NHL Hockey Player News

Lecavalier is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his lower-back. Tye McGinn has been recalled from Adirondack to round out the 23-man roster.

Malkin is listed as questionable for tonight's meeting with the Blue Jackets, but it appears he is going to test out the lower-body injury in the morning skate. He has missed the last two games after being injured in the morning skate prior to Thursday's contest vs. the Sharks. His return to the lineup would be huge, as James Neal is likely going to be suspended for his actions on Saturday. Monitor Malkin's status following the morning skate.

Erixon currently leads Springfield in points with 16 (3G / 13A) in 14 games. The 6-foot-2, 200 lbs. defenseman was the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft and has appeared in 32 games over the last two years with the Blue Jackets, tallying five assists and a plus-5 rating. With James Wisniewski out for at least a week, Erixon will battle with David Savard for playing time on Columbus' blueline.

Dumoulin was the 51st overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2009 NHL Draft. He is currently in his second year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) after spending three years at Boston College. The 6-foot-3, 200 lbs. defenseman has one goal and five assists in 22 games this season. With Pittsburgh down three starting D-men, Dumoulin could make his NHL debut tonight.

Orpik was injured on Saturday when he was sucker punched by Bruins winger Shawn Thornton while laying prone on the ice. Orpik concussed Loui Eriksson on a hit earlier in the game and when things spiralled out of control after a James Neal knee, Thornton went right after Orpik. Thornton has been suspended indefinitely for the incident and Orpik will be out until at least next Saturday.

Phaneuf crunched Miller into the boards from behind near the end of the third period in Sunday night's Bruins-Maple Leafs game. The NHL confirmed that Phaneuf's hearing will happen on Tuesday by phone, meaning that it can be no longer than five games.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien thinks that Hamilton will miss at least a week, "we'll see what the outcome is there but, right now, it doesn't seem like he's going to be playing with us probably this coming week. It doesn't look good as far as - the diagnosis on him was he's probably done for at least a week." The Bruins are hopeful that Johnny Boychuk will be available tomorrow at Calgary, if he is not then they will need to make a roster move.

Hejda went down with a knee injury on Thursday at Edmonton. Hejda flew back to Denver on Friday to be evaluated by team doctors, who determined he suffered only a strain. Hejda might return skating this week and possibly play Saturday against the visiting Minnesota Wild, or next Monday against Dallas.

Crawford was injured with six minutes remaining in the first period. He struggled to move laterally after a right-pad save on Marcel Goc’s shot, and play was halted. Crawford, with the help of a trainer, headed to the locker room. As bad as Crawford’s injury looked originally, coach Joel Quenneville sounded optimistic about the goaltender. “I haven’t talked to the docs yet, but I don’t think it’s too serious,” he said. “But when it’s a goalie, it’s a little more serious than other players because of how important he is to the team. We’ll have a better assessment tomorrow, but we’re thinking along those lines (of prognosis).”

Hamilton appeared to be injured following a collision with Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarson. The injuries continue to pile up for the Bruins who are already without defensemen Adam McQuaid and Johnny Boychuk and lost forwards Loui Eriksson and Chris Kelly last night. It has been a rough weekend for the Bruins in terms of health.

Kostka has not played since October 19 due to a foot injury. He was sent to Rockford for conditioning but is now back with the big club. The Hawks are pretty deep on the blueline so he likely won't be in the lineup on a nightly basis. He had just eight assists in 35 games with the Maple Leafs last season.

Crawford was injured on what appeared to be a relatively easy save, but appeared to be in a lot of pain following the pad stop. He had to be helped off of the ice and was replaced by Antti Raanta. Judging by the amount of pain Crawford appeared to be in, you have to fear that it could be serious injury. The Blackhawks are already without goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, so Raanta would take over as the team's number-1 should Crawford miss an extended period of time. Expect an update after the game and tomorrow.

Luongo stopped 37 of 39 shots in a win over the Coyotes on Friday. The win was his 13th of the season and third in his last four starts. He will take on a talented Avalanche team tonight in Vancouver. In 14 starts at home Luongo is 6-5-3 with a 2.12 GAA and .920 SV%.

Mark Fraser will once again be scratched as Phaneuf will play. This is great news for the Maple Leafs who could not afford to lose anyone else to injury, especially not their captain and big minute eating defenseman.

Phaneuf took two line rushes before departing for the dressing room. It looks like he is doubtful to play tonight. Phaneuf reportedly blocked a shot last night and left briefly but was able to finish the game.

Bernier allowed two goals on 50 shots in a win over the Stars on Thursday. He continues to see a ton of rubber on a nightly basis, he has seen an average of 45.6 shots in his last three starts. He will go up against a Bruins team who lost three starters in last night's 3-2 win over Pittsburgh.

Johnson allowed one goal on just 14 shots in a win over the Blue Jackets on November 30. He will get the start tonight in Toronto vs. the Maple Leafs. It is not an ideal spot-start matchup.

Clemmensen gave up one goal on nine shots in a relief effort of Tim Thomas on Novemeber 30. He will give Thomas a rest tonight as he has started the previous 14 games. He has a terrible spot-start matchup vs. Chicago.

Just as I thought, the Avalanche will go back to Giguere after he led them to a win on Friday and Semyon Varlamov allowed eight goals on Thursday. Giguere will look to move to 8-0-0 on the season when he takes on the Avalanche tonight. Of his seven wins, five of them have come on the road along with a 1.73 GAA and .945 SV%.

Lupul skated in the Maple Leafs optional skate this morning suggesting that he is nearing a return, but it won't be tonight. His next chance to return will be Wednesday vs. the Kings.