NHL Hockey Player News

Montoya was 3-1-0 with a 2.90 GAA and .899 SV% last season. He could be a decent spot start if you are desperate.

Markstrom played great allowing three goals on 39 shots in a shocking 6-3 win over the Penguins on Friday. He will need an equally good performance today vs. a tough Kings team.

Quick stopped 27 of 28 in a win over Carolina on Friday. He has won two in a row and has seen his GAA drop to 2.64 and SV% is now .905. He has a great matchup vs. Florida today, feel free to deploy him.

Smith was given the night off on Saturday so he will be back in the cage Sunday. He allowed two goals on 30 shots in a 4-2 win over the Red Wings on Thursday. It was good to see him get back on track after being yanked in his previous start. He has a decent option vs. Hurricanes.

Ruutu has four goals and five assists in 17 games last season.

Khudobin is 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .940 SV%. He has outplayed Cam Ward thus far and another good start today could go a long way. He has a solid matchup vs. Phoenix, on a quiet Sunday in the NHL he might be the best spot start option.

Rinne's up-and-down play continued on Thursday. He allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 4-0 loss to Toronto. It has been an alarming start for his fantasy owners; 3.50 GAA and .891 SV% are not what owners were expecting when selecting him in the early rounds. The Preds take on the 2-1-1 Islanders, who are averaging 3.75 goals per game so far.

Nelson was a healthy scratch last night as a result of Cal Clutterbuck returning to the lineup. He has one assist in three games.

Donovan has a goal and assist in four games. He was averaging 16:29 TOI per game.

Carkner has not appeared in a game this season. He is not fantasy relevant.

An MRI today revealed that Lecavalier will likely miss no more than a week. The Flyers have shuffled their lines and called up two players to compensate for Lecavalier and Scott Hartnell's injuries.

Pirri led the AHL in scoring last year with 22 goals, 53 assists (75 points) in 76 games. He was one of the last cuts in training camp but will be in the lineup tonight vs. Buffalo. He will skate on a line with Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, a line that definitely gives him some fantasy value.

Crawford was given the night off on Friday but will be back in the cage tonight vs. Buffalo. After a great season in 2012-13, his season hasn't started out the way his owners were hoping for. He has just one win in three starts with a 2.93 SV% and .890 SV%. He has a great matchup tonight vs. Buffalo.

Hartnell's timetable was determined after an MRI today, Tye McGinn and Michael Raffl were called up from the AHL to replace Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier.

Detroit selected Mantha with the 20th pick at this year's NHL entry draft. He scored 50 goals and 39 assists in 67 games with Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) last season. He has been off to a hot start this year as well, 13 goals and 10 assists (23 points) in eight games (first in QMJHL).

Wilson missed all of Colorado's preseason contests and first the first four games this season with a minor knee injury. Wilson has been skating for the last two weeks, but it wasn't until last Sunday's practice that he fully participated in drills with his teammates. Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy has been reluctant to change his lineup during the winning streak, but he will make one change against the Capitals as Wilson will replace Tyson Barrie on defense and will likely be paired with Nate Guenin.

Emery allowed four goals on 34 shots in his first start this season. Steve Mason has played well through four starts so Emery will need a strong performance tonight if he doesn't want to lose his starts. He has a tough matchup against the Red Wings on the road.

Niemi's leisurely ride through the NHL schedule continued on Thursday. He faced the most shots he had to this point (26) and turn away 25 of them. For the fourth time in four games, Niemi was given at least four goals of goal support. He will look to keep thing's rolling tonight vs. Ottawa.

Against the upstart Sharks, the Senators need all the offence they can get, so Spezza is in.

The Senators have a back-to-back tonight and tomorrow so Lehner was going to start one of the two, and the Sens have opted to play him vs. San Jose. He has yet to see any action this season but was 5-3-4 with a 2.20 GAA and .936 SV% last season. If the first four games were any indication, Lehner could be in for a long night vs. the Sharks.