Gabriel Vilardi Promoted To First Line

Los Angeles Kings winger Gabriel Vilardi has earned himself a first-line role for Saturday's matchup against Toronto. He practiced on the line Friday, replacing Kevin Fiala. The move came after Vilardi scored already his sixth goal of the season in Thursday's 6-4 loss to Winnipeg. He leads the team in both goals and points (10) […]

Philipp Kurashev Moves To Second Line

Chicago Blackhawks winger Philipp Kurashev is teaming up with Jonathan Toews and Taylor Raddysh on the second line Saturday against Buffalo. Head coach Luke Richardson has been forced to switch up his lines after Tyler Johnson (ankle) was injured earlier in the week. A spot on the Toews line isn't as attractive as it used […]

Pavel Buchnevich Nearing Return

St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich (lower body) was a full participant in Saturday's practice and is on the cusp of returning to the lineup. The team has even activated him from Injured Reserve, although he won't play yet in Saturday's matchup against Montreal. The Russian winger has been on the shelf for five games. […]

Juraj Slafkovsky Returns To Canadiens Lineup

Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (upper body) will be back in action on Saturday against St. Louis. The No. 1 draft pick has been forced to miss three games with an upper-body injury. He is slated to skate on the fourth line with Jake Evans and Michael Pezzetta, who is getting his season debut. […]

Jamie Drysdale Sits Out Saturday's Practice

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale sustained an upper-body injury in Friday's loss to Vegas and wasn't able to practice because of it on Saturday. The young blue-liner skated for just 7:22 against the Golden Knights, registering one hit and one shot. Drysdale has had a rough ride early in the season, and the injury makes […]

Jusuf Nurkic Crushes The Rockets

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic feasted against the Rockets on Friday, helping the team to a 125-111 win with 27 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. He nailed his only attempt from deep and shot 12-for-17 from the field in 32 minutes of action, adding one assist and one steal to his line with […]

Rudy Gobert Has 20-20 Vision Against Lakers

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert recorded his first 20-20 game of the campaign as the team piled further misery on the Lakers with a 111-102 win. He scored 22 points with 7-for-11 shooting from the field and an 8-for-12 effort from the charity stripe and grabbed 21 rebounds. The French giant now boasts 16 career […]

Tyrese Maxey Posts Career-High 44 Points

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey went off for a career-high 44 points in Friday's 112-90 triumph over Toronto. He looked like he had popped straight out of a video game, nailing 15 of his 20 shot attempts and even hitting 9-for-12 from beyond the arc. Maxey also led the team with eight rebounds and […]

Caris LeVert Puts Up 41 Points Versus Boston

Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Caris LeVert was in a groove Friday against Boston, shooting 12-for-21 from the field en route to 41 points. Donovan Mitchell also posted 41 points in a 132-123 overtime win, giving the Cavaliers multiple 40-point scorers for the first time since LeBron James and Kyrie Irving shined in Game 5 of […]

Cade Cunningham Scores Career-High 35 Points

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham had a career night on Friday against Atalanta, posting his new record with 35 points. He couldn't hit anything from deep but finished with a solid 14-for-23 record from the field and got a sniff of a triple-double by bagging nine rebounds and eight assists. Cunningham added a steal at […]

Deandre Ayton Injures His Left Ankle

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton logged just eight minutes in Friday's win over New Orleans because of a left ankle sprain. He got hurt when he came down from a shot attempt and landed on Jonas Valanciunas' foot. Ayton managed four points on 2-for-4 shooting with three rebounds before exiting. Bismack Biyombo covered Ayton on […]

Artem Zub Out For 1-2 Weeks

Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub has been ruled out for 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury. He was hurt after Thursday's loss to Minnesota and now looks set to miss three games at minimum. The Russian rearguard plays a massive part on the Senators blue line, averaging close to 22 minutes of ice time per […]

Carolina Sends Ethan Bear To Vancouver

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ethan Bear was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Friday along with depth forward Lane Pederson. The Hurricanes received a 2023 fifth-round draft pick and Carolina is retaining 18 percent of Bear's $2.2 million salary as part of the deal. Bear has been a healthy scratch for every game this season and […]

Michael Rasmussen Suspended For Two Games

Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen has received a two-game suspension from the NHL. He is getting punished for high-sticking Boston's David Krejci in Thursday's 5-1 loss. Krejci was forced to leave the game after Rasmussen hit him in the head with his stick. The Red Wings are losing a player who has been very […]

Jake Bean Sits On Friday

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean (illness) will sit out Friday's battle with the Bruins. He has missed a pair of practices with an illness and hasn't managed to recover in time for the game. Bean had just enjoyed a bit of an offensive explosion with three points in two games. He boasts one goal […]

MacKenzie Blackwood Ready If Needed

New Jersey Devils goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (upper body) is available for Friday's clash with Colorado. His status was initially uncertain after Blackwood missed Thursday's practice. This is great news for the Devils, although Vitek Vanecek is still expected to get the start against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Both goalies have struggled at the start […]

Valeri Nichushkin Won't Play Friday

Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin (lower body) will sit out Friday's game against New Jersey, and he is considered day-to-day by the team. This is unfortunate news all around, as Nichushkin has started the season in great form and sits among the league's top goal-scorers with seven markers in as many games. He has also […]

Timo Meier Finally Scores His First Goal

San Jose Sharks winger Timo Meier was finally able to celebrate his first goal of the campaign in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win against Toronto. He entered the contest after having set an NHL record with the most shots on goal through nine games without scoring (42). Meier's barren spell finally ended Thursday night when he […]

Jake Oettinger Shuts Out Washington

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger recorded his first shutout of the season on Thursday, stopping 27 shots in a 2-0 victory over Washington. He pushed aside seven shots from Alex Ovechkin alone. Oettinger is off to an incredible start to the year, carrying a 5-1-0 record with a 1.17 goals-against average and a .960 save […]

Connor McDavid Scores Second Hat Trick Of The Season

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid produced his second hat trick of the season in a high-scoring 6-5 win over Chicago Thursday night. He notched two of his goals with the man advantage, and also had one assist in the contest to record his third four-point outing of the campaign. The Oilers captain now leads the […]

Carter Hart Registers Career-High 48 Saves

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was in spectacular form against the Panthers Thursday night, finishing a 4-3 victory with a career-high 48 saves. It's the highest single-game save total by a Flyers goalie in six years. Hart actually had a bad start in the game, when he allowed two goals inside the first eight minutes, […]

J.T. Miller Gets Hurt In First Canucks Win

Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller needed to be helped off the ice after blocking a shot in the dying seconds of the team's first win of the season against Seattle Thursday night. It's currently unclear if he was seriously hurt. Bruce Boudreau finally earned his 600th win in the NHL after Miller & Co. bounced […]

David Krejci Exits With Injury, Out Friday

Boston Bruins center David Krejci sustained an upper-body injury in Thursday's win over Detroit and won't be in the lineup Friday night against Columbus. He left in the second period after being shaken up by a hit from Detroit's Michael Rasmussen. The Red Wings man was penalized for high-sticking in the incident. Boston can't seem […]

Brandon Hagel Heating Up On First Line

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel scored in a third consecutive game Wednesday night against Anaheim. He netted on the power play late on to register the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory. Patience seems to be paying off for Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper, as Hagel was moved to the top line right […]

Viktor Arvidsson Gets Back To Action Thursday

Los Angeles Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson (illness) will be back in the lineup on Thursday versus Winnipeg. He's returning after sitting out Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Lightning with a non-COVID illness. The Swedish winger caught a bug at an awful time, as Arvidsson had just opened his scoring account for the season with a […]

Miro Heiskanen Sits Again Thursday

Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (upper body) will sit out a second consecutive game Thursday against Washington. The Finnish workhorse is carrying an upper-body injury since the start of this week and is considered day-to-day. Joel Hanley has entered the lineup in Heiskanen's absence and Nils Lundkvist has started to ride with the first power-play […]

Eric Staal Ready For Panthers Debut

Florida Panthers center Eric Staal will make his debut for the team Thursday night against Philadelphia. The former All-Star inked a one-year, $750,000 deal with the club last week after previously being on a tryout contract. The 37-year-old will bring veteran presence and a winning mentality to the locker room. He will debut as a […]

Tyler Johnson Placed On Injured Reserve

Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson (ankle) was placed on Injured Reserve Thursday. The two-time Stanley Cup winner was hurt in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Florida when he went feet-first into the boards in the third period. He left the arena in a walking boot, which is a sign that Johnson will likely need quite a […]

Brad Marchand Makes His Season Debut Thursday

Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (hip) will get his first taste of action this season on Thursday against Detroit. Things have moved quickly on the Marchand front. He was initially set to be out until late November, then he was expected to return before Thanksgiving, and now he's actually ready to play even before […]

Otto Porter Jr. "Out A While" With Personal Issue

Toronto Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr. has missed the start of the season with a hamstring problem, and he is now expected to be "out a while" for personal reasons. The Raptors have done well without Porter Jr., especially this week by beating Miami and Philadelphia in back-to-back games, but they would definitely like to […]