NHL Player News

Dubois (illness) won't play against Seattle on Sunday.

Dubois will miss at least one game, but it's unclear if he will be ready to play against Carolina on Tuesday. He has contributed one goal, three assists, six shots on net, five hits and three blocked shots in four appearances this season. Ethen Frank or Ivan Miroshnichenko will replace Dubois in Sunday's lineup against the Kraken.

Dubois (illness) will be a game-time decision for Sunday's home clash against the Kraken, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.

Dubois missed Saturday's practice with an illness, and it seems that some effects of his sickness have continued to linger ahead of Sunday's clash. The 28-year-old center's plan is to take warmups before making a decision on whether or not he'll play Sunday. He's off to a solid start to the 2026-27 season, where he's posted a goal, four points, six shots on net, five hits and three blocked shots across four appearances. Ethen Frank and Ivan Miroshnichenko will also take warmups Sunday in case Dubois can't go.

Bedard (shoulder) participated fully in Sunday's practice, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.

According to Roumeliotis on Sunday, Bedard has a doctor's visit scheduled for this coming week to update the 21-year-old forward's timeline for a potential return. It's unclear if Bedard will be ready to play as early as Tuesday's matchup against Pittsburgh, but he appears to be inching toward his 2026-27 debut. He notched 30 goals and 75 points in 69 regular-season games for the Blackhawks in 2025-26.

Luostarinen (undisclosed) will be available to play in Monday's road clash against the Sabres, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.

Luostarinen was hit by a shot attempt and underwent an evaluation following Saturday's game against the Wild, but he returned to practice Sunday and confirmed he is feeling good. The 28-year-old winger also mentioned that he would've returned to Saturday's clash if he was hit by the puck earlier in the game. To begin the 2026-27 season, Luostarinen has two goals, eight shots on net, nine hits and five blocked shots across five outings. He'll likely return to his role as the team's second-line left winger for Monday's game against the Sabres.

Beaudoin was recalled from AHL Hartford on Sunday, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic.

Beaudoin was in the lineup for the minor-league club's 7-1 loss to AHL Wilkes-Barre-Scranton on Saturday. He has four PIM, one shot on net, four hits and two blocked shots in two NHL appearances with the Rangers this season, but he hasn't earned a point yet. Beaudoin could be in the lineup for Sunday's matchup against Vancouver.

Thompson tallied a power-play goal, launched six shots on net and served two PIM in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Utah.

Thompson's power-play goal was the lone bright spot for Buffalo on Saturday, where he brought the puck coast-to-coast before firing a shot that snuck past the near side of Utah's Karel Vejmelka. With the highlight-reel twine finder, the 28-year-old Thompson is up to three goals, five points and a league-leading 29 shots on net across five games. He's averaging nearly six shots on goal per game, which makes him an elite fantasy option in leagues that value the creation of goal-scoring chances. He has a solid chance to contend for the 40-plus goal threshold for the third consecutive season in the 2026-27 campaign.

Hayton distributed two assists, recorded a plus-2 rating and posted three blocked shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over Buffalo.

Hayton played the primary pass on the tallies put away by Kailer Yamamoto and John Marino. The 26-year-old Hayton has played a nice secondary role from the team's third line to begin 2026-27, where he's compiled four assists, a plus-3 rating, 11 shots on net and four blocked shots across six games. He's currently on a three-game point streak, making him a decent streaming option in deep fantasy leagues for as long as he's playing an important role offensively.

Schmaltz potted a power-play goal, fired four shots on net and recorded two blocked shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Sabres.

After being kept off the scoresheet for the first time in 2026-27 during Thursday's loss to Boston, Schmaltz responded well Saturday with the game's go-ahead goal. The 30-year-old forward did his job well on the power-play goal, where he slammed the puck past Buffalo's Colten Ellis at the far post off a set-up pass from center Logan Cooley. Schmaltz has been excellent to start the new season, where he has posted six goals, including a league-leading four tallies on the power play, eight points and 24 shots on net across six appearances. His hot start is no fluke, as he started the 2025-26 campaign on the right foot as well, tallying seven goals and 17 points across his first 11 games. Fresh off his first 30-plus goal season, Schmaltz looks poised to contend for that number and beyond in 2026-27, making him an excellent option in fantasy.

Nelson scored a goal on four shots in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Nelson has a point in each of his last two games and five (two goals, three assists) in five games this season. His four shots Saturday eclipsed the total number he fired to this point in the season (three). Nelson delivered one of the best seasons of his career in 2025-26 (33 goals, 32 assists and 186 shots; 81 games), and his roles as second-line pivot and cog on the second power-play unit should deliver another strong season. His power-play production may be slightly lower this season, though -- it may be hard for Nelson to put up 18 PPP from the second unit.

MacKinnon scored twice Saturday in a 6-3 loss to Toronto. He fired eight shots.

He ripped both goals in a 4:28 span of the first period to put the Avs up 2-1. MacKinnon has 10 points, including five goals, and 23 shots in five games. The pace is almost impossible to maintain, but Mack should easily top the century mark like he has the last four seasons. MacKinnon sits in a tie with Auston Matthews for fifth in NHL scoring, behind Connor McDavid (13), Evan Bouchard and Jack Eichel (12) and William Nylander (11).