Protas scored a goal and added an assist in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.

Protas closed out 2025 with three multi-point efforts over his last four games. He has five goals and five assists over his last seven outings and has gotten back to the high-quality even-strength play that made him a breakout player in 2024-25. He's at 15 goals, 30 points, 86 shots on net and a plus-22 rating across 40 appearances through Wednesday's action.

Laba (upper body) is poised to miss the Winter Classic against the Panthers on Friday, Colin Stephenson of Newsday reports.

With Laba unavailable and Conor Sheary (lower body) placed on LTIR, the Rangers brought up a trio of forwards from AHL Hartford. The Rangers haven't provided a specific recovery timeline for Laba, but the fact that he's not going on injured reserve should be an indication that he's facing a short-term absence.

Dowling will be recalled from AHL Hartford on Thursday, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.

Dowling, along with Brett Berard and Anton Blidh, will join the Rangers ahead of Friday's Winter Classic matchup with Florida. If Dowling gets into the lineup, it will mark his Rangers debut after he played in 52 regular-season games for the Devils last year.

Matthews (lower body) will return to action Thursday versus Winnipeg, per Dave McCarthy of NHL.com.

Matthews missed one game with the injury. He will center Matthew Knies and Max Domi on the top line, as well as the first power play. Matthews has slumped this season with 15 goals and 12 assists in 33 appearances, his first season since his rookie campaign in 2016-17, in which he has averaged less than a point a game.

Jarvis (upper body) returned to practice Thursday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Jarvis suffered the injury Dec. 19 and has missed the last five games. He was in a non-contact jersey at morning skate and will miss his sixth straight game Thursday versus Montreal. Jarvis has 19 goals and 10 assists in 34 games this season and could return to action next week, possibly Tuesday against Dallas.

Larkin scored a power-play goal, fired three shots on net and served four PIM in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Jets.

Larkin was the first name on the scoresheet in Wednesday's contest as he put the Red Wings up on a power play just eight minutes into the opening period. With the power-play twine finder, he is up to 21 goals, 37 points, 121 shots on net and 25 blocks through 41 appearances this season. With the Red Wings officially at the halfway point of their season, Larkin is on pace for a new career high in goals. To do so, he would need at least 34 goals to surpass the 33 twine finders he had two seasons ago. While his point production has slowed over the last 10 games with just four tallies, he has showcased an ability to heat up earlier this season, giving him a real shot to reach a few career-best numbers. He remains a high-level option in all fantasy formats this season.

Appleton scored the game-winning goal, placed two shots on net and recorded two blocks in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Winnipeg.

Appleton found the back of the net in the second straight game when he recorded an even-strength twine finder nearly 15 minutes into the opening period. Overall, the 29-year-old forward is up to five goals, 11 points, 35 shots on net and 34 hits across 31 games this season. The pair of goals over his last two games are the first two he has scored since Oct. 15, which ended a 25-game drought. While his production has been sparse compared to previous seasons, he has upwards of 30-point potential if he continues to remain involved in a middle-six role moving forward.

Stamkos scored a power-play goal in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Golden Knights.

The first-period tally was his 18th of the season and tied the game at 2-2, but it also gave Stamkos his 600th career goal, as he sits third among active skaters behind Alex Ovechkin's 912 and Sidney Crosby's 646. Stamkos needs just nine more goals in 2025-26 to break into the NHL's all-time top 20 and surpass Dino Ciccarelli's 608.

McMichael picked up two assists in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.

Both helpers came on Tom Wilson tallies in the second and third periods. McMichael hasn't been able to get on the scoresheet in consecutive games since late November, and on the season he's managed five goals and 21 points in 40 contests.

Celebrini scored a goal, recorded an assist, fired four shots on net and had two blocks in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over Minnesota.

Celebrini checked multiple boxes in San Jose's win Wednesday, including a wrist-shot goal to give the Sharks an early lead in the shootout. In regulation, he tallied the primary helper on the goal scored by his newest linemate, Igor Chernyshov, before the prior lit the lamp himself in the third. With the pair of points, Celebrini is up to 22 goals, 40 assists, 126 shots on net and 21 blocks through 40 appearances this season. The 19-year-old superstar used Wednesday's game to raise his point streak to eight games and is just one point shy of matching his offensive output in 70 games a year ago. His goal-scoring efficiency has taken a leap this season, as he's up to a 17.2 shooting percentage, which is nearly seven percent higher than he had a season ago. While it would be difficult to replicate the production from his first half of the season, not only is reaching 100 points possible, but Celebrini also has a legitimate chance to double the 63 points he had as a rookie.