NHL Player News

Douglas (undisclosed) will be out of the lineup versus Toronto on Monday, Lightning radio announcer Dave Mishkin reports.

Douglas skated prior to Monday's game versus the Maple Leafs, so it's possible he is serving as a healthy scratch rather than still dealing with an injury. Considering the 25-year-old center is stuck in an 11-game point drought, few fantasy managers are likely to be impacted by his absence, regardless of the reason.

James (undisclosed) has been ruled out for Monday's game against Toronto, Lightning radio announcer Dave Mishkin reports.

James suffered an undisclosed injury during Saturday's loss to the Islanders, and he'll be forced to miss at least one game due to the issue. Jack Finley will remain in the lineup for Monday's matchup, while James' next opportunity to return will be Tuesday in Montreal. However, James wasn't on the ice for Monday's morning skate, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him sit out the second half of the back-to-back set.

Cooley (lower body) is out indefinitely, the team announced Monday.

Cooley will miss his second straight game against the Kings on Monday and will be out for an extended period of time. He has collected 14 goals, 23 points, 59 shots on net and 34 hits across 29 appearances this season. With Cooley unavailable, Barrett Hayton has a chance to lock down a top-six role.

Point (undisclosed) will return to the lineup for Monday's game against the Maple Leafs, Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports.

Point missed the last seven games due to injury, but he's slated to return to action in a top-line role on the road Monday. The 29-year-old had gotten off to a somewhat slow start to the 2025-26 campaign prior to his absence, recording just three goals, eight assists, eight blocked shots, three hits and six PIM while averaging 18:52 of ice time over 21 appearances.

Smith recorded an assist and fired three shots on goal in Sunday's 4-1 win over Carolina.

Smith picked up a secondary helper on the goal scored by his newest linemate, Collin Graf, within the first minute of the contest. With the apple, Smith is up to 16 assists, 28 points and 74 shots on net through 30 games this season. After a promising rookie campaign, the 20-year-old forward has taken a huge step forward in year two. He's currently tied for 38th in points across the NHL and has held his own on San Jose's top line alongside Macklin Celebrini. Smith is already more than halfway to the 45 points he posted in 74 games a year ago, giving him strong upside in fantasy moving forward.

Novak scored a goal in Sunday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars.

Novak gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead in the second period with a tip-in, but the Stars would mount a late comeback to win it in the shootout. This was Novak's fourth goal of the season, but he's riding a productive stretch. He has six points over his last five outings, accounting for two goals and four assists in that stretch.

Verhaeghe scored a goal and took three shots on goal in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Islanders.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Verhaeghe has been one of the best players for the Panthers this season, and right now he's probably their hottest forward -- even ahead of the ultra-consistent Sam Reinhart. Verhaeghe has scored in three games in a row and is riding a six-game point streak, producing 11 points (six goals, five assists) over that stretch.

Reinhart had a goal and an assist in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Islanders.

Reinhart continues to produce at an elite level for the Panthers and has cracked the scoresheet in all but one of his last five games. Furthermore, he's either scored or assisted in 12 of his last 15 appearances, contributing 20 points (nine goals, 11 helpers), 35 shots, nine hits and 11 blocked shots over that span.

Barzal scored a goal in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Panthers.

Barzal found the back of the net at the 9:03 mark of the second period with a backhander. That was his lone shot of the game, and it was also all the offense the Islanders would muster. Barzal has scored in two of his last three games and has four points over that span, suggesting he is leaving his November slump behind. He posted nine points in 15 games that month.

Staal scored a power-play goal on two shots in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Sharks.

Staal has two points over his last two games. The power-play usage is a new wrinkle -- the 37-year-old typically works exclusively in defensive situations as a shutdown center, and he hadn't earned a power-play point since the 2023-24 campaign. He's now at eight goals, 11 points, 33 shots on net, 44 hits, 23 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 25 appearances.