NHL Hockey Player News

Jones will draw into lineup in place of Jonathan Drouin, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury. He will likely rotate defensive partners as the team's seventh defenseman.

Drouin was a late scratch on Wednesday, with the team not announcing his absence prior to warmups. Caleb Jones will draw into the lineup as the Avs opt to dress seven defensemen.

Georgiev will be back between the pipes for the Avalanche on Wednesday after Justus Annunen got the nod in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Flames. Georgiev's last appearance came on Friday against the Wild, when he allowed just a single goal on 30 shots as Colorado managed to pick up the overtime victory over the Wild. Georgiev owns a rather disappointing .901 SV% on the season but has still managed a 33-15-3 record thanks to some outstanding goal support. He'll have his hands full on Wednesday when he and the Avs travel to Vancouver to take on the leaders of the Western Conference.

Alexeyev will be the odd-man out on Wednesday as Martin Fehervary returns from his injury. Alexeyev has one goal and one assist in 24 games this season.

Stecher will fill in on the Oilers' blue-line for Mattias Ekholm, who is out with an undisclosed injury. Stecher has one goal and four assists in 47 games this season.

Ekholm was a late scratch for Wednesday's game against the Capitals with the team only announcing his absence shortly before warmups. His absence opens up the door for Troy Stecher to make his Oilers debut.

Protas blocked a shot on Saturday and was able to play through the injury on Monday, but will be held out of Wednesday's game in Edmonton. His absence makes way for the return of Nic Dowd (upper-body).

Wilson did not play on Monday due to an upper-body injury but will return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers. After an unproductive start to the season, Wilson has turned things around with seven points (3G / 4A) in his last eight games.

Dowd has been on injured reserve since suffering a lower-body injury on February 20th. The 33-year-old centre has been solid in his usual bottom-six role this season, with eight goals, 16 points, 45 SOG, 30 PIMs and +8 plus/minus through 45 games before his injury.

Fehervary played only 1:36 time-on-ice in his last game on February 17th before exiting the game with a lower-body injury and has missed 10 games since but will return to the lineup on Wednesday. The hard-hitting Slovak defenseman had 12 hits and one assist in his last four games before his injury.

Kupari will take the place in the lineup of Mark Scheifele, who is out with an illness. Kupari is expected to centre Morgan Barron and Cole Perfetti on the Jets' fourth line.

Scheifele's absence is a surprise, as the team did not make any mention of a potential injury prior to warmups. The Jets have had a number players miss due to illness over the last few games, so it's possible Scheifele is the next in that unfortunate line. Rasmus Kupari is expected to take his place in the lineup on Wednesday.

The Predators will hand Saros the start for a league-leading 53rd time this season when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Wednesday. Nashville's workhorse took the loss his last time out, allowing four goals on 33 shots in a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Wild. Despite the loss, Saros was able to earn his team a point for the ninth consecutive game. He could have a hard time keeping that streak alive on Wednesday, however, with the Predators being +130 underdogs in Winnipeg.

The team has not given an update about the undisclosed injury but it's been speculated that Eriksson Ek could be forced to miss a couple games. The Wild can ill afford to be without Eriksson Ek, who has been enjoying a career year. The Wild's number-one centreman has 29 goals and 31 assists in 66 games on the season while playing over 20 minutes a night.

Talbot had the night off on Monday, a 3-0 shutout victory for David Rittich and the Kings, but he will return to the crease on Wednesday. The 36-year-old Talbot was on the losing side in his last outing, allowing three goals on 34 shots (.912 SV%) in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, but has been excellent overall lately, boasting a .940 SV% in his last eight games (5-2-1). The Kings enter action as -151 road favourites against a Blues club that snapped a three-game losing skid on Monday.

Hayton was a late scratch on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury and unfortunately is expected to miss more time than originally planned as he is out longer than a day-to-day prognosis while he continues to get tested by team doctors. The 23-year-old has had a season to forget as its been riddled with injuries which has led to very disappointing production with his three goals, 10 points, 66 SOG, 26 PIMs and -13 plus/minus in 33 games played.

Willman last appeared for the Devils' on February 6th and has spent the last month and a week in Utica (AHL) but was recalled to meet the team in Dallas on Wednesday. The 29-year-old centre is in his first season in New Jersey and has a goal, an assist, 14 SOG, two PIMs and a +1 plus/minus through 13 games played so far.

Wotherspoon has earned his first call-up of the season after it was announced Jonas Seaganthaler (concussion) would be out indefinitely and will meet the Devils in Dallas. The 31-year-old defenseman makes a great story as his last NHL appearance was in 2016-17 with Calgary. He succeeded on Utica's back-end so far this season, with four goals, 19 points, 18 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through 54 games played.

Pyyhtia has earned his first call-up of the season on an emergency basis after putting up seven goals and 27 points in 57 games with Cleveland (AHL). The 22-year-old left-winger made a brief appearance with the Blue Jackets' in 2022-23 and had an assist and two PIMs in two games played.

The red-hot Islanders saw their six-game winning streak snapped on Monday in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, but will return to Sorokin between the pipes on Thursday. Sorokin played well in the loss, allowing only two goals on 24 shots (.917 SV%), but did not receive any goal support from his team. He has allowed three or fewer goals in seven straight games (6-2-0).