NHL Player News

Duchene (upper body) is expected to play Saturday in St. Louis, per the NHL media site.

Duchene was regarded as a game-time decision Saturday after missing Thursday's 5-3 loss to Vancouver. He has a goal and two points in three outings this season. Justin Hryckowian will be a healthy scratch to correspond with Duchene's return.

Marchessault won't play Saturday versus the Jets due to a lower-body injury.

Marchessault logged his usual ice time (17:26) in Thursday's game versus the Canadiens, so it's not obvious when he got hurt. The 34-year-old's absence will see the Predators go with seven defensemen, inserting Nick Blankenburg into the lineup. Marchessault is considered day-to-day ahead of Tuesday's game versus the Ducks.

Lambert was recalled from AHL Manitoba on Saturday.

Lambert has no points and four PIM in two appearances with Manitoba in 2025-26. He hasn't played in the NHL this season, but the 21-year-old has recorded two assists across six career regular-season outings with Winnipeg.

Pitlick was recalled from AHL Iowa on Saturday.

Pitlick has two goals in three minor-league outings this season. In a corresponding move, the Wild assigned Liam Ohgren to the minors.

Howden (lower body) will miss Saturday's clash against Calgary.

Howden has a goal, two shots and six hits in three appearances this season, but he hasn't been in the lineup since last Saturday. The 27-year-old has resumed skating and is making some progress, but it's unclear when he will be ready to return. Howden's next opportunity to play will come versus Carolina on Monday.

Dickinson (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision against Anaheim on Sunday, according to Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.

Dickinson is day-to-day after missing Saturday's practice. He has contributed one goal, one assist, seven shots on net, three blocked shots and four hits in five appearances this season. If Dickinson isn't ready to play against the Ducks, Landon Slaggert and Sam Lafferty are candidates to return to Sunday's lineup.

Protas scored a goal on three shots in Friday's 5-1 win over the Wild.

Protas continues to roll for the Capitals while seeing time in all situations. He's up to four goals, six points, 16 shots on net and a plus-5 rating over five appearances, including a goal in two straight games. The 24-year-old was one of the team's top even-strength forwards last year, and that kind of quality play doesn't disappear. Expect another strong year from Protas, though probably with a slightly lower shooting percentage than last season's 21.1 percent mark.

Sundqvist (lower body) will not play versus Dallas on Saturday, Lou Korac of The Hockey News reports.

Sundqvist has yet to play this season, and the Blues retroactively moved him to injured reserve, per the NHL media site. However, he is eligible to be activated whenever he is ready to return. The bottom-six forward had six goals and 20 points across 67 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

Strome scored twice on five shots, added two assists and went plus-2 in Friday's 5-1 win over the Wild.

Strome has goals in the first and third periods and also assisted on tallies by Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson (on the power play) in the final frame. After starting the year with no points through three games, Strome has six points over his last two outings. He's added a total of 11 shots on net and a plus-3 rating to begin the year. He's on the top line, so it's no surprise that the 28-year-old's offense has gotten on track relatively quickly.

Geekie recorded an assist, three hits, two blocked shots and two PIM in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings.

Geekie had been on the fourth line to begin the season, but he moved up the lineup with the Lightning missing Nikita Kucherov (illness) for Friday's game. That led to a season-high 12:39 of ice time for Geekie, including 2:05 on the power play. The 21-year-old is likely to have a smaller role when the Lightning are at full health, but he offers plenty of physicality. He's at one assist, four shots on net, 14 hits, four blocked shots and four PIM through five contests.