NHL Player News

Novak scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Novak has two goals and an assist over three games in February. The 28-year-old center stretched the Penguins' lead to 4-2 in the third period to fend off any comeback effort for the Sabres. Novak is up to 11 goals, 31 points, 85 shots on net, 22 PIM and a plus-3 rating through 56 appearances this season. He should continue to offer decent upside on offense in a second-line role.

Hayes scored twice on six shots, added two hits and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Hayes got into the lineup for Noel Acciari (illness), and that ended up working out fine for the Penguins. Hayes scored on his first NHL shot at 9:18 of the first period, and he tallied again before the end of the opening frame, giving the Penguins a lead that they never relinquished. The 23-year-old has earned 23 points over 31 contests for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and he'll likely head back to the farm team in the coming days to continue playing during the NHL's Olympic break. That said, this likely isn't the last we've seen of Hayes at the NHL level.

Samoskevich scored the Panthers' only goal Thursday in a 6-1 loss to the Lightning.

It was his second goal in the last 25 games played. Samoskevich has six goals, 15 assists and 122 shots in 55 games this season. More was expected from him after he put up 15 goals and 31 games in 72 games last year, but this may simply be a prototypical sophomore slump, and Samoskevich's outburst will come next season.

Kindel scored two goals in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Kindel's unassisted tally in the second period stood as the game-winner, and he added a shorthanded empty-netter in the third. The latter goal was his first career shorthanded point. The 18-year-old center is up to 14 goals, 27 points, 109 shots on net, 44 blocked shots, 21 hits and a minus-3 rating through 53 appearances. He's surged into the Olympic break with six goals and an assist over his last six outings.

Silovs stopped 26 of 28 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Silovs picked up his third win in his last four outings. He's allowed just nine goals on 111 shots in that span as he continues to alternate starts with Stuart Skinner. Silovs improved to 11-7-8 with a 2.93 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 26 contests this season. The Latvian netminder is off to the Olympics, where he'll likely battle the Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins for starts between the pipes.

Raddysh delivered an assist in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Panthers.

Raddysh extended his point streak to six games (five goals, five assists). Fantasy managers keep waiting for him to crash back to earth, but there are no signs of such an implosion. Raddysh looks real this season. He has 17 goals, 35 assists, 20 power-play points, 129 shots and a plus-17 rating. His 13.4 shooting percentage is bound to come back down at some point, but enjoy the run until it does.

Drysdale scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Senators.

Drysdale tied the game at 1-1 with 1:14 left in the third period. The 23-year-old defenseman has scored in each of the last two games, so he'll need to find a way to keep this newfound momentum up after the Olympic break. Drysdale has five goals, 23 points, 63 shots on net, 59 blocked shots, 24 PIM and a minus-6 rating over 53 outings in a top-four role for the Flyers this season.

Vladar allowed two goals on 27 shots in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Senators.

Vladar put forth a good performance, but the Flyers didn't match his level. He can be credited with getting the game to overtime, but Tim Stutzle won it for the Senators just 47 seconds into the extra session. Vladar heads into the Olympics with 11 goals allowed on 112 shots over his last five outings, a span in which he went 1-1-2. He's now at a 17-8-6 record with a 2.47 GAA and a .905 save percentage over a career-high 33 appearances. It's unclear if Vladar will see much playing time with the Czech team, which boasts some depth in net with the Ducks' Lukas Dostal and the Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka.

Kucherov picked up an assist Thursday in a 6-1 win over the Panthers.

Kucherov's apple extended his point streak to 10 games (six goals, 18 assists). The veteran winger is a generational talent. He is just nine points from the century mark and has done it in just 51 games (91 points), which would mark his fourth straight season reaching that threshold.

Cousins scored a goal on three shots and added five hits in Thursday's 2-1 overtime win over the Flyers.

Cousins has two goals over his last five outings. The 32-year-old continues to see bottom-six minutes, though his ice time has gotten a boost since David Perron (groin) exited the lineup. For the season, Cousins has eight goals and 16 points, both of which are his highest marks since his 27-point campaign with the Panthers in 2022-23. He's added 52 shots on net, 116 hits, 61 PIM and a plus-8 rating over 56 contests this season.