NHL Player News

Verhaeghe (personal) was on the ice ahead of Thursday's matchup with Nashville, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Verhaeghe will return following a one-game absence while on paternity leave. Prior to his absence, the 30-year-old forward was in the midst of a hot streak, scoring two goals and four assists in his last three games. Verhaeghe figures to slot into a top-six role and should link up with one of the two power-play units.

Hayton (undisclosed) was serving as a healthy scratch against Anaheim on Wednesday, per NHL.com.

The reason for Hayton's absence wasn't immediately clear prior to puck drop, but it seems the 25-year-old center was perfectly healthy and being held out as a healthy scratch. Considering the Mammoth came away with a 7-0 victory over the Ducks, Hayton could face an uphill battle getting back into the lineup versus Vancouver on Friday.

Scheifele scored a goal and added an assist in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Canadiens.

The veteran center opened the scoring late in the first period by going high glove-side on Jakub Dobes from the slot, but Dobes stoned him in the shootout. Scheifele extended his point streak to five games with the performance, and over his last 10 contests he's piled up five goals and 13 points. Despite his productivity, Scheifele has been relying almost exclusively on 5-on-5 for his scoring -- he hasn't picked up a power-play point in any of the last nine games.

McBain notched two assists, two shots on goal, seven hits, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Ducks.

McBain doesn't have games like this all the time, though the physicality is a constant for him. The 25-year-old center has earned four points over his last seven outings. He's up to seven points, 37 shots on net, 85 hits, 23 blocked shots, 32 PIM and a plus-3 rating through 28 appearances overall. While he saw 18:03 of ice time in this blowout win, he's more of a third-line option for his gritty, all-around play.

Schmaltz logged two assists and a plus-3 rating in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Ducks.

Schmaltz put an end to his eight-game point drought in this contest. The 29-year-old has been centering the top line over the last two games, playing between Clayton Keller and JJ Peterka. There's a lot of scoring potential for that trio, and Schmaltz has some experience down the middle despite mainly playing as a winger. For the season, he's logged 10 goals, 14 helpers, 66 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 28 appearances.

Strome scored a goal and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Sharks.

Strome had gone 11 games without a goal prior to Wednesday. He had six assists and 10 shots on net, which isn't exactly the level of production he's known for. The 28-year-old center is now at six goals, 22 points, 42 shots on net and a plus-15 rating across 26 outings this season. Strome's top-line role should allow him to stay productive, but he may not match last year's career high of 82 points in 82 regular-season contests.

Zegras scored a power-play goal on four shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Zegras extended his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists) with his first-period go-ahead goal. The 24-year-old also took a rough hit from Rasmus Dahlin in the second period, but Zegras was able to stay in the game. For the season, Zegras is at 10 goals, 26 points (11 on the power play), 65 shots on net, 20 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 26 appearances, mainly in a top-six role.

Point (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports.

Point's move to injured reserve simply frees up a roster spot for the Lightning, should they need it. The 29-year-old is eligible to return at any time. He has already missed five games and does not have a timeline to return at this point.

Wennberg (upper body) will be in the lineup versus the Capitals on Wednesday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Wennberg was labeled a game-time decision, but he'll avoid missing any game action after skipping Tuesday's practice. Wennberg will be alongside Adam Gaudette and William Eklund on the second line for Wednesday's contest.

Rakell's (hand) return timeline was updated Wednesday, and he is expected to return in 3-4 weeks.

Rakell is trending toward the latter half of his initial 6-8 week timeline, which came after he underwent surgery in late October. At this point, don't expect Rakell to be back prior to the holiday break. Once healthy, he'll likely fill a top-six role with ice time in all situations.