Penguins' Thomas Novak: Stays warm with two assists
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Novak logged a pair of assists, including one on the power play, and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Lightning.
Novak has five points over his last four games. The 28-year-old saw just 11:21 of ice time Thursday, but he made the most of it, helping out on goals by Ville Koivunen and Evgeni Malkin. Novak has 12 points (four on the power play), 33 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 26 outings. He's showed 40-point potential in the past, and while he may not play at that level for all of 2025-26, he could help fantasy managers in deep formats.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Generates two helpers
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Novak logged two assists in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.
Novak snapped a five-game point drought with the effort. The 28-year-old set up Sidney Crosby's game-tying goal in the third period and Kris Letang's game-winner in overtime. Novak has played a supporting role in the middle six this year, earning nine points, 30 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 23 appearances. He was on the second line in this contest, and if he can play well with Evgeni Malkin, Novak could stick in that spot for a while.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Opens scoring in loss
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Novak scored a goal and blocked two shots in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Kings.
Novak opened the scoring at 8:48 of the first period. This was just his second goal of the year, though he produced a decent four assists over nine contests between tallies. The 28-year-old is up to seven points, 22 shots on net and an even plus-minus rating while filling a middle-six role.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Gets first goal in black and gold
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Novak scored a power-play goal on three shots in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.
Novak got his first goal in nine total games as a Penguin, including seven this season. He has added an assist, 10 shots on net, five blocked shots, three hits and a minus-1 rating this campaign. The 28-year-old forward is filling a winger spot on the third line and also plays on the second power-play unit, but he's got a lot to prove before being trusted to help provide scoring depth in fantasy.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Good to go for first practice
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Novak (lower body) is not listed among the injured players on the Penguins' training camp roster released Wednesday.
Novak was sidelined for over a month to end the 2024-25 season. He had 22 points over 54 contests between the Penguins and the Predators last year. Novak is set to fill a middle-six role, but it remains to be seen if he'll primarily work as the third-line center or a second-line winger early in 2025-26.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Done for season
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Novak (lower body) will miss the remainder of the season, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports Thursday.
Novak has been out of action since March 9. He ends the 2024-25 campaign with 13 goals and nine assists over 52 games with Nashville, and he was shut out in two games with the Penguins after being traded at the deadline.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Might miss rest of regular season
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Although Novak (lower body) is making progress in his recovery, coach Mike Sullivan isn't sure if the 27-year-old will return before the end of the regular season, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports Saturday.
With the Penguins unlikely to qualify for the playoffs, Novak will probably have to wait until next season to suit up for the team again. He has earned 13 goals and 22 points in 54 outings between Nashville and Pittsburgh in 2024-25. If he does play again this campaign, it will probably be in a bottom-six capacity.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Remains sidelined
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Novak (lower body) won't play Thursday versus the Sabres.
Novak is out for an eighth straight game. Evgeni Malkin (upper body) and Bokondji Imama (upper body) are also out, so the Penguins will dress seven defensemen until one of their forwards are able to return. They'll be off for two days before hosting the Senators on Sunday.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Won't play against Florida
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Novak (lower body) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Panthers.
Novak recently resumed skating, but he'll be unavailable for a sixth consecutive matchup as he continues to deal with a lower-body injury. It's not yet clear when he'll be in the mix to return to game action, but his next opportunity to do so will be Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Unavailable against Jackets
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Novak (lower body) will not be in the lineup versus Columbus on Friday, Dan Potash of Sportsnet Pittsburgh reports.
Novak has started skating but wasn't on the ice for Friday's game-day skate as part of his recovery process. At this point, the forward should probably be considered day-to-day heading into the final weeks of the season. In Novak's stead, Blake Lizotte figures to fill a third-line center role while Joona Koppanen remains in the lineup.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Remains out Thursday
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Novak (lower body) won't play Thursday versus St. Louis.
It will be Novak's second straight game on the shelf. He has 13 goals and 22 points in 54 appearances between Nashville and Pittsburgh this season. When healthy, Novak will likely serve in a middle-six capacity.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Unavailable against Knights
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Novak (lower body) won't be an option versus Vegas on Tuesday but is considered day-to-day, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.
Novak was just two games into his Pittsburgh stint after coming over from Nashville at the trade deadline when he sustained his lower-body injury. With Novak out of the lineup, it looks like fellow deadline addition Connor Dewar will get a look at a second-line role with Evgeni Malkin while Danton Heinen could find himself back on the No. 2 power-play unit.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Injured Sunday
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Novak sustained a lower-body injury in the third period of Sunday's 3-1 win over the Wild and did not return.
Novak had two shots on goal and four blocked shots in 12:01 of ice time before departing. The left-shot forward was acquired by the Penguins from the Predators on Friday and received second-line minutes and a spot on the No. 2 power-play unit in Sunday's victory. The Minnesota native should be considered day-to-day ahead of Tuesday's home game against the Golden Knights.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Swapped to Pittsburgh
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Novak and Luke Schenn were traded to the Penguins from the Predators on Wednesday in exchange for Michael Bunting (abdomen) and a 2026 fourth-round pick, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports.
Novak is an intriguing player for the Penguins, but the chances are low of him being anything more than a middle-six forward who could feature on the second power-play unit. The 27-year-old Novak had a slow start in 2024-25 and has managed just 22 points over 52 appearances, but he had totals of 43 points in 2022-23 and 45 points in 2023-24. It's also possible the Penguins try to flip him before Friday's trade deadline, but if he stays in Pittsburgh, his fantasy value will hold pretty steady to what it was in Nashville.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Lights lamp in Tuesday's win
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Bruins.
Novak was listed on the second line but ended up with a team-low 11:41 of ice time. That's even with him scoring a goal in the first period to erase the Bruins' early lead created by Charlie Coyle. Novak has three points over his last four games and could continue to play on the second line if Steven Stamkos remains on the wing following the Gustav Nyquist trade over the weekend.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Tallies power-play goal
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Novak scored a power-play goal on three shots and blocked two shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Jets.
Novak's goal at 15:29 of the first period stood as the game-winner. It was his first goal in four contests since the NHL resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off -- prior to the break, the 27-year-old had six goals and four assists over a 10-game span. For the season, he's up to 12 goals, 20 points, 85 shots on net, 20 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating over 49 appearances. Novak is on pace for his worst full NHL campaign, but he's done enough to maintain a middle-six role.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Tallies late in loss
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
Novak has five goals and four assists over his last nine outings. Despite that decent performance, he's mostly been confined to third-line minutes. He did earn some shifts higher in the lineup as Joakim Kemell was sheltered in his NHL debut Friday. Novak has 10 goals, 18 points, 77 shots on net and a minus-2 rating through 44 appearances this season.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Scores again Friday
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Novak scored a goal in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Sabres.
Novak was limited to 11:53 of ice time in the loss but maintained his power-play spot on the second unit. The 27-year-old has done well despite a limited role lately, earning four goals and four assists over his last six outings. For the season, he's at a less inspiring 17 points with 72 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 41 appearances. Novak is worth a look at least as a streaming option for fantasy managers in need of offense.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Gathers helper in win
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Novak provided an assist in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Wild.
Novak ended a seven-game drought with the helper. That stretch includes his two-game absence due to an upper-body injury to begin January. The 27-year-old forward has remained in a bottom-six role lately, as Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly have functioned as top-six centers. Novak has just 10 points with 61 shots on net and a minus-2 rating over 36 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Likely out Saturday
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Novak (upper body) isn't expected to play Saturday against the Flames, Nick Kieser of 102.5 ESPN Nashville reports.
Novak sat out the Predators' 3-0 win over Vancouver due to the injury, and it appears he'll likely miss at least one more contest. With Novak unavailable, Fedor Svechkov will likely remain in Nashville's bottom six.
