NHL Player News

Malkin (upper body) took the ice in a non-contact jersey Friday but won't join the Penguins for their two-game road trip, Wes Crosby of NHL.com reports.

It's a step in the right direction for Malkin, though he doesn't appear to be significantly closer to returning to the lineup. For now, Thomas Novak continues to work as the second-line center but will no doubt be dropped to the bottom six once Malkin is given the all-clear.

Horvat will miss at least a week due to his lower-body injury, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports Friday.

Based on his timeline, Horvat will be out of action for at least the next four games, though it could still be longer. In four games since returning from a previous injury, the veteran center notched two goals on 11 shots, seven hits and five blocks. With Horvat sidelined, Jean-Gabriel Pageau will shift back to center and fill in on the second line.

Monahan (undisclosed) has been ruled out of Saturday's tilt against the Sabres, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Monahan will miss his third straight game after being a late scratch Monday in Ottawa. The veteran center has disappointed this season, with five goals and 14 assists in 37 games.

Rossi (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Friday, according to Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com.

Rossi was injured in the third period Tuesday and did not return. The 24-year-old has struggled offensively with the Canucks since his trade from Minnesota on Dec. 12, with Quinn Hughes going the other way. Rossi has a goal and an assist in eight games with Vancouver this season after tallying four goals and nine assists in 17 games with the Wild.

Perfetti notched an assist and five shots on goal in Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Perfetti ended a six-game point drought with the helper. He didn't score a goal in December, logging just three assists over 14 contests in the month. The 24-year-old has occupied a middle-six role during the slump, though his ice time has generally trended down -- his 16:07 in Thursday's loss was his most since Dec. 13. Perfetti is at just eight points with 46 shots on net, 19 hits and a minus-12 rating across 25 outings this season.

McCann scored an empty-net goal on four shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Predators.

McCann has scored in consecutive contests. The 29-year-old is still on the third line at even strength, but he's also on the top power-play unit, and he's likely to move up if there's any in-game shuffling. For the season, the scoring forward has seven goals, three assists, 36 shots on net, 15 hits and an even plus-minus rating over 14 appearances.

Beniers scored twice and went plus-3 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Predators.

Beniers didn't have a multi-point effort while collecting a goal and six helpers over 13 outings in December. He made his mark early in the first period, scoring the opening goal at 3:48 before adding a second goal to stretch the Kraken's lead to 3-0 just over seven minutes later. The 23-year-old center is up to six goals, 23 points, 67 shots on net, 31 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating through 38 appearances. A 50-point campaign isn't out of the question, but consistency on offense remains a weak spot for Beniers. He is still shooting a career-low 9.0 percent even after Thursday's effort, so there's room to grow.

Goncalves scored a goal Thursday in a 5-3 win over the Kings.

Goncalves broke a 3-3 tie with just 1:41 left in the third period, and it stood as the winner. He has four points, including three assists, and six shots in his last four games. Goncalves is a bottom-six winger who occasionally plays up the lineup, but his overall production (four goals, eight assists; 36 games) isn't enough to make him valuable in the fantasy arena.

Duchene scored a goal on four shots and added an assist in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks.

Duchene has two goals and three assists over his last five outings. The 34-year-old forward is still working on consistency after losing a larger chunk of the campaign to an upper-body injury. He's produced seven points, 20 shots on net, nine blocked shots and a minus-2 rating across 16 appearances so far while mainly featuring in the middle six.

Guentzel put up two assists, including one on the power play, in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Kings.

Guentzel has 13 points, including nine assists, and 27 shots in his last 11 games. Seven of those points, including six assists, have come with the man advantage. Overall, Guentzel has 18 goals, 23 assists and 105 shots in 40 games this season, which puts him on pace for his third career 80-plus point season.