NHL Player News

Necas produced a goal and three assists, with all but one helper coming on the power play, in Thursday's 8-2 rout of the Bruins.

The 25-year-old gave Carolina a 4-1 lead late in the first period when his attempted pass to Andrei Svechnikov instead deflected off the toe of Brandon Carlo's skate and got past Jeremy Swayman. Necas extended his point streak to five games with the performance, a stretch in which he's erupted for four goals and 12 points, including six points (one goal, five helpers) with the man advantage.

Dvorak had an assist in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Washington.

Dvorak's drop pass to Lane Hutson led to Brendan Gallagher's tally that put Montreal up, 2-1, midway through the second period. The assist was the third of season for Dvorak. The Capitals, however, would reclaim the lead less than two minutes later, when Dvorak's bad giveaway from behind his own net led to a goal.

Dewar (shoulder) was reassigned to AHL Toronto on a conditioning assignment Friday.

Dewar figures to suit up for the Marlies in their matchup with AHL Cleveland on Saturday before potentially being called back up to the NHL roster. Once given the all-clear from his shoulder problem, Dewar should be in the mix for a spot in the Leafs' lineup -- though he may find himself periodically switching between the AHL and NHL.

Lapierre was scratched for the second game in a row when he sat out Thursday's 6-3 win over the Canadiens.

Lapierre won a middle-six job out of training camp, but he went minus-5 with no points over his first seven games of the season. He took four PIM in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Lightning and has since been scratched for two contests in a row, with Michael Sgarbossa taking his place in the lineup. Lapierre should get another look eventually, but he'll need to make some sort of positive impact when he draws back in to avoid being rotated out of the lineup on a regular basis. He had 22 points in 51 regular-season outings in 2023-24, so this slow start is a bit disappointing.

Athanasiou was scratched for the fourth game in a row for Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.

Athanasiou has sat out six of the Blackhawks' first 11 games, and he hasn't earned a point while averaging 9:36 of ice time over his first five outings. The 30-year-old forward has added six shots on net, five hits, four blocked shots and a minus-1 rating. The recent success of players like Lukas Reichel and Ryan Donato likely means Athanasiou will have to wait his turn for another look in the lineup. Even when he draws back in, he's unlikely to be productive in a fourth-line role.

Donato scored a goal and added two hits in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.

Donato has five goals and one assist over his last five contests. The 28-year-old was scratched in back-to-back games Oct. 15-17, but he's been in the lineup for the last six games, and he's playing well enough to maintain his bottom-six spot. The forward has six goals, one assist, 14 shots on net, 22 hits and a plus-4 rating through nine appearances in 2024-25. He'll need to stay sharp to keep Joey Anderson and Andreas Athanasiou in the press box.

Kunin notched an assist and two hits in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Kunin has a helper in each of the last two games, and he's gotten on the scoresheet in three of the last four contests. The 26-year-old forward set up Will Smith's first career goal at 6:52 of the first period. Kunin now has four points, 18 shots on net, 26 hits, 17 blocked shots, 13 PIM and a minus-1 rating through 12 appearances. He can bring physicality and some defensive stats in a middle-six role, but Kunin's typically not much of a scorer, which hinders his fantasy value.

Wennberg scored a goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Wennberg has two goals and four assists over his last five contests. The 30-year-old center has warmed up, and it's helped the Sharks be more successful as a team. In addition to his six points, he has 17 shots on net, 13 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating through 12 appearances. Three of his points have come on the power play.

Smith scored twice on three shots, including one power-play goal, in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Smith hadn't logged a point in his first eight NHL appearances. The 19-year-old center changed that, opening the scoring in the first period and then adding a power-play game-winner midway through the second. He's added 14 shots on net, six PIM and a minus-3 rating over nine contests. Smith has sat out three times so far, including one game in each of the Sharks' first two back-to-back sets. He will likely continue to have his minutes managed as he adjusts from the NCAA schedule to a full-length NHL campaign, so don't be surprised to see him be a healthy scratch with some regularity.

Sissons has not recorded a point through the Predators' first 10 games of the season.

Heading into the campaign, there was a competition between Sissons and Thomas Novak for the second-line center spot, but neither forward has seized on the opportunity yet. Sissons' struggles are a product of the Predators' slow start as a team -- they're 3-6-1 with just 24 goals scored so far. The 30-year-old defensive forward has logged a minus-12 rating, eight shots on net, 17 hits, 10 blocked shots and four PIM while seeing middle-six usage. Considering he's topped out at 35 points in a single season (2023-24), most fantasy managers won't need to turn to Sissons for help anyway.