NHL Player News

Harley (lower body) has been ruled out of Friday's tilt versus San Jose, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports.

Head coach Glen Gulutzan said Friday that he hopes Harley is able to return to the lineup next week, making Tuesday's game in Winnipeg a possibility. Harley has missed the last 10 games and has a goal and nine assists in 18 games this season.

Fleury is out of concussion protocol and has been cleared for contact, Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press reports Friday.

Fleury has missed the last 10 games, after he was injured in Vancouver on Nov. 11. Fleury will likely need a couple of practices before he'll be ready to return to the lineup. Fleury did not have a point in 15 games before his injury.

Carlile was reassigned to AHL Syracuse on Friday.

Carlile has appeared in nine NHL games this year, generating one goal, five shots and nine hits while averaging 12:53 of ice time. The decision to return Carlile to the minors could be an indication that Victor Hedman (undisclosed) will be ready to play versus the Islanders on Saturday, though the Bolts could also bring another player back up from the minors.

Pelech scored a goal, put two shots on target and blocked a shot in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Avalanche.

Pelech ended a 16-game point drought Thursday with a goal near the midway point of the second period, which gave the Isles a 4-0 lead. With the twine finder, Pelech grabbed his first goal of the season and is up to three points, 42 shots on goal and 43 blocks through 28 games this season. While the 11-year NHL veteran isn't known for his goal scoring, he's reached the 15-point mark in each of the past four seasons but is at risk of losing that streak this year. Despite losing some playing time to rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer, Pelech is still averaging 20:00 of ice time and has the opportunity to bounce back while skating on the Islanders' second defensive pairing. He's best left on waivers in fantasy for the time being, but if he starts to find the scoresheet with some consistency, he could have some streaming value in deep fantasy leagues due to his solid category coverage.

Sanderson notched two power-play assists in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers.

The 23-year-old blueliner helped set up tallies by Dylan Cozens in the first period and Drake Batherson in the third, but the Senators' offense couldn't get anything going at even strength. Sanderson extended his point streak to five games with the performance, a hot stretch in which he's produced three goals and eight points with 11 shots on net, 12 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating.

Pulock tallied two assists, put two shots on goal and blocked five shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Avalanche.

Pulock slid the primary helper on Kyle MacLean's opening goal before later assisting Bo Horvat's tally in the second period. With the pair of apples, Pulock is up to 13 assists, 34 shots on goal, 24 hits and 48 blocks through 28 games this season. While the 31-year-old defenseman is still on the hunt for his first goal of the season, he has provided excellent category coverage of late with four assists, six shots on goal, six hits and 12 blocks in his last four contests. He lacks the goal-scoring upside that most successful defensemen in fantasy hockey have, but Pulock has worth in deep leagues that value categories rather than points while playing alongside Matthew Schaefer on the Isles' top defensive pairing.

Benoit logged an assist, four hits and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Benoit snapped a 12-game point drought with the helper. The 27-year-old defenseman has been a steady presence the lineup this season, providing some physicality but little offense. He's at three assists, 17 shots on net, 62 hits, 37 blocked shots, 17 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 25 appearances.

Myers notched an assist in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Hurricanes.

The assist was Myers' first point of the season. He was scratched for six of seven games between Nov. 13-28, but he's since played in three straight contests. In addition to the helper, Myers has 14 shots on net, 15 hits, 18 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating over 13 appearances. He'll likely compete with Dakota Mermis for playing time while Brandon Carlo (lower body) and Chris Tanev (upper body) remain out.

Kaiser scored a goal on two shots and added two blocked shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Kings.

The tally was Kaiser's first of the season, and it stood as the game-winner in this contest. He's earned just three points over his last 10 games, though he continues to have a steady top-four role on the Blackhawks' defense. He's at five points, 26 shots on net, 27 blocks, 18 hits and a plus-5 rating through 27 appearances this year. Until Kaiser shows more consistent offense, most fantasy managers won't need to roster him.

Lindgren has earned just two points over 15 games since the start of November, and he was held off the scoresheet in Thursday's 9-4 loss to the Oilers.

Lindgren has three helpers, 18 shots on net, 14 hits, 39 blocked shots, 33 PIM and a minus-1 rating through 25 outings this season. The 27-year-old's playing style is heavily defensive, though his physicality appears to be trending down this year as well. Nonetheless, the Kraken have kept Lindgren mainly on the second pairing as a counterbalance to the more talented Brandon Montour.