NHL Player News

Matthews scored twice Tuesday in a 7-4 win over Nashville.

Matthews pushed the winner past Justus Annunen at 10:42 of the third period. He took a pass on a give-and-go with Matthew Knies and scored from below the right hash marks past the goalie's outstretched pad. His second went into an empty net. Matthews has 64 game-winning goals, passing Dave Keon for second in Maple Leafs history. Mats Sundin is first with 79.

Bourque notched a power-play assist in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Wild.

The helper was Bourque's first point in three games this season. He's seen a fairly limited role on the third line so far, though he's also on the second power-play unit. The 23-year-old forward has added three shots on net, two blocked shots, one hit and a plus-1 rating. Bourque still has some room to grow on offense, but he'll need to find some consistency to have a chance at more ice time.

Faksa scored an empty-net goal in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Wild.

Faksa earned his first point of the season with an empty-netter at 18:18 of the third period. The 31-year-old is in his second stint with the Stars after a one-year diversion in St. Louis. So far, Faksa has a goal, one shot, four hits, two blocked shots and a minus-2 rating while filling a fourth-line role. He may see more ice time if Matt Duchene (upper body) misses time after sustaining an injury Tuesday.

Johnston scored a power-play goal on three shots and added an assist in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Wild.

Johnston has scored a goal in all three of the Stars' games to begin the season. His tally Tuesday gave them a 2-0 lead late in the first period. In addition to his four points, the 22-year-old has racked up nine shots on net, three blocked shots and a plus-2 rating while playing a key role in all situations. Johnston is among the steadiest and most productive young players in the league and can help in most fantasy formats.

Duchene (upper body) was injured in Tuesday's game versus the Wild, and there was no status update on him after the contest, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Duchene was leveled by Jake Middleton during the third period. Prior to his exit, Duchene scored a power-play goal for his second point in three games to begin 2025-26. If the 34-year-old misses time, Adam Erne could enter the lineup and Tyler Seguin or Sam Steel might need to shift from wing to center.

Point scored a power-play goal Tuesday in a 3-2 OT loss to Washington.

Point showed off his hand-eye coordination when he tipped Victor Hedman's shot past Logan Thompson from the high slot with just three seconds remaining on an early third-period power play. Point has five points (two goals, three assists) in four games this season. He's tied with Jake Guentzel for the team scoring lead.

Guentzel scored a goal in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Washington.

It was his first of the season. It started with an Anthony Cirelli face-off win back to Ryan McDonagh, who fed Guentzel deep on the right wing. He went five-hole on a one-timer from low in the left circle. Right now, Guentzel sits in a tie with Brayden Point for the team lead in scoring with five points (four games). He has points in three of the four contests.

McMichael picked up an assist Tuesday in a 3-2 OT win over Tampa Bay.

His assist was a thing of beauty. He nabbed a dump-in, and as he was about to carry it behind and around the net, McMichael passed back to Aliaksei Protas, who wired a one-timer into the open left side of the net. McMichael's off to a slow start this season and has one assist in four contests after recording 57 points and 177 shots in 82 regular-season games last year. He'll be fine.

Protas scored a goal Tuesday in a 3-2 OT win over Tampa Bay.

It came late in the second. Connor McMichael chased and retrieved a dump-in, and as he skated behind the Bolts' net, he passed behind him to Protas, who wired a one-timer into the open left side of the net from low in the left circle. Protas leads the Caps in goals (three), and he's tied with Tom Wilson for the most points (five; four games). The 24-year-old Protas also has 13 shots in that span. Last season was clearly not an anomaly.

Strome had two assists in Tuesday's 3-2 OT win over Tampa Bay.

The points were his first of the season. There was plenty of griping online about Strome being a disappointment this season. Too funny. He set career records for goals (29), assists (53), PPG (nine), PPP (34) and points (82). Even with a slight reversion, Strome will still be a strong fantasy play in 2025-26.