NHL Hockey Player News

Vejmelka has had an up-and-down season, posting a 2.58 GAA and .900 SV% in 35 games (21-11-2), but has been outstanding lately. The 29-year-old Czech goalie is riding a four-game winning streak, allowing two or fewer goals in each game, boasting a tremendous 1.49 GAA and .943 SV%. Utah enters the action on Thursday as slight -110 home favorites against the struggling Dallas Stars, who own the NHL's second-best record (27-11-9) despite only winning two of their previous 10 games (2-4-4).

Heiskanen was a late scratch in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, tending to a personal matter, and remained out of the lineup on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth. The 26-year-old Finnish defenseman is having an excellent season for Dallas, scoring 36 points (7G / 29A) through 46 games.

Cooley has been a bright spot in a mostly disappointing season for the Flames and has been solid in his last two games (2-0-0), saving 61 of 65 combined shots (.938 SV%). The 28-year-old California-born goalie has a 2.29 GAA and .918 SV% in 14 appearances this season (5-4-2). The Flames enter the action on Thursday as +109 road underdogs against a Chicago Blackhawks team that will welcome their leading scorer, Connor Bedard (illness), back into the lineup.

Evans will take a seat on Thursday in order to make room for the return of Brandon Montour (hand). Evans has appeared in 31 games this season, logging three goals and seven assists.

Montour has not played in a month, but willreturn to the lineup on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. The 31-year-old Montour is averaging 21:56 time-on-ice and has 16 points (6G / 10A) in 27 games this season.

Hellebuyck is on a two-game winning streak, snapping a miserable 10-game losing skid (0-6-4), but has remained unspectacular between the pipes. The 32-year-old Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, has a dreadful sub-.900 SV% in 10 consecutive games (2-5-3). The Jets enter the action on Thursday as +124 road underdogs against a Minnesota Wild team coming off a disappointing 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils in their previous game.

The Kraken will hand Daccord his 28th start of the season when they travel to Boston on Thursday. Daccord took the loss in his last start, allowing three goals on 36 shots in a 3-2 loss in Carolina on Saturday. The 29-year-old Daccord, largely through no fault of his own, has been ceding playing time to Philipp Grubauer, who has been in spectacular form this season. Daccord brings a 12-10-5 record and .902 SV% into Thursday night's matchup, where the Kraken enter action at +145 on the money line.

Gearing up to play their second game in as many nights, the Sabres will turn to Ellis between the pipes when they host the Habs on Thursday. Ellis was tagged with the loss in his last start, allowing three goals on 31 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Panthers on Monday. The 25-year-old rookie has proven to be a reliable backstop for Buffalo this season, posting a 5-4-0 record and an even .900 SV% across ten appearances. The Sabres enter action on Thursday at +105 on the money line.

Kesselring has not played the last seven games due to a lower-body injury and has resumed practicing the past several days. He was activated off of Injured Reserve on Thursday, but will miss at least one more game. The 25-year-old defenseman is averaging 15:14 time-on-ice and has zero points in 16 games.

Norris was injured in Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers and will not play on Thursday. It's unclear when Norris suffered the injury, but he did not take another shift after assisting on Rasmus Dahlin's goal at the 13:51 mark of the second period. Injuries have been a concern for Norris in recent seasons, but he remains productive when healthy. He has 17 points (6G / 11A) in 19 games this season.

Head Coach Bruce Cassidy indicated earlier in the week that Hill could potentially start on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which could still be the case after Hill was activated from Injured Reserve on Thursday afternoon. The 29-year-old Hill has not played since October 20th. He has a 2.55 GAA and .909 SV% in 117 combined games with the Golden Knights (68-32-10) over the past few seasons.

Saad has not played since suffering an undisclosed injury on January 8th and has retroactively been placed on Injured Reserve. The 33-year-old forward is averaging 13:53 time-on-ice and has seven points (2G / 5A) in 39 games this season.

Denver Barkey will draw back into Philadelphia's lineup on Thursday, sending Deslauriers back to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 34-year-old Deslauriers has played 18 games this season and remains in search of his first point.

Nicolas Deslauriers will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Barkey to re-enter the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 20-year-old Barkey is in his first NHL season and has three points (1G / 2A) in 11 games.

Ersson has struggled this season and lost the trust of the Flyers' coaching staff, but with Dan Vladar (undisclosed) sidelined, he could have an opportunity to earn some more playing time, starting with Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 26-year-old Ersson has lost seven of his last eight outings (1-5-2), posting an abysmal 3.63 GAA and .840 SV%. The Flyers enter Thursday's contest as +149 road underdogs against the Penguins.