NHL Player News

Tavares scored a goal Tuesday in 3-1 win over the Islanders.

It came on the power play into an empty net in the last minute of the game. Tavares extended his point streak to eight games (seven goals, six assists). JT seems to be staving off Father Time this season with 19 goals and 38 points in 37 appearances. His 17.1 shooting percentage is well above his 13.0 career mark, but it's not like he's never done this before. Tavares hit at 16.4 percent in his first season with the Leafs when he lit the lamp 47 times. It helps that his deployment will continue to be prime with Auston Matthews (upper body) back on the IR.

Lorentz scored a goal Tuesday in a 3-1 win against the Islanders.

Lorentz, who hadn't found the back of the net in 23 games, pushed the Leafs ahead in the second period. His marker stood as the winner. The 28-year-old is a big-body energy fourth-line pivot who's best known for his hits (100) rather than his scoring (four goals, three assists; 38 games). Lorentz's best season came in San Jose in 2022-23 when he played 80 games, scored 10 goals (19 points) and delivered 133 hits.

Faksa (lower body) won't play Tuesday against Chicago, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Faksa will miss his fourth straight outing. He has played once over the last nine games after being cut by a skate versus Vancouver on Dec. 10. He has contributed two goals, five assists, 30 shots on net, 21 blocked shots and 47 hits in 30 appearances this season. It's unclear when Faksa will be available to return to the lineup.

Graf was recalled by the Sharks on Tuesday.

Graf was sent to the AHL ahead of the regular season, and he's recorded six goals and 20 assists over 29 appearances with the Barracuda to begin the year. The 22-year-old has appeared in just seven NHL games but will provide depth for the Sharks after William Eklund (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

Kerfoot scored a goal on two shots and blocked two shots in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Kraken.

Kerfoot ended his month-long goal drought (11 games) with a second-period tally. He had three assists in that span while seeing bottom-six minutes as usual. The 30-year-old forward is at six goals, seven helpers, 51 shots on net, 25 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 36 appearances. Kerfoot can do a lot of helpful things on the ice, but rarely at a high enough volume statistically to be a factor in fantasy.

Cooley scored a power-play goal on three shots, added two PIM and went minus-2 in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Kraken.

Cooley continued his hot December with the opening goal in this contest. He has racked up three goals, nine helpers, 20 shots on net and seven power-play points over his last 12 contests. The 20-year-old center is up to nine goals, 32 points (11 on the power play), 70 shots on net, 30 hits and a plus-8 rating over 36 appearances. There's been no sophomore slump for Cooley, but he's still flying a little bit under the radar in fantasy, so go check the waiver wire.

Beniers scored a goal on four shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 5-2 win over Utah.

Beniers got in on a break and flubbed a shot attempt, but he stayed with the play and banked in the Kraken's fourth goal off Karel Vejmelka's skate. This was Beniers' second straight game with a goal, and he has his first three-game point streak since Nov. 30-Dec. 5. The 22-year-old's struggled to sustain long stretches of offense, but he has a reasonable 20 points, 69 shots on net, 34 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over 38 contests this season.

McCann scored an empty-net goal on three shots in Monday's 5-2 win over Utah.

McCann has scored twice over the last three games. He's had a poor December with five points over 13 contests, but the Kraken have won two in a row, and he'll likely be a key part of any future success if they build on those victories. The 28-year-old winger is up to 13 goals, 28 points, 95 shots on net, 26 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 38 appearances this season.

Barron notched an assist and two hits in Monday's 3-0 win over the Predators.

Barron has two points over his last four games while continuing to see time on the fourth line. It's unlikely his role will change even with the Jets missing Mason Appleton (lower body) on a week-to-week basis. Barron has five points, 44 shots on net, 64 hits, 25 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 38 appearances this season.

Carrick notched an assist and two hits in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Panthers.

Carrick ended a seven-game slump when he assisted on Ryan Lindgren's second-period tally. The 32-year-old Carrick hasn't done much on offense this season, and it's been more difficult for him to contribute with the Rangers' lengthy team-wide struggles. The fourth-line center has seven points, 31 shots on net, 32 PIM, 61 hits and 21 blocked shots over 36 appearances this season.