NHL Hockey Player News

MacDonald will likely be the Kipprusoff's backup when he returns because he has more experience that Leyland Irving. Danny Taylor will likely return to the AHL after tonight's game.

Palushaj has never been fantasy relevant in his NHL career so it's unlikely the change of scenery will change that.

He was recently called up but didn't play for the Penguins during the weekend. This move would suggest Matt Niskanen or Kris Letang are nearing returns.

Roussel was just sent down last week but has now been recalled again. He isn't fantasy relevant.

This will be Greiss' third start of the year and he has been good in a backup role this season. He is 1-1-0 with a 1.01 GAA and .964 SV%. He isn't a great fantasy option simply because Niemi is the clear #1 and will see the majority of starts. That being said he is a great spot start tonight vs. the Blue Jackets.

Bryzgalov is 3-0-1 in his last 4 starts so there's no reason to not start him tonight against the Maple Leafs. Over that 4 game stretch he has saved 112 of 121 shots he faced. He has a solid matchup tonight against the Maple Leafs who have struggled on home ice. He has been hot lately so start him with confidence.

This will be the former #1 overall picks second start of the year. He didn't fair so well in his first start giving up 4 goals on 27 shots against Boston. The match-up is a little easier this time around as he will face the Hurricanes. I still wouldn't recommend him as a spot start.

Atkinson (ankle) hasn't played since January 23 but is nearing a return to the Blue Jackets lineup. Atkinson is a sniper and will be a welcomed return to a Columbus lineup that ranks at the bottom of the NHL in Goals For per game with 2.0.

He was a healthy scratch in the Capitals last game vs. the Panthers so it is unknown how the injury happened but his day-to-day tag would indicate that the injury isn't serious. MJ90 has had a hard time staying in the Capitals lineup this year which has destroyed whatever fantasy value he had.

Reimer will get his third straight start tonight against Philadelphia. He is on a 2 game winning streak including a 37-save shutout against Montreal on Saturday. Reimer has stopped 60 of the last 62 shots he faced and he will try to extend his winning streak to 3 tonight. The bad news is the Leafs are at home where they are 1-4-0 this season vs. 6-1-0 on the road.

Mason and Bobrovsky have been splitting starts this year (Bobrovsky-7, Mason 5) and it mostly has to do with neither one of them is outperforming the other. Mason is 1-4-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .900 SV% while Bobrovsky is 2-3-2, 2.98 GAA and .896 SV%, almost identical numbers. However we can't post all the blame on the goalies, those numbers are just the product of a mediocre goalie on a bad NHL team.

Malone hasn't been doing much offensively this season with only 4 goals and 1 assist in 10 games so far so he is very droppable. Malone was injured in the pregame soccer shootaround.

Miller had a fantastic game last night vs. the Islanders. It was enough to earn him back-to-back starts. Miller has a tough match-up tonight against the Bruins.

Halak was activated off of IR today and will start tomorrow after Brian Elliott and the Blues lost all 3 games in Halak's absence. Halak has a 3-0-0 record in 5 games this season with a 2.10 GAA and .889 SV%.

Halak missed the Blues last 3 games where Brian Elliott was torched in all 3 of his starts. Elliott allowed 17 goals over the 3 game span and Halak will be a welcomed return to the lineup. Halak will start Monday.

Leighton has only started once this season and doesn't have any fantasy value as Ilya Bryzgalov will start the vast majority of games for the Flyers.

With Michael Leighton out for the next 7-10 days with an upper-body injury Boucher will be the Flyers backup. The Flyers have a back-to-back coming up on Monday and Tuesday so Boucher could very likely start one of those games.

This is the back-end of a back-to-back for the Predators and Chris Mason played yesterday so Rinne will start tonight. Rinne has been spectacular lately. He has won 4 straight and has stopped 113 of 116 shots he faced in those 4 starts. He has a tough match-up tonight and the Predators will need him to continue his strong play if they're going to have a chance against the Blackhawks.

Rozsival has 2 assists in 3 games this season. However he isn't the 40 points in 80 games player he once was. Unless he keeps racking up the assists from the back-end he isn't a great fantasy option at this point in his career.

The Penguins placed Kris Letang on injured reserve to make room for Morrow to be called up. The 23rd overall pick in 2011 has 2 G and 8 A in 39 games in the AHL.