April 18, 2026
Victor Hedman is skating for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The bad news is that the defenseman is not close to ready yet to play. Hedman has been out for basically a month now. First, there was an injury and then Hedman was out for personal reasons. It has been a tough season for the 35-year old. He is a team captain but missed 49 games in 2025-26. The normal point leader from the blueline had a mere 17 points (one goal) in 33 appearances. Right now, Hedman will not play until he is in shape to play. That means, he will be out for Game 1 on Sunday against Montreal. More than likely, the fact that Hedman has been skating appears to signal he is closer to returning than May 3rd potentially.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: Benjamin Pierce
April 18, 2026
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (lower body) won't be available for the start of the team's first-round playoff series against the Utah Mammoth, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. It's also unclear whether Karlsson will play at all against Utah after Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said the team must have "some success in the playoffs for him to play again." The Swedish veteran has been out of action since early November due to a lower-body injury. He appeared in only 14 regular-season games, recording four goals and three assists.
--Taavi PailkSource: Danny Webster
April 18, 2026
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (illness) will be in action on Saturday against the Dallas Stars, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports. Zach Bogosian (lower body) has also been cleared to play, giving Minnesota's defense a boost. Hughes has been dealing with an illness lately and didn't suit up for the Wild's last two regular-season contests. The Olympic champion had 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games during the regular season, ranking as the league's fifth-highest scoring defenseman. Hughes notched 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) in 48 contests, playing an integral role for the team on both ends of the ice.
--Taavi PailkSource: Elliotte Friedman
April 18, 2026
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (lower body) will play in Game 1 against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports. The Finnish defensive star was unavailable for the last three regular-season games due to a lower-body injury. Heiskanen finished the campaign as the NHL's ninth-highest scoring defenseman, posting 63 points (nine goals, 54 assists) in 77 contests. He averaged a point per game in four meetings with the Wild. As a member of the first defensive pairing and the top power-play unit, Heiskanen is set to have a huge workload in the playoffs and will be a popular pick among DFS managers.
--Taavi PailkSource: Elliotte Friedman
April 18, 2026
Jesper Wallstedt gets the start in goal for the Minnesota Wild on Saturday evening against the Dallas Stars. Wallstedt has been the better of the two Wild goaltenders during the 2025-26 season. In 33 games started, the 23-year-old has a record of 18-9-6. He has four shutouts with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Wallstedt allowed two goals or fewer in eight of his final nine starts while posting a .930 save percentage since the trade deadline. The goaltender has a solid .830 high danger save percentage and Dallas scores more high danger goals than anyone in the league.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: Michael Russo
April 18, 2026
Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (illness) practiced on Friday. He was situated between his usual linemates, Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake. Walt Ruff noted that nothing appeared out of the ordinary with Stankoven during practice. The 23-year-old was missing from Thursday's practice due to a minor illness. The center moved around the middle six a bit but found a home on the second line during the season. Stankoven is one of Carolina's hottest players going into Round 1 with 11 points in his previous eight contests. This means the second line and power play unit will be 100% for Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: Walt Ruff
April 17, 2026
St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas skated into the offseason after scoring a hat trick in Thursday's 5-3 road win over the Utah Mammoth. He had two goals in the second period to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead and then added an empty-net goal with less than a minute left in regulation. The 26-year-old celebrated his second career hat trick. Both of his three-goal games came this month. Unfortunately for Thomas, he can't carry this momentum into the playoffs, as the Blues couldn't overcome a horrible start to the season. But Thomas should be full of confidence entering next season, having secured his third consecutive campaign with a scoring pace of at least one point per game. Despite playing in only 64 games, Thomas finished as St. Louis' leader in all the main offensive categories, notching 64 points with 25 goals and 39 assists.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini closed out his sophomore year with a three-point performance in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets, setting a new franchise record for most points scored in a single season. Celebrini had one goal and two assists in the season finale, finishing the campaign with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 contests. The previous record was established by Joe Thornton in 2006-07, with 114 points. San Jose's young superstar finished the year as the league's fourth-highest scorer. Celebrini has all the tools to become a regular Art Ross Trophy contender, and his name even popped up in MVP talks this season. At just 19 years old, his fantasy stock can only go up.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood recorded a 22-save shutout in Thursday's regular-season finale against the Seattle Kraken, backstopping the team to a 2-0 victory. The Avalanche did just enough to close out the campaign with a win, while resting some of its key players, such as Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Colorado dominated the league during the regular season, finishing with the best record, the most goals scored, and the fewest goals allowed. The latter achievement brought Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood the 2025-26 William M. Jennings Trophy. Including six shootout deciders, the Avalanche netminders gave up only 203 goals during the season. Wedgewood finished the campaign with a 31-6-6 record, a 2.02 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and four shutouts.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (rest) has become the second player in franchise history to lead the NHL in goals. He produced 53 goals in 80 games, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy by a two-goal margin over Montreal's Cole Caufield. Milan Hejduk was previously Colorado's lone Rocket Richard Trophy winner, having netted 50 goals in 2002-03. MacKinnon sat out the Avalanche's regular-season finale on Thursday against Seattle, finishing the campaign with 127 points. He will now start a chase for his second Stanley Cup. While Colorado hasn't had much joy in the playoffs since its triumph in 2022, MacKinnon's performance levels have remained high. He has posted 14 goals and 32 points across 25 games in the last three postseasons.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid sealed his sixth Art Ross Trophy win in style on Thursday night, tallying four assists in a 6-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. He finished the regular season with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) in 82 games, four more than the second-highest scorer, Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov. McDavid also beat out Kucherov in the race to finish first in assists. The Oilers captain tied Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for the second most Art Ross Trophy wins in NHL history, behind Wayne Gretzky (10). It's been another special season for McDavid, but he definitely won't fully enjoy it if he can't get his hands on the Stanley Cup for the first time. McDavid will begin his eighth career postseason campaign against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
Pittsburgh Penguins center Connor Dewar (lower body) will rejoin the lineup for Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports. After practicing on Thursday, Lizotte announced he's "ready to go" for the playoffs. The 28-year-old sat out the last four regular-season games due to a lower-body injury. Despite being limited to a fourth-line role, Deward managed a career-high 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 78 games this season. He was also among the team leaders with 144 hits. Dewar's physicality could be a big asset for the Penguins in a playoff series against their state rivals. Blake Lizotte (upper body) has also declared himself available for the postseason, meaning Pittsburgh will have its highly effective fourth line back together for the most important part of the campaign.
--Taavi PailkSource: Seth Rorabaugh
April 17, 2026
Philadelphia Flyers right wing Nikita Grebenkin (upper body) is not expected to be game-ready at the start of the playoffs, Bill Meltzer of the Flyers' official site reports. The Russian forward sustained an upper-body injury in late March and wasn't in the lineup for the final 13 regular-season contests. He finished his rookie campaign with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists), 32 SOG, and 86 hits in 55 outings. Grebekin's absence has coincided with the emergence of Porter Martone. The sixth pick of last year's draft heads into the postseason with a six-game point streak and is sure to be a popular selection in DFS competitions.
--Taavi PailkSource: Bill Meltzer
April 16, 2026
Calgary Flames goaltender Arsenii Sergeev will be between the sticks on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports. With Devin Cooley (illness) unavailable, the Flames brought Sergeev up from the minors, and he will be thrown straight into action. This will be Sergeev's NHL debut after appearing in 28 AHL and 12 ECHL contests this season. He will go up against a Kings team that has averaged 3.50 goals per game this month and is still fighting for a higher playoff seed, so this could be a long night for Sergeev.
--Taavi PailkSource: Pat Steinberg
April 16, 2026
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (knee) will play for Team Finland in the World Championship, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reports. The Panthers captain missed the entire 2025-26 NHL campaign due to a knee injury, but he was medically cleared to play by team doctors on Wednesday. The World Championship will be played from May 15 to May 31 in Switzerland. Anton Lundell (ribs), who missed Florida's final 14 games, will also suit up for Finland. Lundell's usage will suffer next season with Barkov back in the lineup. Before his knee injury, Barkov was a point-per-game player for five consecutive campaigns. The missed year might affect his productivity in 2026-27.
--Taavi PailkSource: Emily Kaplan
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