NHL Hockey Player News

Ellis was beat five times on 36 shots in the 5-1 loss to the Wild on Saturday. It wasn't the best first start as a Dallas Star but he will look to bounce back tonight in Colorado.

MacDonald will make his fifth straight start tomorrow in Anaheim. He has won each of his last two starts (vs. Montreal and New Jersey) with a 2.00 GAA and .929 SV%. The matchup with the Ducks is a tough one.

Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said he’d yet to make a determination as to which forward will come out of the lineup to allow Bouchard to return, but it was likely to be Brock Nelson, who was a healthy scratch in Chicago on Friday.

Grigorenko has no points in six games. He started on the third line Monday with wingers Zemgus Girgensons and Brian Flynn but skated just 8:57. It was Grigorenko's second game with less than nine mintues in his last three outings.

Rasmus Ristolainen, selected eighth overall in June, will return to the blue line tonight when the Sabres visit the New York Islanders. Ristolainen was minus-3 in the opening six games before getting scratched for Monday's 2-1 loss to Minnesota.

Justin Falk would play if Del Zotto is unavailable. Del Zotto has no points and a minus-6 rating in five games.

Gionta missed Saturday's game because of personal reasons. He will be back on the Habs second line with Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty.

Bjugstad was activated from the IR on Sunday and will enter the lineup tonight on a line with Tomas Kopecky and Krys Barch.

Mrazek will back-up Jonas Gustavsson tonight vs. Columbus. He will likely be reassigned to Grand Rapids when Jimmy Howard's hand heals.

Kearns has played in seven playoff games and six regular season games, recording zero points in those 13 games.

Sean Collins who was just recently called-up will likely be in the lineup.

Yakupov has been a healthy scratch for the last two games. Hopefully for his fantasy owners he is ready to adjust the part of his game that coach Eakins doesn't like. He had a great rookie year scoring 17 goals and adding 14 assists (31 points) in 48 games.

The 19-year-old is leading the NHL in goals and when he is in the lineup, he should be in your lineup. He has shown great early chemistry with Joe Thornton and Brent Bruns, so expect things to continue.

Niemi moved to 5-0 with another easy win. He only faced 23 shots and stopped 21 of them in a 3-2 win over the Senators. He has yet to allow more than two goals in a game this season and has his GAA sitting at 1.40 with a .939 SV%. Niemi will be in tough tonight against the undefeated Blues.

Rinne was only saw 16 shots on Saturday, turning aside 14 of them in a 3-2 win over the Islanders. After a tough start vs. Toronto it was good to see Rinne get back into the win column. He has a great matchup tonight vs. the Panthers.

Markstrom allowed three goals on 29 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Kings on Sunday. After a great performance in relief of Tim Thomas, Markstrom has struggled. In three starts since becoming the starter, he has one win with a 3.25 GAA and .897 SV%.

Hertl was forced from Saturday's game with a head injury, but appears as if he'll be able to play tonight. The rookie sensation currently leads the NHL in goals, so if he plays, he should be in your lineup.

Josh Harding started last night vs. Buffalo so it will probably be Kuemper who faces the Maple Leafs this evening. Tonight would be his fourth career start, he is 1-2-0 with a 2.08 GAA and .916 SV% in his previous three starts.

Schroeder will make his season debut tonight. He had three goals and six assists (nine points) in 31 games with the Canucks last season.

Luongo allowed four goals on 38 shots and was outdone by fellow Canadian netminder Carey Price. His GAA is pushing 3.00 (2.99) and SV% has dipped below .900 (.898). Luongo is typically a slow starter so it isn't time to panic. He has a great matchup against a struggling Flyers offence.