NHL Player News

Askarov (lower body) is expected to miss Thursday's game against Buffalo, per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Askarov hasn't been in net since March 10 because of the injury. He's 19-17-3 with a 3.56 GAA and an .886 save percentage in 40 outings in 2025-26. Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to get the home start against Buffalo, while Laurent Brossoit is set to serve as the understudy.

Armia (upper body) won't be in action versus the Flyers on Thursday but could return for Saturday's clash with Buffalo, Alexander Legget of Mayors Manor reports.

Armia will be shelved for his 10th straight game due to his lingering upper-body issue. Prior to his absence, the veteran forward was struggling to produce and was stuck in an 11-game goal drought during which he generated just two assists. Once given the all-clear, Armia should slot into a bottom-six role but could factor on the power play.

Chernyshov (concussion) is not available for Thursday's tilt versus Buffalo on Thursday, according to Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

The highly-regarded Chernyshov has three goals and eight assists in 16 NHL games this season, his first in the league. Chernyshov suffered the injury during his first shift in Montreal on March 14 and he will miss his third straight game. Consider Chernyshov day-to-day at this time.

Bobrovsky will defend the road cage in Edmonton on Thursday.

Bobrovsky saw his two-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday, allowing five goals on 22 shots in a 5 -2 loss to Vancouver. The veteran netminder is 24-20-1 with three shutouts. He has a 3.07 GAA and an .876 save percentage over 46 games this season. The Oilers will be without Leon Draisaitl, who is out for the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury. Edmonton is averaging 3.52 goals per game, third in the NHL this season.

Kindel scored a goal on two shots in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

Kindel has scored twice over his last four games. The rookie center is up to 17 goals, 32 points, 131 shots on net, 51 blocked shots, 27 hits and a minus-9 rating through 65 appearances. Expect Kindel to play in a third-line role moving forward since Sidney Crosby (lower body) is back in action.

Rust scored a goal on five shots and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

Rust has earned five goals and three assists during his five-game point streak. The 33-year-old winger should benefit from the return of Sidney Crosby, who had been out with a lower-body injury prior to Wednesday. Rust is now at 26 goals, 54 points, 158 shots on net, 59 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating through 61 appearances in a top-line role.

Head coach Adam Foote said Thursday that Joseph (upper body) is improving and is a possibility for Saturday's game against the Blues, Farhan Lalji of TSN reports.

Although Joseph will miss an eighth consecutive game Thursday against the Lightning, he's trending in the right direction. Even if he's ultimately sidelined Saturday against St. Louis, it wouldn't be surprising to see him return to game action sometime next week. Over 12 appearances since the start of the calendar year, he's recorded a goal, three assists, nine blocked shots and three hits while averaging 14:35 of ice time.

Lankinen will patrol the home crease versus Tampa Bay on Thursday, per Farhan Lalji of TSN.

Lankinen is having a tough season, as far as the stats are concerned. He is 8-21-5 with a 3.60 GAA and an .878 save percentage for the lowly Canucks in 2025-26. He has a tough matchup versus the Lightning, as Tampa Bay is second in NHL scoring, averaging 3.53 goals per game.

Slavin put up an assist, two shots on goal and a minus-2 rating in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime win over the Penguins.

Slavin ended a 14-game point drought with the helper. The 31-year-old blueliner had 32 shots on net and a plus-4 rating in that span, but he hasn't been able to reach his usual levels on offense this season. Slavin has just four assists with 44 shots on net, 39 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 28 appearances after missing most of the first of the campaign due to a pair of injuries.

Miller scored a goal, added two PIM, went plus-3, logged three hits and blocked two shots in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime win over the Penguins.

Miller ended a 24-game goal drought with his tally late in the third period, which forced overtime. During that stretch, he had 11 assists, 40 shots on net and a plus-3 rating. The 26-year-old blueliner is in a top-four role and offers some category coverage in fantasy. He's at five goals, 31 points, 100 shots on net, 85 hits, 66 blocked shots, 48 PIM and a plus-7 rating through 60 appearances.