NHL Hockey Player News

The Rangers are a dreadful 2-8-1 on home ice this season and will turn to Shesterkin to tend the twine on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. The 29-year-old Shesterkin has played well lately, posting a 2.30 GAA and .921 SV% in his last four games (3-1-0). He has a solid 2.48 GAA and .911 SV% in 21 games this season (10-9-2). That said, the Rangers enter the action on Tuesday as +114 home underdogs against a red-hot Stars team that only has one regulation loss in their last 12 games (10-1-1).

Kochetkov has not played since November 17th, when he reaggravated an injury that kept him sidelined for the first month of the season. The 26-year-old Kochetkov had been outstanding between the pipes since making his season debut at the beginning of November, posting a 1.70 GAA and .926 SV% in five appearances (4-0-0). That said, injury concerns mixed with a potential three-goalie carousel in Carolina limit Kochetkov's fantasy value this season.

Kotkaniemi has not played since suffering a lower-body injury on November 14th, but was a full participant at practice on Tuesday as he nears his return. The 25-year-old Kotkaniemi scored five points (2G / 3A) in 15 games before his injury.

The Panthers have lost two straight and will attempt to return to the win column on Tuesday with Bobrovsky between the pipes against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bobrovsky had an impressive 32-save shutout in a 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on November 20th, but has otherwise struggled in recent games, posting a sub-.900 SV% in four of his last five (2-3-0). The 37-year-old veteran netminder has a 2.88 GAA and .882 SV% in 17 games this season (10-7-0). The Panthers enter Tuesday's contest as -150 home favorites against a Maple Leafs team coming off an explosive 7-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Islanders have lost three straight (0-2-1) and will turn to Sorokin to tend the twine on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 30-year-old Sorokin was having a terrific November before ending it on a sour note, allowing five goals on 31 combined shots (.839 SV%) in his last two games (0-2-0). He has a 2.67 GAA and .901 SV% in 17 games this season (7-8-2). The Islanders enter Tuesday's contest as +122 home underdogs against a Lightning team riding a seven-game winning streak.

After playing a career-high 47 games with the Vancouver Canucks in the 2022-23 season, Studnicka has only played 22 games since. The 26-year-old forward has predominantly been an AHL player, and has six points (1G / 5A) in eight games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) this season.

Edstrom has worked his way into a regular role in the Rangers' bottom-six, playing 24 of 27 games, but is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and will not play on Tuesday. The 25-year-old 6'7 forward has four points (2G / 2A) and 48 hits this season.

Brossoit underwent hip surgery in the offseason and is progressing towards returning to playing condition, beginning with a stint in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. The 32-year-old Brossoit has battled injuries in recent years, not playing since the 2023-24 season, but has been an effective netminder when healthy, posting a 2.64 GAA and .911 SV% in 140 career appearances (64-46-13).

DeAngelo was absent from practice on Tuesday due to an illness and his status against the Tampa Bay Lightning is unclear. The 30-year-old DeAngelo was expected to quarterback the Islanders' top powerplay unit, but was quickly demoted due to the immediate impact of rookie Matthew Schaefer. DeAngelo has nine points (1G / 8A) in 26 games this season.

Groshev was a third-round pick, 85th overall, by Tampa Bay in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old forward has seven points (0G / 7A) in 19 games with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and is awaiting his NHL debut.

Alexandrov was a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He played 28 and 23 games with the St. Louis Blues in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, respectively, but has exclusively been an AHL player since. He scored 14 points (3G / 11A) in 18 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season.

Thomas was a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but has been unable to make the jump into being a full-time NHLer. The 25-year-old forward scored three points (1G / 2A) while playing a career-high 25 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season.

Walker had played all but two games for the Blues this season, but will be sidelined for the foreseeable future after suffering an upper-body injury. The 31-year-old Walker was pacing for a career-high point total, with nine points (3G / 6A) through 25 games this season.

Foerster missed four games due to an injury earlier this season, and could be sidelined once again after exiting Monday's game in the second period. The 23-year-old Foerster has been effective when in the lineup, with 13 points (10G / 3A) in 21 games. He has six goals in his last seven outings.

Gaudette has points in two straight (1G / 1A) and was a game-time decision on Monday due to an illness. The 29-year-old bottom-six forward has eight points (6G / 2A) in 22 games this season.

Cooley exited Saturday's 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues after a scary knee-on-knee collision with Alexey Toropchenko. He was in distress and needed to be helped off the ice, but fortunately is able to return to the lineup on Monday. The 21-year-old Cooley has been excellent for Utah this season, scoring 23 points (14G / 9A) in 26 games.

The Mammoth have lost three straight and hope to return to the win column on Monday, turning to Vejmelka to tend the twine against the San Jose Sharks. The 29-year-old Vejemelka was excellent in his most recent outing, but received no goal support, saving 18 of 19 shots (.947 SV%) in a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues. He has a pedestrian 2.74 GAA and .887 SV% in 19 games this season (10-7-2), but has allowed two or fewer goals in three of his last four games (2-2-0), saving 84 of 92 combined shots (.913 SV%). Utah enters Monday's contest as -152 road favourites against a Sharks team that defeated them 3-2 earlier this month.

Harkins will dress on Monday as Anaheim opts to get some fresh legs into the lineup for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Nikita Nesternko will sit in his place.

Moore will dress on Monday as Anaheim opts to get some fresh legs into the lineup for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Ryan Strome will sit in his place.