51 Austin Watson RW

Watson served as a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game Saturday against the Avalanche.

Watson is clearly the odd man out in the Predators' forward corps these days, having watched from the press box for 10 of the team's past 22 games. His fantasy value is about as close to zero as it can possibly get.

Watson sat out his third consecutive game as a healthy scratch Saturday against the Oilers.

Watson has played in just five of the Preds' last 12 games, and looking at his output this season, it's easy to see why. He has just four points in 14 games dating back to the start of December, and he is a combined minus-13 over that span. Watson will likely find his way back into the lineup eventually, but either way, he does not boast a ton of fantasy appeal at this point in time.

Watson scored a goal on two shots, dished three hits and served a fighting major in Sunday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Ducks.

Watson fought Nicolas Deslauriers just three seconds into the game. The first period ended better for Watson as his sixth goal of the season tied the game at one. The pesky winger now has 13 points, 95 hits, 49 PIM and 43 shots on goal through 39 contests this season.

Watson posted an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Kings.

Watson had the secondary helper on Yakov Trenin's insurance tally in the third period. Watson hadn't been on the scoresheet in five games, and he recently spent a pair of games in the press box before Colton Sissons suffered a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old forward has amassed 12 points, 92 hits and 44 PIM in 38 contests this season.

Watson scored his team's only goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Stars, snapping a five-game pointless streak.

The 28-year-old winger is now up to 10 points on the season (5G, 5A), putting him on pace to crack the 20-point plateau for the first time in his career. Given that he spends most of his time skating on the Preds' fourth line, his fantasy value remains limited to deeper formats only.

Watson scored a goal on two shots, dished five hits and added two PIM in Friday's 3-0 win over the Hurricanes.

Watson's second-period tally was a deflection of Mattias Ekholm's long-range shot. It also produced the final score. Watson is up to four goals, nine points, 57 hits and 20 PIM in 25 games. At his current scoring pace, he'll easily shatter the career-high 19 points he had in 2017-18.

Watson delivered two assists and four shots on goal in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Blues.

Watson's first assist came in the first period, as he won the puck in the neutral zone and sent Mathieu Olivier on a breakaway. Colton Sissons buried the rebound to stretch the Predators' lead to 3-1. Watson also supplied an assist on Calle Jarnkrok's empty-net goal. The pair of assists put the 27-year-old on the scoresheet for the first time since his four-point game against the Flames on Oct. 31. Watson has eight points, 48 hits and 25 blocked shots in 22 games, playing almost exclusively on the fourth line.

Watson saw ice time of just 9:56 Saturday against the Blackhawks, and was held off the scoresheet for the 16th time in 19 games this season.

Watson is currently averaging a full two minutes less in TOI compared to last season (12:33 vs. 14:30) which does not bode well for his point production. Now with just six points on the season, the fourth-liner finished could finish below the 20-point mark this season given his current pace.

Watson scored twice and added a pair of assists in Thursday's 6-5 loss to Calgary.

On the same day he signed a three-year contract extension, Watson enjoyed the first four-point game of his NHL career. He had entered the night with just a goal and an assist through his first 12 games this season but ended up figuring in on all but one of Nashville's goals. It made for a nice story to be sure, but Watson has never reached 20 points in a season and has topped seven goals only once, so don't expect Thursday's performance to be a sign of things to come.

Watson agreed on a three-year, $4.5 million extension with the Predators on Thursday.

While Watson is in the midst of a solid game Thursday against the Flames -- he has a goal and an assist -- the team officially announced his new contract extension. The 28-year-old has spent his entire career with the Predators since he was drafted with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 Draft, and Watson has 67 points in 266 games to this point in his career. From a fantasy perspective, the deal won't change much other than solidifying Watson as a depth forward with the team for the next three seasons.

Watson (undisclosed) is taking part in warmups ahead of Saturday's matchup against the Lightning, suggesting that he'll take part in the contest, Adam Vingan of The Athletic reports.

Watson and recent AHL call-up Anthony Richard are both expected to play with Matt Duchene (lower body) sitting out. Fantasy owners shouldn't count on much production from Watson, who owns just one goal and one assist through 10 games.

Watson (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision Saturday against Tampa Bay, Adam Vingan of The Athletic reports.

Head coach Peter Laviolette stopped short of ruling Watson out, so it remains to be seen what Nashville's lineup will look like when it clashes with the Lightning. If Watson can't go, expect Anthony Richard to skate in his place.

Watson skated a season-low 10:47 in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Kings, and was held off the scoresheet for the third time in five games.

Watson continues to skate primarily in a bottom-six role, similar to the one he occupied last season, flanking Nick Bonino and Colton Sissons on the Preds' third line. As such, points will be hard to come by for the 28-year-old winger, as he will likely spend the majority of his time shutting down opposing teams' top lines. His fantasy value remains confined to deeper leagues that reward hits and PIM.

Watson scored a goal on four shots and dished out 14 hits in Monday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Stars in Game 6.

Watson was a physical force of nature, scoring the opening goal and then running rampant with the lofty hit totals. Watson produced 16 points and 109 hits in 37 regular-season appearances, and has added a goal and a helper along with (32) hits in six postseason outings.

Watson picked up a pair of assists in Thursday's 3-2 win over Vancouver.

The two assists are Watson's first points since Jan. 23, as the Predators forward was appearing in just his second game since that date, having missed a large chunk of the season as a result of his legal troubles. In 36 games, he's managed to find the scoresheet 15 times and is an impressive plus-10. Albeit in a relatively small sample size, 2018-19 has seen Watson play more minutes per game (14:28) than any other year of his professional career.

Watson -- who was recalled from a conditioning stint Sunday -- will play in Tuesday's game against the Sabres.

Watson missed extended time following a suspension for substance abuse and required some time in the minors to get back into game shape. Now ready to go, the fifth-year winger will attempt to pick up where he left off, having notched four points over three games prior to the suspension.

Watson was recalled from AHL Milwaukee on Sunday, Adam Vingan of The Athletic reports.

Watson collected four goals in two games during his brief conditioning stint. He had 13 points in 34 games with Nashville prior to his suspension, but it remains unclear what his role with the team will be for the rest of the season.

Watson recorded a pair of goals for AHL Milwaukee in Wednesday's clash with AHL Rockford.

Watson -- who is back in the minors for the first time since Oct. 19, 2016 -- didn't take long to get his scoring touch back. The Admirals are in action Saturday and Sunday and if the winger continues to produce, he could be recalled from his conditioning assignment ahead of Nashville's tilt with Buffalo on Tuesday.

Watson was sent to AHL Milwaukee for a conditioning assignment Monday.

Watson and Miikka Salomaki (upper body) will try to play themselves into game shape at the AHL level before returning to Nashville for the tail end of the regular season and/or the playoffs.

Watson is set to rejoin the Preds at practice Wednesday and could be headed for a conditioning assignment with AHL Milwaukee, Thomas Willis of the Predators' official site reports.

Watson was recently reinstated by the league, but considering he hasn't played since Jan. 23, a stint in the minors could help him get back up to game speed. Once he gets his legs back under him, the winger could contribute in a bottom-six role heading into the playoffs.