NHL Player News

McLeod (undisclosed) is expected to be in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Maple Leafs, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.

McLeod was considered a game-time decision, but it looks like he'll center the fourth line in this contest. He has not missed a game this year, racking up 15 points over 32 appearances. Nicolas Aube-Kubel is expected to serve as a healthy scratch.

Faksa (lower body) is good to play Friday versus Florida, according to Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Faksa, who has two goals and seven points in 29 appearances in 2024-25, missed the Blues' previous five games. He's projected to serve on the fourth line alongside Oskar Sundqvist and Zachary Bolduc. Mathieu Joseph will probably be a healthy scratch due to Faksa's return.

Nugent-Hopkins provided an assist and added two PIM in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins.

Nugent-Hopkins has two goals and two assists over his last four contests. He came up clutch with his helper Thursday, setting up Mattias Ekholm's tally at 1:04 of overtime. Nugent-Hopkins now has six goals, 12 assists, 65 shots on net and a plus-4 rating through 32 contests in his usual top-six role with power-play time.

Teravainen notched two assists and went plus-2 in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Kraken.

Teravainen has a goal and seven assists over his last three games. It's a rather unexpected surge of offense for the 30-year-old winger, who appears to have found some chemistry alongside Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson on the third line. Teravainen is up to 21 points, 56 shots on net and a minus-8 rating through 33 appearances this season. He's worth a look in fantasy as long as this uptick in production lasts.

Nyquist notched an assist and two shots on goal in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins.

Nyquist has two helpers over four contests since he missed a game due to an illness. He has just three assists over 13 games since his last goal. The 35-year-old winger is playing on the second line after the Predators shuffled their top six, with Ryan O'Reilly as his center and a rotating cast of wingers on the opposite side, most recently Zachary L'Heureux. Nyquist has just 12 points with 36 shots on net and a minus-14 rating over 32 appearances in 2024-25, so he's not a particularly strong player for fantasy purposes.

Marchessault scored a goal on two shots and added two PIM in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins.

Marchessault has four goals and three assists during his five-game point streak. It doesn't look like the Predators will be breaking up the top line of Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg any time soon, as the trio has breathed some life into the offense. Marchessault has nine goals, 20 points, 99 shots on net, 52 hits, 20 PIM and a minus-7 rating over 33 outings.

Stamkos scored a power-play goal on three shots and added two PIM in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins.

Stamkos extended his point streak to five games (two goals, four assists) with the second-period tally, which put Nashville ahead 3-1. The forward has clicked since moving to the top line between Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault. Stamkos is up to nine goals, 19 points, 77 shots on net, 28 hits, 21 blocked shots, 22 PIM and a minus-13 rating over 33 appearances. Still, he'd have to go on a massive run to avoid missing the point-per-game mark for the first time since 2020-21 and the first time in a full-length season since 2015-16.

Rakell scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist, added two PIM and went plus-3 in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Predators.

The top line of Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust accounted for four goals and 10 points in a stellar performance. This was Rakell's fourth multi-point effort in his last six games, a span in which he has recorded five goals and five assists. The 31-year-old is up to 15 goals -- matching his total from last year -- with 11 assists, 81 shots on net, 62 hits, 35 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 34 appearances this year. Rakell's career highs are 28 goals and 60 points in 2022-23, which is the only year he's played all 82 games. He could best both of those marks if he stays hot on Pittsburgh's top line.

Frost notched an assist and went minus-3 in Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Kings.

Frost set up the second of Tyson Foerster's tallies in the game. With 11:43 of ice time, Frost played the least of any Philadelphia skater. The 25-year-old's play has already put him in the doghouse with head coach John Tortorella at times this season, and aside from going 7-for-11 on faceoffs Thursday, Frost could be heading for another rough patch. The Flyers aren't carrying an extra forward at this time, but they could still opt to dress seven defensemen. Frost has 13 points, 47 shots on net, 22 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating through 29 appearances, and it seems like he'd benefit from a change of scenery -- as long as that doesn't mean an elevator ride to the press box.

Byfield scored an empty-net goal on four shots, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 7-3 win over the Flyers.

Byfield may be warming up -- he has two goals on nine shots and one assist over his last three games. Prior to that stretch, he had three points and 16 shots over a 14-game span. The 22-year-old has taken a step back in 2024-25 while trying to establish himself as a center after finding success on the wing last season. He's at 14 points, 58 shots, 29 hits and an even plus-minus rating through 32 contests this year.