NHL Player News

Novak scored a power-play goal on two shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Devils.

Novak has a four-game point streak to start February, earning three goals and an assist in that span. The Penguins are likely to take a balanced approach to distributing ice time while Sidney Crosby (lower body) is out for at least four weeks. Novak got top billing on the lineup sheet Thursday, but look for Ben Kindel to also see a boost in ice time. Novak has 12 goals, 20 helpers, 87 shots on net and a plus-3 rating over 57 appearances this season.

Tarasov is slated to be between the home pipes versus Buffalo on Friday.

Tarasov suffered a lower-body injury in his last start, prior to the Olympic break Feb. 5, but was deemed healthy enough to return a week ago. He backed up Sergei Bobrovsky on Thursday. Tarasov enters the Buffalo game with an 8-8-2 record, a 2.83 GAA and an .899 save percentage in 19 appearances this season. The Sabres are ninth in scoring, averaging 3.34 goals per contest.

Lyon will guard the visiting cage in Florida on Friday, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

Lyon is having a stellar year between the pipes, his best to date in the NHL. He is 14-8-3 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.72 GAA and a .913 save percentage over 27 contests this season. The 33-year-old netminder will face a tired Florida team, who beat the Maple Leafs 5-1 on Thursday.

Suter recorded a goal and two assists in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kraken.

Suter missed 15 games between Dec. 29 and Jan. 29 due to a right ankle injury, but he's been productive since returning to the lineup with four points (one goal, three assists) in four games. Suter is having a subpar season in his first year in St. Louis, though. He posted a career-high 46 points in 81 games with the Canucks in 2024-25, but he's been limited to only 18 points (eight goals, 10 helpers) in 41 games so far in 2025-26.

Girard (lower body) will join the team for its trip to New York on Saturday, Dan Potash of Sportsnet Pittsburgh reports.

Girard is still being evaluated for his lower-body injury, but the fact that he is traveling with the team should bode well for his availability. In his first game with the Pens, the 27-year-old blueliner registered four blocks and one shot while logging 17:53 of ice time. If Girard does miss any time, it will likely open up a spot in the lineup for Ryan Graves or Ilya Solovyov.

Sundqvist (upper body) will be available for Saturday's game against the Devils, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Sundqvist underwent surgery during the Olympic break and was forced to miss Thursday's game against Seattle, but he's been cleared to suit up for the first half of a back-to-back set Saturday. Over 43 appearances this season, Sundqvist has recorded four goals, 10 assists, 53 hits, 24 blocked shots and 16 PIM while averaging 13:15 of ice time.

Holloway scored a hat trick and added an assist in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kraken.

Holloway opened the scoring at the 7:58 mark of the first period with a snap shot and made it a 3-1 game for St. Louis with a poke shot just 1:35 into the second frame. The 24-year-old, who was returning from an ankle injury that had kept him sidelined for all but one game since mid-December, completed his hat trick with an empty-netter late in the third period. Holloway is up to 11 goals on the season, but as a bottom-six forward, he's not expected to be a very productive fantasy option in most formats.

Kakko scored a goal in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Blues.

Kakko didn't play in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to Dallas, but he made his presence felt in this contest despite the fact that Seattle suffered yet another loss. Kakko has three points in his last four games, and he looked pretty good for Finland in the Olympics as well, but his fantasy prospects remain limited. Kakko has seven goals and 15 assists in 41 contests this season, and his bottom-six role in the lineup doesn't exactly help his chances of being a regular scoring threat.

Lafreniere scored a goal in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers.

Lafreniere went scoreless in the 2-0 loss to the Hurricanes on Feb. 5, the Rangers' last game before the break, but prior to that, he had delivered a three-point effort against Pittsburgh on Jan. 31. The 24-year-old winger has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 58 games this season.

Michkov scored two goals, one on the power play and one in overtime, in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers.

Michkov opened the door for a Flyers' comeback at the 10:25 mark of the second period with a power-play tally. He'd later score the game-winning goal at 2:10 of overtime with a wrister. The 21-year-old winger netted multiple goals for the third time this season, and he has 15 goals and 31 points in 57 contests. That said, those numbers represent a downgrade compared to his rookie year, when he posted 26 goals and 63 points across 80 contests in 2024-25.