NHL Player News

Bennett recorded a hat trick in Saturday's 8-3 win over the Kraken. The goals were his first this season.

Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe both had hatties, marking the first time in franchise history that two players had hat tricks in the same game. Bennett's third goal was also his 400th career point (191 goals, 209 assists). It was his fourth career hat trick and third as a Panther, with the last one coming Jan. 14, 2022, in a win over the Stars.

Karlsson scored a goal Saturday in a 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

The young forward is taking another step after his 15-goal, 35-point season last year. Karlsson has two goals and five assists in 10 games. His 19 shots reflect an increased willingness to snipe, and at this rate, he'd deliver 160 on opposing netminders. His career mark is 116. Karlsson isn't going to make or break a fantasy roster, but he might help off the wire in the right situation.

Pettersson scored a power-play goal in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Lightning.

Pettersson has a deceptive 10 points in 10 games this season. All three of his goals have come on the power play, and he has just two points (one goal, one assist) in his last five games. Pettersson does have a remarkable 30 hits, which projects to a mind-blowing 240-plus for the season. He won't deliver that, but smart managers will remember that Pettersson's best offensive seasons (102 and 89 points) also included strong hit totals (74 and 125, respectively). He's at his best when he's physically engaged.

Point delivered two assists in Saturday's 4-2 win over Vancouver.

Point has one goal and five assists in eight games this season. He hasn't scored a goal since Oct. 5 in a win over Philly. Point had a tough year in 2025-26, putting up just 18 goals on 129 shots (14.0 percent) with 32 assists in 63 games, and he's started 2026-27 slowly, too. He's now 30, which isn't old, but he needs to step things up to return his elite goal-scoring form. Point averaged 46 goals, 89 points and 217 shots over the three seasons prior to last year. We're not counting him out -- he's too talented for that. But we can't help but wonder if he's still struggling to find space to shoot the puck, particularly in tight places, like he admitted to media after last season. We're watching, and you should, too.

Ritchie won't return to Saturday's game against Toronto because of a lower-body injury.

Ritchie logged just one shift before exiting the game. He has a goal and two points in eight outings, including Saturday's tilt. Matias Maccelli also sustained a lower-body injury Saturday, so the Islanders might need to call up at least one forward ahead of Tuesday's game against Anaheim.

Guentzel had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory over the Canucks on Saturday.

His goal put the Lightning up 3-2 early in the third period and stood as the winner. Guentzel has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last two games and nine points (four goals, five assists; 20 shots) in eight games this season. The Lightning head to Vegas, Colorado and Utah next week, and Guentzel will play a critical role in the team's success on the road trip.

Zacha (upper body) won't play Saturday versus the Kings, Adam Pellerin of NESN reports.

Zacha was hurt late in Friday's game versus the Ducks and will be forced to miss a contest. Fraser Minten will move up to center the top line while Matthew Poitras will be on the second line Saturday. The 29-year-old Zacha can be considered day-to-day for now.

Bourque (upper body) is expected to miss Saturday's game against St. Louis, per Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey.

Bourque hasn't played since Oct. 8 because of the injury. He has an assist in four appearances with Nashville this season. Bourque is regarded as day-to-day, so he still might be an option Thursday in Boston.

Jenner scored a goal on four shots and added two PIM in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Devils.

Jenner has four goals over his last five games. He's been a good fit in a versatile role for the Capitals, supplying decent offense from the bottom six. He's at five points, 22 shots, nine hits, 10 blocked shots, four PIM and a plus-1 rating over eight appearances this season.

Strome scored the game-winning goal on three shots while adding three blocked shots and a plus-1 rating in Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Devils.

The veteran center potted his first goal of the season early in the second period, tucking a backhand past Jake Allen that just tipped off the end of the netminder's glove. Strome has had a productive start to the season even though he hadn't been lighting the lamp, collecting six points in his first eight games.