NHL Player News

Staal (undisclosed) won't play Sunday against the Senators, the Hurricanes announced.

This is just the fourth game that Staal will have missed this season, with the prior three all coming in November. The 37-year-old has had a great season so far, as he's one goal away from his first 20-goal regular season since the 2015-16 campaign. Expect Jesperi Kotkaniemi to work his way back into the lineup with Staal out of action.

Rossi scored a power-play goal on two shots and went minus-4 in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Mammoth.

Rossi reached the 10-goal mark on the play, though that's not great considering he had hit 20 tallies in each of the previous two seasons. The 24-year-old center has had some good moments in a second-line role for the Canucks, but the overall team situation remains tough to get excited about. He's at 31 points, 59 shots on net, 41 hits and a minus-25 rating over 44 appearances between the Canucks and the Wild this season, putting him on a per-game pace similar to previous campaigns.

Cooley notched two assists in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Canucks.

Cooley has racked up five goals and three assists over his last four games. The 21-year-old center is looking comfortable on the second line and first power-play unit, and he could give fantasy managers a boost late in the season. He's up to 38 points, 92 shots on net, 49 hits and a plus-6 rating over 48 appearances this season.

Mercer scored a goal on three shots in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens.

Mercer started the Devils' comeback with a goal at 13:08 of the second period. He has three goals in the first two games of April after being limited to two goals and four assists over 14 outings in March. Mercer has been a reliable top-six forward with 18 goals, 39 points, 146 shots on net and a plus-1 rating over 76 appearances this season, putting him on track to reach the 40-point mark for the first time in three years.

Gatcomb scored a goal on two shots, added two PIM and logged three hits in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

Gatcomb has three points over his last five games. The 26-year-old remains in a fourth-line role, and he's unlikely to move up in the lineup this late in the year. He's earned just seven points with 48 shots on net, 183 hits, 24 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating over 46 appearances, which is not a fantasy-friendly level of production in most formats.

Gregor scored a goal on two shots in Saturday's 9-4 loss to the Penguins.

Gregor has two goals over his last three outings. The 27-year-old has gotten a chance to play in the middle six since the Panthers are missing numerous players due to injuries. Gregor has produced just seven points, 33 shots on net, 31 hits, 26 PIM and a minus-12 rating over 31 appearances this season.

Acciari scored a goal on three shots in Saturday's 9-4 win over the Panthers.

Acciari has three goals and an assist over his last five outings. The 34-year-old continues to be an effective depth scorer from the fourth line as well as a strong penalty killer. He's up to 12 goals, 23 points, 91 shots on net, 65 hits, 56 blocked shots and a plus-13 rating over 63 appearances. It would still take a sustained push for him to match his career-best 27-point campaign, which came with the Panthers in 2019-20.

MacKinnon scored an empty-net goal on two shots and went plus-2 in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Stars.

MacKinnon remains hot with six goals and two assists over his last six games. That's not even his peak pace on offense, but the Avalanche can afford to take it easy since they're three points gained (or lost by the Stars) from securing the Presidents' Trophy. MacKinnon has matched his career high with 51 goals and is up to 122 points, 327 shots, 60 hits, 35 PIM, 34 blocked shots and a plus-57 rating over 74 appearances in an MVP-caliber season.

Karlsson scored two goals on three shots in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Mammoth.

Karlsson found the back of the net for the first time since March 19, when he scored a goal in a 6-2 loss to the Lightning. The 26-year-old forward recorded only one point in the seven games between the last two in which he scored, so he's been far from reliable in most fantasy formats. His bottom-six role in one of the worst offenses in the league doesn't really help his fantasy prospects, either. With 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 73 games, Karlsson isn't much of a fantasy asset outside of the very deep formats.

Appleton (upper body) won't play against Minnesota on Sunday, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Appleton will miss his second straight game, and it's unclear when he will be ready to return to the lineup. He has earned six goals, 14 points, 63 shots on net and 89 hits in 65 appearances this season.