NHL Player News

Lehkonen (upper body) will return to the lineup in Winnipeg on Thursday, per Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press.

Lehkonen missed the last 11 games with the injury. He has 19 goals and 23 assists in 59 games this season. He could bump Ross Colton off the second line and play alongside Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin.

Ingram will be in goal on the road against the Golden Knights on Thursday, Paige Martin of Oilers TV reports.

Ingram has appeared in 14 of the Oilers' last 19 outings, having clearly cemented himself as the preferred option ahead of Tristan Jarry. Still, the 28-year-old Ingram has allowed three or more goals in four of his last five contests, posting a 2-2-1 record and 2.97 GAA.

Gritsyuk (undisclosed) will not be in the lineup for the remaining two games of the Devils' road trip, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports Thursday.

Gritsyuk has been producing offensively of late, generating four goals and four assists in his last 10 outings. With the 25-year-old winger on the shelf, Evgenii Dadonov will step into the lineup for just the second time in the Devils' last 14 contests.

Kuznetsov (upper body) will be a healthy scratch versus the Ducks on Thursday, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

Kuznetsov missed time with an upper-body injury, having last played March 14 versus the Islanders, but he has at least been upgraded to the healthy scratch category. At this point, fantasy managers will have to take a wait-and-see approach for when he might get back into the lineup.

Cooley will tend the home twine versus Anaheim on Thursday, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

Cooley has won two games in a row, including a 32-save performance against the Lightning on Sunday in a 4-3 victory. Cooley is 9-9-4 with a 2.49 GAA and a .915 save percentage over 26 games this season. The Ducks are 11th in NHL scoring this season, generating 3.27 goals per game.

Talbot (undisclosed) has been ruled out of Friday's clash in Buffalo, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports Thursday.

Talbot "tweaked something", according to head coach Todd McLellan. The Red Wings will call up a goaltender from AHL Grand Rapids to back up John Gibson on Friday. Talbot should be considered day-to-day at this time, and his status for Saturday's game in Philadelphia is questionable.

Vanecek will start Thursday's home game against the Capitals, Brogan Houston of the Deseret News reports.

Vanecek stopped all 10 shots he saw in a relief appearance at home against the Oilers on Tuesday, and he'll start for the third time in Utah's last six games Thursday. Across five appearances this month, he's gone 2-1-1 with a 1.86 GAA and .923 save percentage.

Blackwood will be between the road pipes in Winnipeg on Thursday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Blackwood was strong in his last performance, allowing two goals on 32 shots in a 6-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Overall, the 33-year-old is 20-8-1 with three shutouts, a 2.42 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 31 appearances. The Jets are generating 2.83 goals per contest, 24th in the league this season.

Askarov will patrol the crease on the road versus the Blues on Thursday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Askarov last featured for the Sharks back on March 10 versus the Sabres, a stretch of seven games on the shelf due to his lower-body injury. Prior to getting hurt, the netminder had allowed at least three goals in 22 of his last 24 outings, posting a 10-11-2 record and 4.01 GAA. With the amount of offensive support the Sharks can offer these days -- 3.03 goals per game -- Askarov doesn't need to be perfect but will need to be better to get them into the playoffs in the future.

Toffoli (lower body) will be a game-time decision in St. Louis on Thursday, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Toffoli has missed the last two games with the injury, including the first game of a three-game road trip. Toffoli has 18 goals, 26 assists and 151 shots on goal across 67 appearances this season. He will slot back on the second line and first power play if he returns to action Thursday.