3 years agoBoston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak and defenseman Hampus Lindholm won't play Sunday against Montreal. Both players returned from injury in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Rangers and Boston is happy to rest them on Sunday. Pastrnak had a nice comeback game with a goal and an assist and now has 73 points for the season in 70 games. Lindholm had a solid outing in 24:41 of action with a plus-one rating, three shots and one hit. The Swedish blue-liner played his eighth game as a Bruin. He has so far recorded four points, 19 shots, 12 hits and 12 blocks for his new club. Curtis Lazar goes back on the second line Sunday and Mike Reilly replaces Lindholm in defense.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Steve Conroy

3 years agoWinnipeg Jets winger Jansen Harkins is set to join the second line for Sunday's matchup against the Avalanche. He will replace Zach Sanford (undisclosed). Harkins typically plays very little and even logged just 4:31 in Thursday's 4-2 loss to Carolina, so this is a major move for the 24-year-old. He'll have an opportunity to impress while skating with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Winnipeg's top scorer Kyle Connor. Harkins sits on seven goals and 10 points in 73 games for the season ahead of Sunday's action.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Murat Ates

3 years agoWinnipeg Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt is dealing with an undisclosed injury and won't play in Sunday's game against Colorado. Logan Stanley will take over from him and skate with Neal Pionk. Schmidt has been anonymous offensively lately, but he's had a solid campaign overall with 32 points in 74 games. 11 of his points have come on the power play and Schmidt has also contributed well in other areas. Stanley isn't as good offensively, having collected 13 points in 57 games this season, but he's piled up some good defensive stats with 129 hits and 96 blocks. Schmid is considered day-to-day and will have his first opportunity to return Wednesday against Philadelphia.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Dave Minuk

3 years agoSt. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug (upper body) will sit out a second consecutive game on Saturday against Arizona. Krug only recently made it back from an upper-body injury and managed to skate in just five games before getting hurt again. He was actually at the morning skate on Saturday, which is a good sign, so hopefully Krug doesn't face another lengthy absence. He missed 10 games before returning to action last Tuesday. The 31-year-old has enjoyed a strong campaign with 40 points and a plus-23 rating in 62 games. Calle Rosen has entered the lineup in Krug's absence and he recently impressed with a three-point outing, so fantasy managers might want to keep an eye on him.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Jeremy Rutherford

3 years agoSan Jose Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov (upper body) is ready to return to the lineup on Saturday against Chicago. Based on the morning skate, the 27-year-old makes his comeback from a four-game absence in a very sweet spot, skating on the top line with the team's top scorers Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. Barabanov is finishing off his debut campaign in the NHL and has notched 10 goals and 37 points in 65 games. He's gone six games without a point and doesn't look like a very attractive fantasy piece, but the company of Hertl and Meier will boost Barabanov's stock quite a bit.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Curtis Pashelka

3 years agoToronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (undisclosed) will return to the lineup on Saturday against Florida. The 24-year-old superstar has sat out three games with an unspecified ailment. It was apparently a very minor issue, with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe suggesting during Matthews' layoff that he would've played if the playoffs had already started. Toronto's No. 34 has had a superb campaign with 102 points in 70 games. He's looking to become the third player in the salary cap era to hit 60 goals in a single season and needs to light the lamp just two more times to reach the milestone.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Luke Fox

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (lower body) will return to action Saturday against Nashville. He dropped out of the lineup with a lower-body injury on Thursday against Toronto, but it looks like it wasn't anything serious if he can return so quickly. Point boasts 27 goals and 55 points in 62 games this season, but he's gone pointless in seven of his last eight appearances. The 26-year-old will be desperate to pick up some momentum for the playoffs with the final few regular-season games and fantasy managers should get him back into the lineup.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Gabby Shirley

3 years agoMontreal Canadiens winger Mike Hoffman will skate on the first line in Saturday's matchup against Ottawa. He scored his 12th goal of the season last time out against Philadelphia, and it appears that he's impressed interim head coach Martin St. Louis enough to get a chance to ride with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Hoffman's debut campaign in Montreal has been underwhelming as he's recorded only 32 points across 63 games. This is, of course, a revenge game for Hoffman after he started his career as a Senator. He's been able to get five points in nine games against Ottawa since leaving the team.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Arpon Basu

3 years agoOttawa Senators winger Connor Brown has a nagging injury and won't play on Saturday against Montreal. The 28-year-old has been pretty ineffective as of late, so it's possible that he has carried the injury for quite a while. Brown boasts 10 goals and 39 points in 64 games for the season. He's been a regular in the top six and Brown's absence is set to open up minutes on a scoring line. Head coach D.J. Smith has yet to announce his lines for the game, so it remains to be seen who benefits from Brown's injury.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Bruce Garrioch

3 years agoOttawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (hand) is set to return to the lineup on Saturday against Montreal. The talented rearguard fractured his hand in the middle of March and there were some reports that he might be done for the season, but Ottawa has activated Chabot from Injured Reserve and he's set to feature on Saturday. Chabot will look to add to the 34 points he's collected in 55 games this season. He's also made a big impact defensively with 71 hits and 88 blocks, and the Senators will no doubt be very glad to have him back.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Bruce Garrioch

3 years agoLos Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault scored in a fifth consecutive game on Thursday, opening the scoring on the power play in a 4-1 victory against Chicago. This is the longest goal streak by a Kings player since Marian Gaborik scored in five straight games in 2014-15. Danault is also currently on a seven-game point streak and has been kept off the scoresheet just once in his last 11 appearances. The 29-year-old has had a very strong year in L.A. and boasts 26 goals and 50 points in 77 games with 73 hits and a plus-14 rating.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoTampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos had a historic night against Toronto on Thursday, becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 956 points. He helped the team to an 8-1 victory with a goal and two assists, breaking a tie with Martin St. Louis. He made the top spot his own with a power-play goal 12:38 into the second period before adding a pair of helpers to his tally. Tampa put on a power-play clinic, scoring five goals with the man advantage. Stamkos was already the team's best-ever goal-scorer and now boasts 473 career markers with 483 assists. He has 34 goals and 56 assists in 76 games this season. 24 of Stamkos' points have come during his current 15-game hot spell.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoVancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson scored twice in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Minnesota, making it 13 goals in 12 games for himself. He kept the playoff-chasing team in the game and even put the Canucks 3-2 up 16:09 into the second period, but it wasn't enough. Pettersson ended up with a season-high eight shots in just a little over 19 minutes of action. The 23-year-old reached 31 goals for the campaign and this season is now the first since 1995-96 three different Canucks players have hit at least 30 goals. Pettersson is averaging close to 1.80 points per game this month and should be an automatic starter for fantasy managers as the young Swede tries to help his team reach the postseason.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoNew York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin ran the show against the Islanders on Thursday, dishing out four assists in a 6-3 victory. He became the first Rangers player in 25 years to produce multiple four-assist efforts in a season, and Panarin can also now celebrate his new record with 96 points for the campaign. 74 of his points have come via assists and it's the most helpers a Rangers forward has produced in a season. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier previously shared the record with 72 assists. Panarin joined quite a company, but he also has his sights on the franchise record for most assists in a single season. It's currently held by Brian Leetch, who managed to record 80 assists in 1991-92. The Breadman has four games to move past him.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

3 years agoNew York Rangers forward Andrew Copp scored a first-period hat trick but also picked up a lower-body injury in Thursday's 6-3 victory over the Islanders. He notched his second career hat trick by leading the Rangers to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame but was forced to leave the game in the third period. The team is set to provide an update on Copp's status Friday. The 27-year-old has been immense for the Rangers since arriving from Winnipeg, scoring eight goals and handing out 10 assists in 15 games. The Rangers are battling for the Metropolitan Division title and will be hoping to have Copp back as quickly as possible. Their next game comes on Saturday against Boston.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Dan Rosen