NHL Player News

Luostarinen scored an empty-net goal and added two blocked shots in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Utah.

Luostarinen had the Panthers' second empty-netter to put this game to rest. He has four goals and an assist over his last 11 contests, though this was his first goal over four outings in January. The 26-year-old forward is at seven tallies, 16 points, 44 shots on net, 91 hits, 33 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 42 appearances. Physicality and a spot in a strong offense makes Luostarinen interesting in deeper fantasy formats, but he doesn't score enough to help in standard formats.

Reinhart scored a power-play goal in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Utah.

Reinhart opened the scoring 1:05 into the second period, ending a six-game goal drought. That was his longest stretch without a goal since a seven-game span from Feb. 14-27, 2024. During his recent slump, he was limited to just one assist and 12 shots on net. Reinhart still has 23 goals, 24 helpers, 16 power-play points, 101 shots on net, 53 hits, 34 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 42 appearances. He's slipped noticeably behind last year's 57-goal pace, but a 40-goal, 90-point season in 2024-25 isn't out of the question.

Pettersson (undisclosed) remains on injured reserve and is not expected to play Wednesday versus the Capitals, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.

Pettersson was labeled a game-time decision, but it looks like he'll miss his sixth straight contest. The 26-year-old forward is likely getting close to a return, so it's possible he'll be ready in time for either Friday's game against the Hurricanes or Saturday's contest in Toronto.

General manager Don Waddell said Wednesday that Monahan will miss time with a wrist injury, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

A specific return timeline was not announced, but Waddell said he hoped Monahan wouldn't be out for a long time. Luca Del Bel Belluz was called up from AHL Cleveland and is likely to slot into a bottom-six role during Monahan's absence, but Adam Fantilli is expected to see the biggest bump in playing time. Monahan has been a point-per-game player (14 goals, 27 assists over 41 outings), so his absence will require fantasy managers to find an alternative for center depth for a while.

Bolduc notched an assist and four shots on goal in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Wild.

Bolduc helped out on a Jake Neighbours tally in the second period. The helper was Bolduc's first point since Dec. 27, and he was scratched versus the Blue Jackets on Saturday. That indicates Bolduc doesn't have a ton of security in a bottom-six role, though he has been in the lineup a vast majority of the time this season. The 21-year-old has produced 13 points, 49 shots on net, 43 hits and a plus-9 rating through 35 appearances.

Sundqvist notched an assist and two hits in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Wild.

Sundqvist has three helpers over his last five games. He missed one contest due to an illness Jan. 3 versus the Senators, but he has since resumed his usual bottom-six role. Sundqvist probably won't generate a lot of offense -- he has seven points to go with 20 shots on net, 42 hits and 27 blocked shots over 30 appearances this season, so his fantasy potential is rather limited.

Holloway logged two assists and two hits in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Wild.

Holloway is up to four goals and eight assists over his last seven outings. One of his assists Tuesday was on the power play, and he has three helpers with the man advantage over his last four games. The 23-year-old continues to impress in a top-six role with 14 goals, 17 assists, 100 shots on net, 84 hits and a plus-8 rating over 42 contests.

Thomas scored a goal on two shots and went minus-4 in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Wild.

Thomas had mixed results in this contest. He ended a four-game goal drought, but his minus-4 rating was his worst of the campaign. Thomas has racked up three goals and four assists over his last seven outings, so he offers strong offense in a top-line role. The 25-year-old center is up to nine tallies, 22 assists, 61 shots on net, 27 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 30 appearances this season.

Lauko (lower body) has been transferred from IR to long-term injured reserve Wednesday, retroactive to Dec. 14.

Lauko has already served enough time to be activated from LTIR whenever he's healthy, but the Wild likely wouldn't have made this move unless he wasn't close to returning. The 24-year-old has two goals, four points, 16 PIM and 48 hits in 24 appearances with Minnesota in 2024-25.

Malkin (upper body) skated Wednesday but didn't participate in line rushes, Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site reports.

The fact that Malkin wasn't working in his usual second-line center spot doesn't bode well for his availability against the Oilers on Thursday, though he hasn't been officially ruled out. After questions about his durability throughout his career, the 38-year-old center actually played in all 82 regular-season games in each of the previous two campaigns -- a streak that came to an end against Columbus on Tuesday.