started seven of 10 games for the Flames. Tonight he takes on the Coyotes who he faced in early December, he stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 4-1 win.
Lundqvist did not dress on Tuesday because he was under the weather, but his presence at practice today suggests that he should be good to go on Thursday. Expect Lundqvist to start on Thursday if he is feeling well enough, he has won five of his last six starts with a 1.34 GAA and .958 SV%.
Desharnais missed last Tuesday's contest with the flu and could be in danger of missing tonight's game in Pittsburgh. Desharnais has two goals and one assist in his last two games, so the Canadiens would love to have him in their lineup tonight. Monitor his status following the morning skate, he will likely be a game-time decision.
Fleury shockingly gave up five goals on 28 shots in a 5-1 blowout loss to the Panthers on Monday. The Penguins had four days off in between games, which likely had something to do with their poor play. Tonight Fleury faces a Habs team who have alternated win-loss in their last eight contests. Fleury stopped 26 of 29 shots in a 3-2 loss to Montreal on November 23.
Stajan has seven goals and 10 assists in 41 games this season. The 30-year-old centre from Mississauga, Ont., made his debut in 2002 with the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to Calgary in 2010. Stajan has 116 goals and 212 assists in 693 career games.
Datsyuk declared himself 100 per cent for the Olympics, so one would expect he will be back in the Red Wings lineup prior to the Olympic break. The Red Wings are sliding in the Eastern Conference standings and could certainly use Datsyuk's magic back in the lineup.
Kindl has just one assist with a minus-1 rating in his last 10 games. With Kindl coming out that likely means Danny DeKeyser moves to the top power-play alongside Niklas Kronwall, while Brendan Smith slides onto the the second unit.
