NHL Hockey Player News

Svechkov will fill in for Tommy Novak, who was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury. Svechkov has two goals and zero assists in nine games this season.

Stastney will fill in for Jeremy Lauzon, who was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. Stastney has two goals and four assists in 28 games this season.

Novak was a surprise scratch on Friday, with the Predators not announcing his absence prior to warmups. Fedor Svechkov will draw into the lineup in his place.

Tomasino went into the boards awkwardly in Friday's game against the Panthers and was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he exited the ice. We should receive an update on his status ahead of the Penguins game in Carolina on Sunday.

The Predators are amid a three-game losing skid, outscored 15-7, and attempt to return to the win column with Saros between the pipes on Friday against the Vancouver Canucks. The 29-year-old Saros is averaging a win in 50 percent of games over his career but, with an 8-16-6 record this season, is well off his usual pace, only recording a win in 27 percent of games. He has a 2.82 GAA and .903 SV% this season. The Predators enter Friday's contest as -172 road favorites against a Canucks team that defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 last night.

Mintyukov will take a seat on Friday as the Ducks opt to get some fresh legs into the lineup for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Olen Zellweger will draw into the lineup in his place.

Zellweger will get the chance to slot back into Anaheim's lineup on Friday after serving as a healthy scratch for each of the last three games. Pavel Mintyukov will sit in his place.

Dostal will get the nod for the tail-end of Anaheim's back-to-back when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers on Friday. Dostal was excellent in his last appearance, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced in a 3-2 victory over the Devils on New Year's Eve. The 24-year-old netminder owns a 10-10-3 record and an impressive .914 SV% on the season. He'll need to be at his best again on Friday against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, as the Ducks enter action at +375 on the money line.

Perunovich will fill in for Justin Faulk, who is out with an upper-body injury. Perunovich has two goals and four assists in 22 games this season, and will make his first appearance since December 20th.

Struble will fill in for David Savard, who is out with an undisclosed injury. Struble has two goals and three assists in 22 games this season, but has not played since December 12th.

Pezzetta will fill in for Patrik Laine, who was a surprise scratch due to an illness. Pezzetta has appeared in three games this season for the Habs and is yet to register a point.

Laine was a surprise scratch on Friday, with the team only announcing his absence minutes before warmups. We should get an update on his status ahead of Montreal's game in Colorado on Saturday.

Savard is battling an undisclosed injury and will miss Friday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. He only played 15:40 time-on-ice in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, his second-lowest ice time of the season. The 34-year-old defenseman has 10 points (1G / 9A), 90 blocks, and 31 hits in 35 games this season.

Faulk played a season-low 16:16 time-on-ice in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks and will be held out on Friday against the Ottawa Senators. The 32-year-old Faulk is averaging 23:27 time-on-ice and has 13 points (2G / 11A) in 37 games this season. He also been active on the Blues' second powerplay unit.

Binnington will make his 28th start of the season when the Blues host the Senators on Friday. Binnington was superb his last time out, allowing just two goals on 30 shots in a 6-2 victory in Chicago on Tuesday. The 31-year-old netminder owns a 10-14-3 record and an .897 SV% on the season. Binnington and the Blues enter action on Friday as slight favourites at -120 on the money line.

The move was made retroactive to December 23rd, so this doesn't actually suggest Pettersson is expected to be out any longer than the team previously announced when they said he was expected to miss at least seven days back on December 29th. The Canucks also called up goaltender Artus Silovs in a corresponding move as Thatcher Demko is unavailable for Friday's game due to a back injury.

Pickering has missed the last three games due to a concussion but will return to the lineup on Friday against the Florida Panthers. The 20-year-old Pickering is averaging 15:47 time-on-ice, scoring two points (1G / 1A) in 14 games in his first NHL season. Ryan Shea will be a healthy scratch to accommodate Pickering's return.

Appleton was given a week-to-week injury timeline by Jets' head coach Scott Arniel on Monday. The 28-year-old Appleton is averaging 14:46 time-on-ice and has 15 points (6G / 9A) in 37 games this season.