NHL Player News

Appleton is expected to be out for at least one week due to a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.

Appleton had already been ruled out for Tuesday's game against Boston due to an undisclosed injury, but the nature of what he's dealing with is now slightly clearer. He'll seemingly miss at least the next four games, with an optimistic return date being Dec. 10 in Calgary.

Norris scored two goals, collected a power-play assist and recorded three shots in Monday's 5-1 win over the Jets.

Norris excelled in his return to the lineup after missing 24 games due to an upper-body injury. He recorded a secondary helper on a power-play goal under three minutes into regulation before he scored a goal in each of the first and third periods. The Sabres displayed their faith in the 26-year-old forward by inserting him into the top-line center role alongside Tage Thompson, who moved to the right wing. Norris is set to benefit from that role and can provide decent coverage stats in fantasy. If he can stay healthy, Norris has great goal-scoring potential, making him a solid streaming option for the time being in most fantasy formats.

Edstrom (lower body) won't be available against the Stars on Tuesday, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reports.

Edstrom has found the back of the net in two of his last six outings, his only goals on the season. With the 25-year-old forward on the shelf, Conor Sheary looks poised to get into the lineup Tuesday. Given his offensive limitations, Edstrom's absence is unlikely to impact the majority of fantasy managers.

Malkin notched two power-play assists in Monday's 5-1 win over the Flyers.

The Penguins scored three power-play goals in total on the night, with Malkin helping to set up tallies by Bryan Rust in the second period and Thomas Novak in the third. It was Malkin's first multi-point performance since Oct. 27, as he works to put a sluggish November (three goals and seven points in 12 games) behind him. On the season, the 39-year-old has six goals and 26 points in 25 contests.

Crosby scored two goals, one the game-winner on the power play, in Monday's 5-1 victory over Philadelphia.

No player has done as much damage against the Flyers as Crosby, who has 59 goals and 137 points in 92 career regular-season games against the Penguins' cross-state rivals. The future Hall of Famer is still going strong at age 38, and through 25 contests this season, Crosby's delivered 18 goals and 29 points. He also has another franchise record in his sights -- Crosby's 1,716 career points are just seven back of Mario Lemieux for the most all-time in Pittsburgh history.

Hischier scored a goal and added an assist, both on the power play, in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.

The 26-year-old center extended his point streak to six games when he opened the scoring 86 seconds into the first period on a pass attempt that deflected into the Columbus net off Ivan Provorov's stick. Hischier has erupted for six goals and 12 points during his heater, and on the season, he's up to 10 goals and 25 points through 26 contests as he looks to return to the 80-point plateau for the first time since 2022-23.

Monahan scored two goals, one the game-winner, in Monday's 5-3 victory over the Devils.

The veteran center tied the score at 2-2 early in the second period before giving the Blue Jackets a 4-2 lead midway through the third. It was Monahan's first multi-point performance of the campaign as he tries to shake out of an early-season fog, and three of his five goals have come in the last two contests.

Coyle produced a goal and two assists, one on the power play, in Monday's 5-3 win over the Devils.

The veteran center's tally early in the third period put the Blue Jackets in the lead for good after they'd fallen into an early 2-0 hole. Coyle was acquired from the Avs this offseason to fill a checking role, but he's been a surprising offensive contributor as well, and over the last 10 games, he's delivered two goals and nine points thanks to a pair of three-point performances.

Alexandrov was brought in by the Kings from the Blues on Tuesday in exchange for Akil Thomas.

Alexandrov has been putting up decent numbers with AHL Springfield this season, notching 14 points in 18 minor-league contests. It's a slightly strange move when you consider both players are doing well in the minors -- Thomas has 13 points in 19 games -- and are 25-year-old centers who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Look for Alexandrov to link up with AHL Ontario for the start of his time in the organization.

Thomas was acquired by the Blues from the Kings on Tuesday in exchange for Nikita Alexandrov.

Neither center seemed to be close to earning a call-up to their respective NHL squads, so this trade could benefit both Thomas and Alexandrov with fresh starts in new organizations. Both players will be free agents at the end of the 2025-26 campaign and have been putting up decent numbers in the minors -- four goals and nine helpers in 19 games with AHL Ontario for Thomas. Expect the 25-year-old Thomas to report to AHL Springfield in the coming days.