Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry Active On Friday

Miami Heat small forward Jimmy Butler (ankle) and point guard Kyle Lowry are available to play on Friday against Houston. They should be ready to put in a big shift as well, with Miami still short some personnel. Butler was ruled out for Wednesday's matchup against San Antonio, but the game ended up getting postponed […]

Frank Ntilikina Out On Friday

Dallas Mavericks guard Frank Ntilikina (thigh) won't be available for Friday's contest against Sacramento. The Mavericks are without a number of players and have suffered another blow here. Ntilikina has earned some starts lately and he's put in some good performances. Jalen Brunson will continue to carry the backcourt, and he'll be joined by Reggie […]

Donovan Mitchell Returns To Action On Friday

Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (back) is set to return to action on Friday against Minnesota. He's not on the injury report and looks set for a huge game, as Mike Conley (rest) will sit out the contest. Mitchell has averaged 27.7 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists in games without Conley this season. […]

Cam Fowler Questionable For Friday

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler (upper body) is considered questionable for Friday's contest against the Golden Knights. Fowler was injured in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime loss to Vancouver after awkwardly hitting the boards. The team feared the worst, but Fowler was back at practice on Thursday and could be ready to play again against Vegas. "There […]

Alex Pietrangelo Available For Friday's Game

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has cleared COVID-19 protocols and appears ready to return to the lineup on Friday against the Ducks. The 31-year-old was forced to sit out two games because of the protocols. Pietrangelo has been hot lately with eight points in seven games. He's on 22 points overall for the season […]

Evgenii Dadonov An Option To Replace Max Pacioretty

Vegas Golden Knights winger Evgenii Dadonov is set to replace Max Pacioretty (wrist) on the top line on Friday against Anaheim. Pacioretty underwent wrist surgery on Thursday and is ruled out indefinitely, so the Russian winger might hang out with the top six for a while. Dadonov himself has just cleared COVID-19 protocols and will […]

Jesse Puljujarvi, Darnell Nurse Return On Friday

Edmonton Oilers right wing Jesse Puljujarvi and defenseman Darnell Nurse will be back in action on Friday against New Jersey. The two were cleared from COVID-19 protocols on Thursday, along with depth defenseman William Lagesson. Puljujarvi, who boasts 23 points in 28 games this season, will return to the top line, joining Zach Hyman and […]

MacKenzie Blackwood Makes His 17th Start

New Jersey Devils goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood will make his 17th start of the season on Friday against Edmonton. He'll have a chance to start building a winning streak after taking down Buffalo 4-3 with 19 saves on Wednesday. Blackwood improved to 6-6-3 for the season earlier in the week, and he's registered a 3.13 goals-against […]

Mike Smith Faces Devils On Friday

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith will start in Friday's matchup against New Jersey, making his second appearance since returning from a lower-body injury. Smith was back in action for the first time since October earlier in the week and couldn't make a winning return against St. Louis, giving up four goals with 33 shots. Friday's […]

Matt Duchene Delivers Two Assists

Nashville Predators forward Matt Duchene helped to set up two goals in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to Columbus, picking up a pair of assists in quick succession in the second period. His second helper came with the man advantage. The former Blue Jacket is having a wonderful campaign with 27 points in 28 games. It […]

Boone Jenner Records Two Points Thursday Night

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner put together a two-point performance in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over Nashville, notching the team's first goal of the game and helping Patrik Laine on the scoreboard. He was plus-two for the night and finished with four shots, one block and one hit in 22:20 of action. Jenner leads […]

Patrik Laine Scores In His Return

Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine made a scoring return to the lineup on Thursday, netting the team's second goal of the night in a 4-3 shootout win over Nashville. He logged nearly 22 minutes of action and was very active all game, registering seven shots on goal and four efforts that missed the target. […]

Brendan Gallagher Picks Up A Lower-Body Injury

Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher suffered a lower-body injury in Thursday's 4-0 loss to Carolina, which forced him to make an early exit. He logged 9:21 of ice time before dropping out of the lineup in the second period. Luckily, he's considered day-to-day, so Gallagher shouldn't miss a lot of action. It's not been […]

Teuvo Teravainen Scores Twice In Thursday's Win

Carolina Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen led all skaters with six shots and two goals in Thursday's 4-0 win over Montreal. The Hurricanes put on a special team clinic, scoring three power-play goals and one short-handed goal. Teravainen grabbed the latter in the opening frame before scoring with the man advantage late in the second. The […]

Antti Raanta Shuts Out Montreal

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta collected his first shutout of the season on Thursday, beating Montreal 4-0 with 26 saves. The Finnish netminder improved to 5-2-1 for the year, and he now boasts a 2.08 goals-against average with a .919 save percentage. Raanta has been a rock-solid backup for Carolina, giving up over two goals […]

Franz Wagner Leads Magic With 20 Points

Orlando Magic small forward Franz Wagner scored a team-high 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting in Thursday's 136-118 loss to Milwaukee, hitting two of his three attempts from deep. He notched three rebounds and one assist as well with three turnovers in 34 minutes. The German is leading the pack in rookie scoring this season, having […]

Jrue Holiday Has A Busy Night Against Magic

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday missed only three shots while popping up everywhere and finishing Thursday's win against Orlando with 25 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. He went 8-for-11 from the field and had a 3-for-4 record from deep with a perfect 6-for-6 effort at the foul line. Lineup […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo Cruises To 33 Points Against Orlando

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a game-high 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Thursday's win over Orlando, adding five assists and two steals with two blocks and four turnovers. He shot 13-for-22 from the field with a 1-for-4 record from deep and nailed all six free throws. Giannis and Nikola Jokic are […]

Kevin Durant Serves Up 33 Points In His Comeback Game

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was back from health and safety protocols Thursday night against the Sixers and went off for 33 points in 38 minutes, shooting 13-for-24 from the field and 3-for-8 from outside. He picked up six rebounds and had four assists with one block and four turnovers. Durant last played on Dec. […]

James Harden Tallies Another 30-Point Triple-Double

Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden collected his second 30-point triple-double in three games on Thursday, racking up 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a 110-102 loss against Philadelphia. The former MVP added two steals with six turnovers and finished with 9-for-20 shooting from the field and with a 14-for-18 effort at the foul […]

Joel Embiid Scores Game-High 34 Points Against Brooklyn

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid continued his great scoring run with a 34-point effort in Thursday's 110-102 win over Brooklyn. His shooting at 11-for-23 was a bit lackluster, but Embiid nailed three three-point bombs with five attempts and hit 9-for-12 at the charity stripe to record his fifth 30-point outing in his last six games. […]

Sam Bennett Sits Out Thursday's Contest

Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett (undisclosed) won't be in the lineup on Thursday against Tampa. He logged 14:38 and had an assist in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Rangers and there weren't any reports of an injury, but it seems like Bennett is carrying some kind of a knock. We should know more after the […]

David Rittich Makes A Rare Start

Nashville Predators goaltender David Rittich will log only his fifth start of the campaign on Thursday against Columbus. The Predators have been riding Juuse Saros hard all season, but they are finishing off a back-to-back set here and it's given Rittich an opportunity to make an impact. He's won both of his last two starts, […]

Antti Raanta Heads Out For His Eighth Start

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta will record his eighth start of the season in Thursday's very favorable matchup against the struggling Canadiens, looking to improve a 4-2-1 record. Raanta has flipped between wins and losses all season and he was defeated by the Canucks in his last start, so history is pointing towards a victory […]

Malcolm Subban Gets His Third Sabres Start

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Malcolm Subban will make his third start of the season on Thursday against the Islanders. Things haven't worked out well for the 28-year-old so far, as he enters the matchup with a 0-1-1 record. Subban had a shocker in his debut, giving up six goals on 25 shots against Carolina, before frustrating […]

Patrik Laine Returns For Columbus

Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine (oblique) is set to make his first appearance since Nov. 3 on Thursday against the Predators. The Finnish sniper had a very productive start to the season before getting knocked out of the lineup with an oblique strain. He managed to rack up 10 points in nine games with […]

Elvis Merzlikins Looks For More Home Success Against Nashville

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins will roll out for Thursday's home match against Nashville. The Latvian has thoroughly enjoyed playing in front of the Blue Jackets faithful this season, going 9-1-1 on home ice. His overall record for the season stands at 11-7-1 with a 3.06 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and one […]

Sam Montembeault Makes A Second Consecutive Start

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault will be between the pipes for a second consecutive game on Thursday against Carolina. He took a 5-4 overtime loss versus Tampa on Tuesday when the team resumed its season. Montreal's regular starter Jake Allen (COVID-19 protocols) is currently unavailable. Sam Montembeault has started six games this season and he's […]

Spencer Knight Gets The Call For Thursday's Game

Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight will guard the crease on Thursday against Tampa as the team completes a back-to-back set. Sergei Bobrovsky beat the Rangers 4-3 with 30 saves on Wednesday and now it's Knight's turn to show what he can do. The 20-year-old has been off form lately, but he carries a strong 5-2-0 […]

Filip Forsberg Continues His Success Against Washington

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg always performs well against the team that drafted him, the Capitals, and Wednesday was no different, as the Swedish winger potted his 14th goal of the season. He tied things up at three before Washington pulled away late in regulation to win 5-3. Forsberg now has eight goals and […]