NHL Player News

Greaves will start Thursday's road game against Carolina, Dave Maetzold of DMaetz Media reports.

Greaves has sat out three of the Blue Jackets' last four games, but he'll return to the crease on the road Thursday. The 25-year-old has had a shaky start to the regular season, going 2-3-0 with a 3.33 GAA and .883 save percentage.

Barkov (lower body) resumed skating Wednesday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.

While head coach Paul Maurice said Thursday that Barkov is still believed to be approximately four weeks away from returning, the 31-year-old appears to be making encouraging progress in his recovery. Barkov initially received a return timetable of 6-8 weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury in early October, and Thursday's update puts him on track to return around the later end of that estimate.

Girard (undisclosed) is considered a game-time decision for Thursday's home game against the Mammoth, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports.

Girard has missed each of the last three games with an undisclosed injury. It appears that he has a chance to play Thursday, but the Penguins would need to activate him from injured reserve prior to the contest if he's to appear in the lineup. Prior to going down with the injury, the 28-year-old blueliner got off to a strong start to the season with a goal, seven points, 12 shots on net, five hits and 10 blocked shots over nine appearances. If he's ultimately given the green light, he'll likely rejoin the team's second defensive pairing, where he should continue to be a relevant fantasy asset in deep leagues this season.

Head coach Rod Brind'Amour said Thursday that Hall (undisclosed) will miss a few more games, Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Hall was already expected to miss more time after the Hurricanes announced Tuesday that he had tweaked something different from his previous upper-body injury. While the exact nature of his new injury aren't yet clear, the 34-year-old is expected to be sidelined for multiple additional games following his setback.

Malkin (illness) is expected to play in Thursday's home clash against the Mammoth, per Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site.

Head coach Dan Muse stated that the line of Malkin, Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel are all expected to make their respective returns to the lineup in Thursday's contest. The 40-year-old Malkin missed just one contest due to an illness, but he's set to pick up where he left off. Across 11 appearances this season, the 21-year NHL veteran has six goals, nine points, a plus-1 rating and 22 shots on net. Malkin can be placed back into fantasy lineups given his extensive resume of success in the NHL.

Oettinger was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Canadiens.

Oettinger has been strong over the past two weeks, going 4-0-0 with a shutout, a 1.71 GAA and a .909 save percentage across four starts during that time. The Canadiens have recorded 3.00 goals per game to begin the regular season, which is tied for 17th in the NHL.

Saros will defend the home crease in Thursday's clash against the Capitals, per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean.

Saros hasn't lost in regulation since Oct. 13, but he's only been able to win one of his four appearances during that time. The 31-year-old netminder currently holds a 3-2-4 record, a 2.82 GAA and a .906 save percentage across nine outings this season. He's often kept the Predators in games this season and commands the opportunities between the pipes, making him a solid No. 2 fantasy option moving forward. However, he'll have a tricky matchup in Thursday's outing as the Capitals currently rank ninth in the NHL with 3.55 goals per game this season.

The Wild announced Thursday that Spurgeon (undisclosed) is considered week-to-week, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Spurgeon exited Tuesday's game against the Mammoth due to an undisclosed injury, and he's facing a multi-game absence. It's not yet clear when the 36-year-old will be able to return to action, but David Spacek and Carson Lambos are candidates to see additional playing time in the near future, while it's possible that Spurgeon will land on injured reserve at some point.

Skinner will start Thursday's road game against Tampa Bay, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.

After picking up wins in three of his first four starts of the regular season, Skinner has gone 0-2-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .904 save percentage across his last four appearances. He didn't start Tuesday's game against the Panthers but will be between the pipes Thursday for the fourth time in Florida's last five games.

Kindel is expected to play in Thursday's home clash against the Mammoth following his vasovagal episode on Oct. 20, per Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site.

Following his loss of consciousness on the team's flight on Oct. 20, Kindel is feeling like himself and is trending towards making his return in Thursday's clash. The 19-year-old center will provide a boost for the Penguins' center depth upon his return Thursday, as he's posted two goals, four points and 23 shots on net across nine appearances this season. He's expected to center a line with two other players making their return to the lineup, Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin, which puts Kindel at the heart of a strong trio, raising his fantasy stock moving forward. In order to play Thursday, however, Kindel will have to be activated from injured reserve prior to the contest.