December 19, 2025
Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (upper body) will miss a third consecutive game on Saturday against the Washington Capitals. The former MVP was injured last Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, and it remains unclear when he can rejoin the action. Kane has been impactful this season, notching 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 24 games. In his absence, John Leonard has received a chance on the second line, recording one assist across two games. He figures to remain in the role for Saturday's tough matchup against one of the NHL's best defensive teams.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 19, 2025
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (upper body) will miss this weekend's back-to-back and is considered week-to-week. He sat out his first game of the season on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils. With 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 31 games, Theodore is the runaway scoring leader among Vegas' defensemen and has 48 blocks. On Wednesday, Jeremy Lauzon hopped into the lineup as Theodore's replacement, registering one shot, one block, three hits, and two penalty minutes. Meanwhile, Noah Hanifin led the blue line in ice time with 26:07, logging 2:18 of action on the power play.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 19, 2025
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (illness, lower body) has not joined the team for this weekend's back-to-back on the road against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Vegas' star man has been dealing with an illness this week and also has a lower-body injury, missing his first game of the season on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils. With Eichel sidelined, the Golden Knights travel to Alberta without their top scorer. Eichel notched 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 31 games. In his absence, Mitchell Marner is set to skate as a center, while Brandon Saad practiced on the first line on Friday.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 19, 2025
Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (lower body) won't be in the lineup on Friday against the Florida Panthers. He was injured in Wednesday's win over the Nashville Predators and is considered day-to-day. The power forward has registered 11 points (four goals, seven assists) and 56 hits in 33 contests during his 12th NHL campaign. Jesperi Kotkaniemi will enter the lineup as Martinook's replacement. The Finnish forward has tallied five points (two goals, three assists) and 26 hits in 17 outings. He is not expected to have a major impact on Friday night.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 19, 2025
Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues (lower body) will play on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Initially, he was iffy for the contest after suffering a lower-body injury during Wednesday's win over the Los Angeles Kings. Rodrigues has produced eight goals and 16 points in 33 games this season. However, he could go pointless for a fourth consecutive game on Friday, which would mark his worst run in 2025-26. The 32-year-old will be on the third line with Mackie Samoskevich and A.J. Greer and has a spot reserved on the second power-play unit.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 19, 2025
Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin (knee) underwent ACL surgery in his right knee this week and will be re-evaluated after the Olympics, the team announced on Friday. The veteran injured his right knee at the start of December and was initially expected to miss the rest of the regular season. Friday's statement suggests that he may still get an opportunity to play this campaign. Seguin has made 27 appearances in 2025-26, scoring seven goals and 17 points. The 33-year-old will miss a large chunk of the season for a second consecutive year after he had hip surgery in December 2024.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski wrote his name into the history books on Thursday night, becoming the first blue-liner in franchise history with back-to-back multi-goal games. He was Columbus' lone scorer in a 5-2 home loss to the Minnesota Wild. In the entire league, only three defensemen in the past 10 years had scored multiple goals in consecutive games. Werenski recorded his second career 20-goal campaign last term and is currently on track for a 30-goal year. In 34 outings, Werenski has lit the lamp 13 times, ranking second among defensemen in scoring with 38 points.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson kept Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs at bay on Thursday night, stopping 22 shots in a 4-0 victory. Thompson has been in impressive form throughout the season, but this marks only his second shutout of the campaign. The 28-year-old is second in the league with a 2.00 goals-against average and also holds second place among all goalies with his .925 save percentage. In December, Thompson has been a bit inconsistent, going the entire month without back-to-back wins. He will look to rectify it this weekend during a home-and-home set against the Detroit Red Wings.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark recorded his first shutout of the season in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, finishing with 24 saves. The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner won his third consecutive start and improved to 13-8-4 for the season. He has registered a 2.89 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage. Ullmark currently has the worst save percentage of his NHL career, which shows that it has not been smooth sailing for him this season. However, he has improved it to .913 this month, offering fantasy managers hope that the Swedish veteran could have a strong second half of the campaign.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Buffalo Sabres center Tyson Kozak (upper body) played only a handful of minutes in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Starting on the fourth line, Kozak recorded one shot and one hit with a minus-one rating in 4:46 of ice time, but an upper-body injury forced him to leave the game in the second period. The 22-year-old made his 24th appearance of the season. Kozak ranks third on his team with 62 hits but has been anonymous offensively. So far, he has tallied only two goals and four points in 2025-26. Josh Dunne is likely to fill the gap on the fourth line if Kozak isn't ready to play on Saturday against the New York Islanders.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins broke his left leg in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres and will miss 6-8 weeks of action. The Sabres had a great night, with five different skaters lighting the lamp, but it was dampened by Timmins' injury late in the third period. The recovery timeline indicates that Timmins definitely won't be ready to play before February, and he will probably remain sidelined until after the Olympic break. Timmins doesn't do much on the offensive end but leads Buffalo with 70 blocks this season. He has gone goalless with 33 efforts on the net and has registered six assists in 33 games. Jacob Bryson is likely to replace Timmins in the lineup, but he doesn't have any fantasy value.
--Taavi PailkSource: ESPN
December 19, 2025
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry (lower body) exited Thursday's 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins in the second period. Jarry made his third appearance with the Oilers, but a lower-body injury cut his night at the office short. The former Penguin allowed one goal on 13 shots to continue his strong start with his new team. Calvin Pickard replaced Jarry and helped Edmonton to a 3-1 victory. Pickard could now see more action going forward if Jarry has to miss additional time. Jarry has begun his career in Canada with a 3-0-0 run, allowing 3.08 goals with a .887 save percentage.
--Taavi PailkSource: TSN
December 19, 2025
Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) left Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in the third period. The Lightning were without Nikita Kucherov (illness) and Brandon Hagel (upper body) for the contest and lost Cirelli after he had collected a power-play assist. The team may now be missing half of its top-six group in this week's final game, a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Cirelli is third on the Lightning roster with a plus-15 rating and has amassed 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 30 appearances.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 18, 2025
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring (lower body) is expected to end a 14-game absence in Thursday's matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. Kesselring also missed time earlier in the campaign and has been limited to nine appearances in 2025-26. While Kesselring has been a two-way contributor in previous years, he hasn't yet scored any points this season. Without the puck, he has recorded nine blocks and seven hits. Kesselring will replace Jacob Bryson as Owen Power's partner on the blue line. However, Bryson may still get an opportunity to play, as Conor Timmins (undisclosed) is considered a game-time decision.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
December 18, 2025
Buffalo Sabres forward Peyton Krebs (illness) is expected to suit up on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. His status for the game was in doubt after Krebs missed Wednesday's practice due to illness. However, he appears to have made a quick recovery and will likely line up on the top line next to Tage Thompson and Josh Doan. Krebs mainly adds physicality to the line, as he ranks second on the team with 76 hits. He has yet to light the lamp this season with 37 shots on goal but does have nine assists in 32 outings.
--Taavi PailkSource: NHL.com
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