Desharnais (upper body) will be sidelined through the Christmas break, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports Tuesday.

Desharnais is still considered week-to-week while on injured reserve, so it's possible he will be out even longer than the break. Considering the blueliner hasn't scored a goal since 2023-24 when he was with the Oilers, and has managed just two points this year, few fantasy managers figure to be impacted by his continued absence.

Brunicke will be loaned to Team Canada for the 2026 World Junior Championship, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.

Brunicke will take part in the World Juniors, which will likely keep him away from the Penguins through early January. The 19-year-old Brunicke hasn't played in an NHL game since Nov. 3 versus the Maple Leafs, though he did suit up in five minor-league games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while on a conditioning assignment.

Kuznetsov scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in Monday's 7-4 victory over the Sabres.

It was the 23-year-old's first career game-winner in his 18th NHL contest, and his first multi-point performance. Kuznetsov is emerging as a reliable member of Calgary's blue line, seeing more than 20 minutes of ice time in 10 straight games, and over the last seven contests, the 2020 second-round pick has produced two goals and four points with 16 blocked shots, 15 hits and a minus-1 rating.

York (upper body) will not be in action versus the Sharks on Tuesday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

York will miss his second straight game due to his upper-body problem, though he was on the ice for the game-day skate. The blueliner is currently stuck in a 13-game goal drought, but he did manage to chip in five helpers over that stretch. With York unavailable, Ty Murchison is poised to make his NHL debut against San Jose.

Dahlin scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Monday's 7-4 loss to the Flames.

It was the 25-year-old blueliner's first goal since Oct. 30, snapping a 14-game drought. Dahlin also hadn't managed a multi-point performance since Nov. 21, producing just two assists over his prior seven contests, but on the season, he's still contributed two goals and 20 points in 26 games with 68 shots on net, 31 blocked shots, 31 PIM and 23 hits with a minus-12 rating.

Reilly scored the game-winning goal in Monday's 2-0 victory over the Lightning.

Late in the first period, the veteran blueliner had his initial shot attempt from the slot interrupted by a back-checking Jake Guentzel, but Reilly stuck with the play, recovered the puck and slipped a backhand past Jonas Johansson as he fell to the ice. That proved to be all the offense Dennis Hildeby would need. Reilly hasn't gone two straight games without recording a point since the end of October, and over his last 18 games, he's piled up three goals and 16 points with 34 shots on net, 26 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating.

Middleton (undisclosed) was forced out of Monday's 4-1 win in Seattle, and there was no update on his status postgame, according to Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Middleton logged an assist and one blocked shot in 16:34 of ice time before exiting the game. Considering head coach John Hynes didn't have any information on the blueliner's status going forward, Middleton should be considered questionable, at best, for Thursday's divisional matchup versus Dallas.

Mermis (lower body) was unable to finish Monday's 2-0 win over the Lightning, and head coach Craig Berube said that the defenseman will be evaluated Tuesday, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Mermis was forced out of the contest during the final frame after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Gage Goncalves, who received a major penalty and a game misconduct as a result of the play. Mermis recorded one shot on goal and one block in 10:34 of ice time prior to departing. The 31-year-old can be considered day-to-day until his status is updated ahead of Thursday's home matchup against San Jose.

Samson was acquired by the Lightning from the Flyers on Monday in exchange for Roman Schmidt.

Samson has yet to make his NHL debut, and while Tampa Bay didn't make it official in its press release, the 22-year-old will more than likely report to AHL Syracuse. The British Columbia native picked up four helpers and four PIM across 10 games with AHL Lehigh Valley in 2025-26. Samson was a sixth-round selection by Philadelphia in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Schmidt was dealt to the Flyers from the Lightning on Monday in exchange for Ethan Samson.

The Flyers assigned Schmidt to AHL Lehigh Valley after acquiring him. The right-shot defenseman was a third-round pick (No. 96 overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut, and he'll now continue his development in the minors with the Phantoms.