NHL Player News

Lizotte (lower body) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic on Thursday.

Lizotte was injured against the Blackhawks on Sunday. He will finish the season with 11 goals, nine assists and 60 hits over 59 games this season, his first with the Penguins after five-plus campaigns with the Kings.

Novak (lower body) will miss the remainder of the season, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports Thursday.

Novak has been out of action since March 9. He ends the 2024-25 campaign with 13 goals and nine assists over 52 games with Nashville, and he was shut out in two games with the Penguins after being traded at the deadline.

Acciari has been ruled out for the remainder of the season for an undisclosed reason, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports Thursday.

While it's unclear why Acciari will be sidelined, he won't be able to suit up in any of the Penguins' final three regular-season games. The 33-year-old made a career-high 79 appearances this season and racked up five goals, seven assists, 180 hits and 100 blocked shots while averaging 13:46 of ice time.

Kastelic (upper body), as expected, won't return during the 2024-25 campaign, Joe Haggerty of Boston Sports Journal reports Thursday.

Considering Kastelic was previously deemed out indefinitely, the news that he won't return this year shouldn't come as a surprise. Prior to his absence, the 26-year-old center had managed just one point across his last 17 outings. With his season over, Kastelic will end the year with five goals and nine helpers in 61 games. Kastelic signed a three-year contract extension with the Bruins in January, so he'll attempt to build upon his results during the 2025-26 campaign.

Verhaeghe (rest) will not be available Thursday versus Detroit, per Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post.

Verhaeghe has been slumping of late, going 13 games without a goal before scoring his 18th of the season Wednesday versus Toronto. The 29-year-old forward is likely to play Saturday versus Buffalo. Look for Jesper Boqvist to re-enter the lineup in place of Verhaeghe versus Detroit.

Brown was returned to AHL Providence on Thursday.

Brown's demotion comes as Riley Duran was elevated from the minors in a corresponding move. Considering the nine-year age gap between the two, it makes sense for the Bruins to demote the veteran Brown in order to get a look at the youngster in an NHL game. In his 15 NHL outings this year, Brown has failed to find the back of the net, which means he hasn't scored an NHL goal since the 2022-23 campaign.

Ponomarev was called up from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis Thursday.

Ponomarev has 15 goals and 25 assists in 40 AHL contests, including two goals and three assists in his last five games. He has seen limited action at the NHL level, playing four games this season with no points, while averaging 9:13 of ice time.

Zibanejad notched four assists, one shorthanded, in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Flyers.

It was Zibanejad's first multi-point performance since March 9 and his first four-point eruption since Oct. 17, 2022 against the Ducks. The 31-year-old has had a disappointing season overall, mirroring that of a Rangers squad on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs, but with four games left on the team's schedule, he still has an outside shot at reaching 20 goals and 60 points.

Matthews picked up three assists in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Lightning.

His third helper was the biggest, as the superstar center fed Matthew Knies for the OT winner. The Maple Leafs' top line of Matthews, Knies and Mitch Marner combined for all four of the team's goals on the night and nine total points, and it was Matthews' seventh multi-point performance in the last 16 games -- a stretch in which he's racked up seven goals and 21 points.

Thomas logged two assists and two shots on goal in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Oilers.

Thomas had a hand in third-period goals by Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. This extended Thomas' point streak to 10 games, and he's logged multiple points in seven of those outings. During the streak, he has recorded four goals and 18 assists, and he's up to 21 tallies, 57 helpers, 143 shots on net, 47 blocked shots and a plus-18 rating over 68 appearances this season. Thomas has two games left on the schedule to take a run at the 80-point mark for the second year in a row.