NHL Player News

Matthews (lower body) was designated for injured reserve Friday, retroactive to Nov. 11.

Matthews's placement on IR means he won't be in action for the Leafs' next two contests due to his lower-body injury. Prior to getting hurt, the world-class center was rolling offensively with four goals and two assists in his last six contests. Still, Matthews is behind a point-per-game pace, something he hasn't done since his rookie campaign back in 2016-17, when he recorded 69 points in 82 regular-season contests.

Geekie scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Senators.

Geekie extended his point streak to five games with this two-point effort, and the 27-year-old center continues to be one of the most consistent forwards on the Boston roster. He's recorded at least one point in 11 of his last 12 appearances, tallying 10 goals and four assists, as well as 39 shots and 15 hits, over that span. Geekie is among the NHL leaders in goals, ranking tied for second in the league with his 12 and trailing only Nathan MacKinnon, who has 14 and a league-leading 33 points.

Blackwell scored his first goal of the season and added an assist in Thursday's 7-0 win over the Canadiens.

Both points came in the third period as the Stars gave their depth players more shifts late in the rout. Blackwell came into the contest with only two assists in 17 games, but the 32-year-old journeyman has supplied some grit to the team's bottom six this season with 32 hits, putting him on pace to reach triple digits for the first time in his career.

Pinto scored a goal in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Bruins.

Pinto snapped an eight-game goal drought with a tip-in at the 1:06 mark of the third period. The 25-year-old, who signed a four-year, $30 million contract extension with the Senators on Thursday, also snapped a two-game pointless streak -- just the second time he's gone back-to-back games without a point -- with this goal. He's having an excellent season so far with 15 points in his first 18 appearances.

Faksa churned out three assists in Thursday's 7-0 win over Montreal.

The 31-year-old had just two helpers in total over his prior 12 games, but Faksa broke out of that skid with his first multi-point performance of the campaign. A repeat seems unlikely for the checking-line center, however, as Faksa hasn't delivered more than 20 points in a season since 2018-19.

Cozens recorded an even-strength goal and a power-play assist in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Bruins.

Cozens posted his second multi-point effort over Ottawa's last three games, but the highlight of his performance was the goal scored at the 19:03 mark of the first period. That snap shot ended an eight-game goal drought for the 24-year-old center, who has been struggling of late in terms of scoring production. Despite holding a top-six role, Cozens has only four points (one goal, three assists) over his last eight contests while averaging 17:14 of ice time.

Strome produced an assist in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Red Wings.

Making his season debut after recovering from an upper-body injury, Strome helped set up a Mikael Granlund tally early in the third period that proved to be Anaheim's last flicker of offense. Strome had delivered more than 40 points in six straight seasons coming into 2025-26, but the emergence of young players like Leo Carlsson has pushed the veteran center into a bottom-six role and off the top power-play unit, which will make it difficult for him to keep that streak going.

Schwindt scored a goal on two shots, added two hits and blocked two shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Capitals.

Schwindt has two goals over eight appearances this season after being a regular healthy scratch for the first couple of weeks of the campaign. He's added seven shots on net, eight hits, six blocked shots and a plus-1 rating. Schwindt is likely to stay in a fourth-line role for the bulk of the season, which gives him limited potential on offense.

Rodrigues scored a goal and went plus-2 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Capitals.

Rodrigues' tally was the 100th of his career, coming in his 564th game. He's been a story of perseverance, often ending up in part-time roles until his career year of 43 points in 82 games with the Penguins in 2021-22 cemented his status in the NHL. The Panthers have leaned on him for middle-six minutes this year, and he's responded with four goals, five helpers, 41 shots on net, 21 hits and a plus-1 rating over 17 appearances. Rodrigues is a useful depth forward in fantasy who can offer decent category coverage.

Hertl scored a goal on four shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders.

Hertl tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. His goals have come in bunches this season -- this is the third time Hertl has scored in two or more consecutive games so far. He's at seven tallies, 13 points, 45 shots on net, 19 hits and a plus-1 rating across 16 appearances. Hertl continues to operate as the second-line center and will likely have some extra defensive duties in the absence of William Karlsson (lower body), who is considered week-to-week.