Novak (upper body) won't play against Florida on Thursday, per Nick Kieser of 102.5 ESPN Nashville.
It will be Novak's second straight game on the shelf. He has three goals and four points in 12 appearances in 2024-25. When Novak is available, he'll likely serve in a middle-six capacity. In the meantime, Michael McCarron is set to play in his second consecutive game.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Has upper-body injury
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Novak missed Wednesday's game versus the Capitals due to an upper-body injury.
Novak was a last-second scratch for the Predators, who were originally preparing to sit Luke Evangelista. The 27-year-old Novak is considered day-to-day, casting doubt on his availability for Thursday's game versus the Panthers.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Garners assist in win
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Novak logged a power-play assist in Friday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Novak earned his first helper of the season on Brady Skjei's third-period tally, which was the game-winner. The 27-year-old Novak has four points, 16 shots on net and a plus-1 rating through seven contests so far. His ice time was limited to 10:45 in Friday's win, though it's unclear if he's in danger of being a healthy scratch. He'll have limited fantasy value in a bottom-six role, though if he can turn his performance around, he could be a candidate for the second line again.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Finds back of net Tuesday
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Novak scored a goal in Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Bruins.
Novak recorded his third goal of the season Tuesday, but unlike in the previous two games in which he scored, this one contributed to Nashville's victory. The Predators have endured a tough start to the season, but Novak has found a way to stay productive, tallying three goals across six appearances while averaging 2.3 shots per game.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Tallies in Tuesday's loss
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Novak netted a goal in Tuesday's 7-3 loss versus the Kraken.
Novak had a yawning cage to shoot at after being set up on his goal by Mark Jankowski, but it wasn't enough to help Nashville overcome Seattle's offensive outburst. Novak is filling a third-line role while skating on the second power-play unit, so he's not relied upon much for primary scoring. The 27-year-old has reached the 43-point mark in back-to-back seasons, and he should be able to post similar numbers in 2024-25.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Carries offense in preseason loss
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Novak scored a goal and added two assists, one on the power play, in Saturday's preseason loss to the Hurricanes.
The 27-year-old center had a hand in every Nashville goal in a 5-3 loss, helping to set up Mark Jankowski with the man advantage in the first period and Cole Smith at even strength in the second before potting his own tally in the final stanza. Novak seems set in a top-six role, and while he may not see many shifts on the first power-play unit, he could see a lot of even-strength ice time alongside new teammates Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Novak set career highs with 18 goals and 45 points in 2023-24, but he could be poised to blow past those numbers given the talent upgrade around him.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Inks three-year extension
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Novak signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension with the Predators on Monday.
Novak has developed into a solid middle-six contributor that sees power-play time over the past two seasons with Nashville, picking up 30 goals and 77 points, 22 of which have come with the man advantage, over 102 games. The 26-year-old forward should continue to produce at a similar rate over the next three campaigns.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Two-point effort against Avs
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Novak scored a power-play goal and added an even-strength assist in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Avalanche.
After having a hand in the eventual game-winner by Cody Glass late in the second period, Novak potted his own tally midway through the third as the Predators pulled away. Novak's been on a roll over the last month, producing five goals and 13 points over the last 13 games despite a third-line assignment and a spot on the second power-play unit.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Faceoff win generates assist
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Novak produced an assist in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.
Novak won a faceoff back to Filip Forsberg, who quickly buried the Predators' second goal at 3:26 of the third period. The helper gave Novak 10 points over the last 10 games, a span in which he's been held scoreless only once. The 26-year-old center is up to 31 points, 77 shots on net and a minus-7 rating over 48 appearances. Novak's consistency of late makes him a strong depth option in fantasy.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Supplies power-play helper
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Novak recorded a power-play assist in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Sharks.
Novak set up a Filip Forsberg tally in the second period. With at least one point in eight of his last nine games, Novak has been a consistent presence on offense while seeing middle-six minutes. He's up to 30 points, 77 shots on net and a minus-7 rating through 47 outings this season. The 26-year-old will likely continue to play on the third line since the Predators are clicking on a four-game winning streak.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Stays warm Tuesday
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Novak scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Golden Knights.
Novak scored in the second period, giving him four goals and three assists over his last seven outings. The 26-year-old has surged despite playing in a bottom-six role. He's up to 12 goals, 28 points, 74 shots and a minus-8 rating through 45 appearances this season. Fantasy managers in deeper formats could find a spot for Novak while he's scoring.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Goal, assist in overtime win
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Novak scored a power-play goal on two shots and added an assist in Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over the Coyotes.
Novak sparked the Predators' comeback with his third-period marker, and he helped complete it by setting up a Ryan McDonagh goal in overtime. This was Novak's first multi-point effort since Nov. 11 -- the game before he missed 11 contests with an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old forward is up to nine tallies, 25 points, 67 shots on net and a minus-9 rating through 41 outings. He's mainly played in a middle-six role and may have appeal in deeper fantasy formats that focus on scoring only.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Nabs assist in win
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Novak logged an assist in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Stars.
Novak set up a Luke Evangelista tally in the second period. A recent lineup shuffle has seen Novak playing on the third line after beginning the year in a top-six role. The 26-year-old hasn't had much of a scoring touch, going 18 games without a goal, but he has racked up seven helpers across his last 11 outings. The center is at 19 points, 44 shots on net and a minus-3 rating through 29 contests.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Registers helper
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Novak produced an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals.
Novak was formally moved down to the third line for this contest, as the Predators appear to be leaning on their veterans to help the team get back on track. He saw 13:31 of ice time Saturday, and he's still on the second power-play unit. Novak doesn't have a goal since he returned from an upper-body injury, racking up five assists, a minus-2 rating and 15 shots on net over 12 contests in that span. For the year, he's at 17 points, 41 shots and a minus-2 rating through 26 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Ice time dwindling
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Novak registered an assist in Friday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Red Wings, but saw his ice time dip to just 11:51.
This marks the second time in the past three games that Novak has posted a TOI of under 12 minutes, which is concerning. He has averaged 14:42 of ice time this season, but was seeing 17:59 of playing time per contest in November before being sidelined for 11 games with an upper-body injury. Since his return in early December, he's recorded just four assists in 11 games and hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 4. It's probably a good move to stash Novak on your fantasy bench until he turns things around.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Two points against Oilers
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Novak scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Oilers.
Both points came in the second period as the Predators broke open a 1-1 game. Novak has found the scoresheet in five of the last six games, and on the season the 26-year-old has racked up six goals and nine points through 10 games. He has been demonstrating that his breakout 2022-23 campaign, in which he produced 17 goals and 43 points over 51 games, was no fluke.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Scores power-play goal in loss
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Novak scored a goal on six shots in the Predators' 6-1 loss to the Oilers on Tuesday.
Novak scored on a wrist shot in the slot to cut the Oilers' lead to 4-1 in the second period. This performance gives Novak two goals in four games to open the season. He should continue to occupy a middle-six role and a spot on the second power-play unit.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Leads with three-point effort
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Novak provided two goals and an assist in Nashville's 3-2 overtime victory over Vegas on Tuesday.
Novak earned his second multi-point game in the span of just three contests, giving him three goals and seven points in that stretch. Both of his markers Tuesday were recorded in the first period, and his helper was the primary assist on Cody Glass's overtime winner. Novak has 17 goals and 41 points in 46 outings this season, which is a huge jump from his 2021-22 rookie totals of a goal and seven points in 27 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Scores again Tuesday
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Novak tallied a goal on three shots in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Red Wings.
Novak extended Nashville's lead to 2-0 early in the third period, deflecting a Cal Foote shot past Ville Husso. The goal would stand as the game-winner after Detroit cut the lead to 2-1 late in the frame. Novak has now scored in three straight games, logging five points (four goals and an assist) in that span. The 25-year-old forward has emerged as a legitimate scoring threat for the Predators since the middle of February, tallying nine goals and 17 points in his last 13 games while earning a regular top-six role. Novak is up to 13 goals and 15 assists through 34 games this season.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Lights lamp twice in win
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Novak scored two goals, one on the power play, in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Panthers.
It's the first multi-goal game in the 25-year-old's NHL career -- in fact, he had only five tallies in 48 games coming into Saturday -- but Novak looked like a practiced sniper against Florida. He opened the scoring in the first period by whipping the puck off the post past Sergei Bobrovsky, then banked a shot from behind the net off Spencer Knight's leg midway through the third. Despite this performance, Novak's fourth-line role and usual lack of power-play time gives him little fantasy upside.
