NHL Player News

Lizotte (concussion) will be a game-time decision versus Anaheim on Thursday, Wes Crosby of NHL.com reports.

Lizotte suffered the concussion during a preseason game versus Ottawa on Sept. 29 and has yet to see any action this season. He was cleared Thursday for full contact, the first time since he was concussed. The 26-year-old had seven goals and 15 points in 62 regular-season games with the Kings in 2023-24.

Stienburg will have a hearing Thursday with the Department of Player Safety for charging the LIghtning's Erik Cernak.

The last thing the Avs need right now is another missing forward, even a bottom-six player like Stienburg. The 24-year-old Nova Scotia native was assessed 17 minutes of penalties in Wednesday's matchup with the Bolts and now will likely be suspended for at least Saturday's game against Nashville, if not longer.

Vilardi produced a goal and an assist in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Red Wings.

Both points came in the first period, and Vilardi opened the scoring by snapping home a slick pass from Kyle Connor just 2:48 into the game. Vilardi was one of the rare Jets to have a quiet start to the season, but the 25-year-old has now posted back-to-back multi-point performances and has three goals and eight points through 10 contests.

Ponomarev (upper body) was taken off the injured non-roster list and reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday.

Ponomarev was a long shot to make Pittsburgh's Opening Night roster, but a preseason injury all but guaranteed he would start the year in the minors. Still, the 22-year-old Russian has shown some offensive upside in the AHL and should be on the shortlist of potential call-ups throughout 2024-25.

Ostapchuk was elevated from AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Ostapchuk picked up an assist in his first game this season against the Blues on Tuesday while logging 15:03 of ice time. It was the 21-year-old's first NHL point, having been blanked in all seven appearances for the Senators last year. Given the team's injury situation, Ostapchuk could see plenty of minutes with the club in the short term, at least until David Perron (personal) or Shane Pinto (undisclosed) is able to rejoin the team.

Gaudette was recalled from AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Gaudette has four goals in his last three games, so any additional moves between the NHL and AHL will likely be temporary, cap-saving measures. With an upcoming back-to-back versus the Rangers and Kraken on Friday and Saturday, respectively, look for Gaudette to avoid any stints in the minors in the short-term.

Dowling posted an assist in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Canucks.

Dowling was called up from AHL Utica on Tuesday to replaced Curtis Lazar (lower body) in the lineup. Dowling likely got the call to enter the lineup because the Devils needed a center rather than moving Dawson Mercer off the wing to let Kurtis MacDermid into the lineup. The 34-year-old Dowling has a total of 20 points over 101 career NHL appearances, so he won't be a player fantasy managers need to keep a close eye on while he's up with the big club.

Mercer scored a shorthanded goal on three shots, added an assist, blocked two shots and went plus-3 in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Canucks.

Mercer and Nico Hischier set each other up on the Devils' first two goals in the blowout win. Things are looking up for Mercer after his second multi-point effort in a row. The 23-year-old is up to seven points, 20 shots on net, 12 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating over 13 appearances this season. Mercer plays in all situations, including top-six minutes at even strength and a spot on the second power-play unit.

Hughes scored a power-play goal on two shots and added an assist in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Canucks.

Hughes has three goals and four assists over his last five games. That's a much better pace for the talented center -- he had started a little slow before finding his way over the last week or so. Overall, the 23-year-old has four goals, eight helpers, five power-play points, 42 shots on net and a minus-1 rating through 13 appearances.

Hischier scored a goal on two shots, added two assists, blocked three shots and went plus-3 in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Canucks.

Hischier set the tone just 53 seconds into the contest with the opening goal. He also set up second-period tallies by Dawson Mercer (shorthanded) and Timo Meier as the Devils ran away with the win. Hischier has five goals and two helpers during his active four-game point streak. The center's talent was already well regarded, but he's taking things to another level in 2024-25 with 10 goals, five assists, 44 shots on net, 12 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating through 13 contests. The 25-year-old has yet to finish at or above a point-per-game pace in a full season, coming close with 80 points in 81 games in 2022-23.