NHL Player News

Joseph (illness) is not expected to be available to face Utah on Friday, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports.

Joseph was unavailable to practice Thursday due to his illness and will now be on the shelf for Friday's matchup. In the 26-year-old blueliner's 11 outings this year, he has failed to find the back of the net, earning one helper, 10 shots and four hits. Joseph will face a tough turnaround to be ready to square off with Minnesota in the second game of the back-to-back Saturday.

Provorov scored a goal on four shots, blocked two shots and added two PIM in Thursday's 6-5 shootout win over the Red Wings.

Provorov ended his 11-game goal drought with the tally. He had two assists, 18 shots on net and 21 blocks in that span. The 28-year-old continues to be a defensive stalwart for the Blue Jackets, though his hefty ice time (25:32 per game) hasn't led to an improvement on offense. He's at nine points, 55 shots on net, 42 blocks, 14 hits and a plus-5 rating across 27 appearances.

Lohrei notched two assists and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Blues.

Lohrei helped out on goals by Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha during the second period. The 24-year-old Lohrei had gone eight games without a point. He's seen his ice time fluctuate lately, as he plays on the third pairing at even strength and also on the second power-play unit. Lohrei has 12 points, 16 shots on net, 25 blocked shots, 11 hits and a plus-3 rating through 24 appearances this season, putting him on track for a similar scoring output to his 33 points in 77 outings from 2024-25.

Schneider logged an assist and went plus-3 in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Senators.

Schneider has just two helpers over 17 games since the start of November. The 24-year-old has seen a recent uptick in ice time due to the absence of Adam Fox (upper body), who is on long-term injured reserve. Schneider may be a little more productive in December, but his scoring still offers little upside. He's at six points, 31 shots on net, 65 hits, 46 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating through 29 appearances this year.

Borgen scored a goal on two shots, added two hits and logged two PIM in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Senators.

This was Borgen's first point in three games since he returned from an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old blueliner has settled back into a top-four role and should provide ample physicality with limited offense. For the season, he's at two goals, four points, 20 shots on net, 36 hits, 26 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating across 22 outings.

Gavrikov scored a goal and went plus-3 in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Senators.

Gavrikov tallied his sixth goal of the year, a career-best number he's reached in three of the last four regular seasons and missed by just one in 2024-25. He's surged lately with four goals and three helpers over his last seven outings. Gavrikov won't keep up this kind of offense -- he's shooting a career-high 15.8 percent so far -- but he's locked in as a top-four blueliner for the Rangers. He's up to 13 points, 38 shots on net, 45 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating through 29 appearances.

Hedman (undisclosed) was labeled probable to suit up versus the Islanders on Saturday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Hedman led the post-practice stretch Friday, so all signs certainly point to him getting back into the lineup against New York. In order to play, the 34-year-old blueliner will first need to be activated off long-term injured reserve, though Tampa already created the necessary roster space by sending Declan Carlile back to AHL Syracuse on Friday. While Hedman has yet to find the back of the net this season, he did rack up 12 helpers in 15 games before getting hurt.

Fensore was reassigned to AHL Chicago on Friday.

Fensore was recalled Thursday and was a healthy scratch against the Maple Leafs, as K'Andre Miller was able to play after recovering from his illness. Fensore was a minus-2 in his lone game in the NHL this season, a 6-3 home loss to Vegas on Oct. 28.

Lundkvist (lower body) was labeled day-to-day by head coach Glen Gulutzan and could return as early as Tuesday's matchup with Winnipeg, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports.

Based on his timeline, Lundkvist won't be an option for the Stars' next two outings, but he certainly seems to be trending in the right direction. With Thomas Harley (lower body) on a similar timeline, both Kyle Capobianco and Vladislav Kolyachonok could be headed back to the minors when Lundkvist is cleared to come off long-term injured reserve.

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.