19 Travis Zajac C

Zajac (not injury related) will be added to the Devils' active roster and play in Saturday's game versus the Sabres, Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports.

Zajac has missed New Jersey's last four games due to the NHL's COVID-19 protocols, but he'll return to a prominent role Saturday, skating on the Devils' second line and first power-play unit. He's potted two goals through seven games this campaign.

Zajac (not injury related) could return to the lineup for Saturday's game versus the Sabres, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Zajac has gotten a few days of practice under his belt since being activated off the COVID-19 protocols list Wednesday and appears to be on the verge of rejoining the lineup. The 35-year-old forward potted two goals through the first seven games of the campaign before missing time due to the league's virus protocols.

Zajac was removed from the NHL's COVID-19 protocols list Wednesday, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Zajac didn't make the trip to Boston for Thursday night's matchup with the Bruins, but he could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday against the Sabres. The 35-year-old forward potted two goals in the first seven games of the campaign before entering the league's virus protocols.

Zajac (COVID-19 protocol) won't play in Tuesday's game versus the Rangers, Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports.

Zajac has been in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol since Jan. 29, and he's not ready to go yet. There's no timeline for his return is still uncertain. His next chance to play is Thursday against the Bruins.

Zajac was held out of practice Friday after entering the COVID-19 protocols and won't travel with the team for its two-game trip to Buffalo, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

While Zajac is expected to be unavailable for Saturday and Sunday's back-to-back with the Sabres, he hasn't been ruled out for Tuesday's trip to Pittsburgh at this time. With Zajac missing, Pavel Zacha figures to move back to center while Jesper Boqvist or Nicholas Merkley will slide into the open spot in the lineup.

Zajac scored on his only shot in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Philadelphia.

Zajac scored just nine goals in 69 games last season but he already has a pair through six games. The 35-year-old center is still in search of his first assist this season and is unlikely to keep up this goal-scoring pace.

Zajac picked up an assist and two shots on goal in Friday's 4-2 win over the Blues.

Zajac's helper was just his second points in the last five games. The 34-year-old center has dropped off this season with 23 points in 67 appearances. He still has modest physicality (56 hits, 28 PIM), but he is nearly guaranteed to fall short of 40 points despite avoiding injuries throughout the year.

Zajac netted a goal on two shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks.

Zajac got things going in the first period, snapping his personal five-game point drought with the goal. He's up to 22 points, 62 shots, 55 hits and a minus-10 rating through 63 outings this year.

Zajac managed an assist in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Zajac set up Mirco Mueller for a goal in the first period. The 34-year-old center has just two assists in his last 10 games, and he's now at 21 points and 57 shots through 57 contests overall. Zajac's in a top-six role more out of seniority than anything else -- his production doesn't match his deployment.

Zajac dished out a helper in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Flyers.

Zajac helped Blake Coleman open the scoring just 13 seconds in. The assist ended a five-game point drought, and the 34-year-old center has only one goal since Dec. 23, so Zajac's largely irrelevant in the fantasy landscape at this stage of his career.

Zajac scored a goal on two shots in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Lightning.

Zajac's tally at 9:54 of the second period would stand as the game-winner. The center has a goal and three helpers on a modest three-game point streak. Through 45 games this season, Zajac is at 17 points, 45 shots on goal and a minus-3 rating.

Zajac dished out a pair of assists in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Rangers.

Zajac notched his third multi-point game of the season but was still saddled with a minus-2 rating, which gives him a minus-5 mark over the past three games. There's not much juice left to be squeezed out of the 34-year-old center.

Zajac scored a shorthanded goal and added an assist, four hits and a plus-3 rating in Monday's 7-1 win over the Blackhawks.

Both of Zajac's contributions on the scoresheet came in the second period. He set up Damon Severson's tally before scoring a shorthanded goal of his own with Sami Vatanen serving a holding minor. Zajac is now at 12 points, 36 shots on goal and 42 hits through 36 contests. He's reached 40 points in three of the last four seasons, but the 34-year-old would need a big second half of the season to get to that level in 2019-20.

Zajac netted a goal on two shots in Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Predators.

Zajac's tally capped a flurry of four goals in 3:13 between the two teams early in the first period. It was his first appearance on the scoresheet in the last five games. Zajac has just 10 points in 29 contests this season. He's posted 40-plus points in four of the last six campaigns, but he'll need to go on a tear to get anywhere near that mark in 2019-20.

Zajac contributed one hit as his only meaningful statistic in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Calgary, stretching his point drought to seven games.

Zajac is being deployed in a more defensive role -- he led all Devils forwards with 5:54 of penalty-kill time among his 15:26 overall. This shift in usage can likely be traced back to a natural erosion of Zajac's skills at age 34 -- he has just four points and eight shots through 14 games.

Zajac dished out an assist in 19:02 of ice time in Friday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Jets.

Zajac surprisingly tied for the team lead with 2:50 of power-play time, but New Jersey failed to connect with the man advantage. The role on the top extra-man unit is a boon to Zajac's value, though he's still a middling fantasy commodity at best considering he's 34 years old and hasn't hit the 50-point mark since 2009-10. Where Zajac's fantasy relevance lies is as an obstacle to a top-six role for rookie first overall pick Jack Hughes.

Zajac potted the power-play overtime winner in Saturday's 4-3 victory over Florida. He finishes the season with 19 goals and 46 points in 80 games.

Zajac hasn't eclipsed 50 points since scoring a career-high 67 back in 2009-10, but he's finished in the 42-48 range four times in the past six seasons. He's still locked in for two more years at a $5.75 million AAV, so the Devils will hope that age doesn't start to take effect on the veteran pivot, who will be 34 years old by the time the puck drops on the 2019-20 campaign.

Zajac scored a power-play goal and added an assist at even strength in Monday's 4-2 win over the Rangers.

It's his first goal in nine games, and first multi-point performance since mid-February. Zajac has been his usual self offensively this season, racking up 18 goals and 45 points through 78 games, but his dreadful minus-23 rating is by far a career worst -- he totaled a minus-21 over his previous seven seasons combined.

Zajac scored a power-play goal on his only shot in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Oilers.

Zajac has three goals and two helpers over his last seven appearances while holding down the top-line center job with Nico Hischier (upper body) out. Zajac has played in all situations this season, with nine of his 41 points coming on the power play and another two while shorthanded. He also won 13 of his 17 faceoffs.

Zajac scored while penalty killing in a 9-4 loss to the Flames on Tuesday.

Zajac's tally gave the Devils a 4-3 lead, but it didn't hold up against a six-goal onslaught in the third period by the Flames. Zajac is up to 40 points (16 goals, 24 helpers) in 68 games this season, the eighth time the center has hit that plateau. If fantasy owners can stomach his minus-18 rating, he's one of a few Devils worth rostering in most formats.