13 Brandon Tanev LW

Tanev (illness) will be in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Sabres.

Tanev missed Tuesday's matchup with Ottawa due to an illness, but he's evidently feeling well enough to gut it out Thursday. The 28-year-old winger will skate with Evan Rodrigues and Teddy Blueger on Pittsburgh's fourth line against Buffalo.

Tanev (illness) will officially be a game-time decision versus Buffalo on Thursday, Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop reports.

The fact that Tanev made the trip to the Queen City should be an indication he is close to suiting up after missing Tuesday's matchup with Ottawa. If Tanev is in the lineup, it figures to be a bottom-six role, likely on the fourth line. Sam Lafferty will be on standby if either Tanev or Nick Bjugstad (abdomen) can't give it a go.

Tanev (illness) will be with the Penguins for the club's trip to Buffalo on Thursday, Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

While Tanev was held out of Wednesday's practice session, the fact that he will make the trip to Buffalo bodes well for him being back in the lineup. Sam Lafferty figures to be the odd man out with Tanev healthy.

Tanev will sit out Tuesday's game versus the Senators due to illness, Wes Crosby of NHL.com reports.

Tanev's absence shouldn't make waves in many fantasy leagues, but he does provide some scoring (25 points in 64 games) in addition to the enforcer mentality (234 hits). He'll aim to rejoin the lineup Thursday against the Sabres.

Tanev failed to register a point in Wednesday's clash with Los Angeles, bringing his pointless streak to five games.

It's been even longer since Tanev tickled the twine, dating back to Feb. 2 versus Washington (a stretch of 10 games). The winger currently finds himself slotted into a third-line role with Patrick Marleau, though line combinations figure to remain fluid as coach Mike Sullivan tries to fit Pittsburgh's three deadline additions into the lineup.

Tanev scored the game-winning goal and had three shots with two hits in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Capitals.

Tanev scored with 2:33 remaining in regulation to put the Penguins up 4-2, benefiting from a fortunate bounce when his shot from the slot deflected off the stick of a Washington defender and went up and over Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov. Tanev hadn't scored in his previous six games and had failed to generate more than one shot in all but one of those games. The third-line winger has 11 goals and 23 points in 52 games in his first year as a Penguin.

Tanev picked up an assist in Sunday's 4-3 win over Boston.

Tanev's helper on Jack Johnson's shorthanded goal helped even up the game on Pittsburgh's way to a comeback victory. The winger remains in a four-game goalless streak but is seeing plenty of ice time (14:57 per game) over that stretch. Even with the return of Sidney Crosby, coach Mike Sullivan continues to give his fourth line plenty of minutes.

Tanev scored a goal on his only shot of the game and added a pair of hits in a 4-3 shootout win over Arizona on Sunday.

Tanev knotted the game at 3-3 when he buried a rebound chance with three minutes remaining in regulation. It was his 10th goal of the season and his third in the last five games. The 28-year-old now has 21 points in 45 games after collecting 29 in 80 last season with Winnipeg.

Tanev potted a goal on two shots, dished five hits and blocked two shots in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Golden Knights.

Tanev's third-period goal wound up being the game-winner. He reached the 20-point threshold with the goal -- the 28-year-old has nine tallies and 11 assists through 43 games this year. He's added 166 hits (fourth in the league) and 65 shots on goal. The high-end physicality is enough to warrant a look in deeper formats, and it helps that Tanev's on pace for a career year.

Tanev scored the overtime, game-winning goal in Saturday's victory over Montreal.

Tanev broke a five-game goalless streak with hsi tally and helped Pittsburgh earn the additional point versus the Habs. In 42 appearances this year, the winger has notched eight goals, 11 helpers and 63 shots. Slotted into a third-line role right now, the 27-year-old could be a sneaky value play and should continue to provide Pittsburgh with depth scoring moving forward.

Tanev led the team with eight hits against the Kings on Saturday.

Tanev has handed out 32 hits in his last six contests but is also chipping in offensively with three points over that stretch. The winger is currently slotted into a third-line role, alongside Teddy Blueger and Alex Galchenyuk. If he continues to perform well, the Toronto native could step into a top-six role.

Tanev scored two goals in Tuesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders.

He found the back of the net with his only two shots of the evening while adding four hits and two blocked shots to his ledger. Tanev has posted back-to-back two-point performances, but on the year the 27-year-old has just five goals and 11 points in 21 games.

Tanev scored a goal on his only shot in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Lightning.

Tanev got the Penguins on the board five minutes into the second period with a terrific individual effort, tallying his second goal of the season. The first-year Penguin has five points in his first 11 games with Pittsburgh, a pretty solid pace for a player who scored a career-high 29 points in 80 games last season with the Jets.

Tanev registered an assist and two hits in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Wild.

Tanev, skating in his 200th career game, had the secondary assist on Kris Letang's second-period tally. The 27-year-old winger had a career-high 29 points in 80 games with the Jets last year, and he's started with two helpers through five appearances with his new team. Tanev has also posted 23 hits and 10 blocked shots -- he finished 2018-19 with 278 hits, ranking third in the league.

Tanev is skating on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Alex Galchenyuk to open camp, Dave Molinari of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

This could just be the Penguins trying to save face after signing Tanev to a six-year, $21-million contract that was largely derided as a substantial overpayment, but perhaps they truly see something in Tanev that the rest of the league doesn't. Either way, an extended stint by Malkin's side would do wonders for Tanev's production, as he would have a great chance to finally crack the 30-point mark for the first time.

Tanev secured a six-year, $21 million contract from the Penguins on Monday.

Tanev is coming off a career year in which he recorded personal bests in games played (80), goals (14), assists (15) and shots (127). The winger figures to take on a bottom-six role with the Penguins, but could challenge for top-six minutes on the second line with Evgeni Malkin. If he does get to play with one of Pittsburgh's stars, he could push for the 40-point mark in 2019-20.

Tanev had surgery on his finger prior to the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports.

Tanev's issue clearly was something he couldn't play through, as he averaged 13:45 of ice time in the postseason. The Toronto native set career highs in goals (14), assists (15) and shots (127) this year and figures to be an intriguing option if he reaches free agency this summer. Where the winger lands will significantly impact his fantasy value, considering he could be a second- or third-line guy depending on the rest of the roster.

Tanev scored a goal on three shots and blocked three shots in Sunday's 6-3 win over the Blues in Game 3.

Tanev's third-period marker was enough to secure the victory for the Jets, cutting their series deficit to 2-1. Tanev returned in Friday's Game 2 from an upper-body injury, and has added six hits, four blocks and four shots in addition to his goal in his two postseason appearances so far.

Tanev (upper body) is set to return for Friday's Game 2 matchup with the Blues, Mark Spector of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Rumors circled Thursday that said Tanev might be able to return for Game 2, and they seem to be coming to fruition. The Ontario native figures to slot into a bottom-six line with Par Lindholm and Adam Lowry. Tanev's return could likely mean a healthy scratch for Jack Roslovic.

Tanev (upper body) might be ready to return for Friday's Game 2 matchup with the Blues, Brian Munz of TSN 1290 Winnipeg reports.

Tanev -- who missed the previous three games due to his upper-body issue -- figures to slot into a bottom-six role once given the all-clear. The winger came just one point shy of the 30-point threshold while averaging a career-high 14:07 of ice time. If Tanev suits up for Game 2, it will be at the expense of Par Lindholm or Jack Roslovic.