NHL Player News

Texier (illness) will be a game-time decision Friday, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports.

Texier fell ill overnight and missed practice Friday, coach Jim Montgomery said after practice. Texier has two goals and five points in 18 games with the Blues. If he is unable to go then Brandon Saad is expected to rejoin the lineup.

Eriksson Ek (lower body) continues to practice with the Wild but will not be in the lineup in Dallas on Friday, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic.

Eriksson Ek will miss his 11th consecutive game. He has five goals and 13 points with 55 shots on goal in 22 games this season. There is no timeline for his return.

Matthews (upper body) is not at practice and will not be in the lineup Friday or Saturday, according to David Alter of The Hockey News.

Matthews will miss his third and fourth straight games when Toronto plays in Detroit on Friday and host the Capitals on Saturday, respectively. Matthews missed nine games in November with the same injury. He has 11 goals and 23 points in 24 appearances this season. His next chance to return is Dec. 31 at home versus the Islanders.

Ostapchuk was promoted from AHL Belleville on Friday.

Ostapchuk has three assists in 20 NHL games this season. Surprisingly, the center has taken only six shots on goal, but he does have 42 hits in 2024-25. He is expected to play on the fourth line in Winnipeg on Saturday.

Dellandrea has just three assists over 21 games since he returned from a hand injury in early November.

Dellandrea saw middle-six minutes immediately after his return, but a lack of success on offense has seen him relegated to fourth-line duties lately. Dellandrea was also scratched three times over four games leading into the holiday break. The 24-year-old will need to turn things around to prove himself a valuable part of the Sharks' ongoing rebuild. As of now, he has a little fantasy value in banger leagues -- he has 73 hits and 20 PIM to go with four points across 30 appearances.

Shore was summoned from AHL Iowa on Thursday.

Shore was moved to Iowa on Tuesday, which kept him off the NHL roster for the holiday break. He has an assist, 13 shots, 19 hits and eight blocks across 16 outings with Minnesota in 2024-25.

Gaunce was called up from AHL Iowa on Thursday.

Gaunce was sent down Tuesday, but with the Wild still a bit short at forward, he rejoins the big club coming out of the holiday break. Gaunce will be available to suit up Friday in Dallas, but there's no guarantee he plays.

Zibanejad entered the holiday break on a six-game point drought.

That's Zibanejad longest scoring slump of 2024-25, though he did have a drought that matched it last season from Feb. 24-March 9. The cold stretch coming earlier this year has made it stand out more -- Zibanejad has six goals and 21 points through 34 outings overall. That's not a terrible level of production, but it's well below what we've come to expect from him after the 31-year-old recorded over 70 points in five of six campaigns from 2018-19 through 2023-24 (the lone exception was the shortened 2020-21 season). Zibanejad also has an unusually low minus-19 rating this year, which has continued its descent with his minus-5 across his active six-game drought. The only Rangers player who even comes close to his struggles in that category is Alexis Lafreniere at minus-15.

Kupari was scratched for the last two games prior to the holiday break.

Kupari has held down the fourth-line center spot for most of the campaign, but David Gustafsson appears to be getting a chance to stake his claim to that spot. Gustafsson recently returned from a concussion. Kupari hasn't done much this year, racking up three points, 31 shots on net, 32 hits and a minus-3 rating over 32 appearances, so it's no surprise that his grip on an every-game role has started to slip.

Bjugstad's point drought reached nine games in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Stars.

Bjugstad's role is pretty steady for Utah -- he fills a bottom-six role and provides a bit of physicality. The 32-year-old center has mostly filled a spot on the third line this season. When he's scoring, he can work his way onto some fantasy rosters, but he doesn't need to be picked up when he's cold. Overall, Bjugstad has eight points, 42 shots on net, 38 hits, 16 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 26 appearances.