NHL Player News

Donato scored a goal on his only shot in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss against Winnipeg.

Donato whistled a wrist shot past Connor Hellebuyck after being sprung on a bank pass off the boards from Patrick Maroon to open the scoring in Friday's contest. Donato added two hits and a plus-1 rating in 10:51 of ice time. Offensive production will be hard to come by for the 28-year-old forward, given his fourth-line role, but Donato has performed capably as a depth forward with at least 30 points in two of the last three seasons. The left-shot forward would get a boost from staying on Chicago's second power-play unit, but he has been on and off during man-advantage situations so far this campaign.

Paul recorded a power-play assist and two hits in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Paul was on the second line in the season opener, earning 17:34 of ice time. That is similar usage to what he's seen in previous campaigns. The 29-year-old forward had a career year in 2023-24, putting up 24 goals and 22 assists in 82 regular-season outings. He can record 100-plus hits while seeing time on the second power-play unit, making him a viable depth option in fantasy.

Barkov (lower body) is expected to miss 2-3 weeks but could return before the team travels to Finland for the NHL Global Series in November. Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Florida's final contest before heading to Europe is Oct. 28 against Buffalo. Barkov was injured late in Thursday's 3-1 loss to Ottawa. With Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk (illness) unavailable to play Saturday versus the Sabres, Anton Lundell will be on the top line and Patrick Giles will draw into the lineup.

Poitras (undisclosed) will be in the lineup Saturday against the Kings following his activation from the injured non-roster list.

Poitras sat out the first two games of the 2024-25 campaign after being injured during training camp. He notched five goals and 15 points across 33 games in the 2023-24 regular season. Poitras will replace Riley Tufte in Saturday's lineup.

Scheifele scored twice, with one being the game-winner, in Friday's 2-1 overtime victory against Chicago.

Scheifele was set up by Kyle Connor on a give-and-go goal for the game-winner in overtime. Scheifele added six shots, one block and a plus-1 rating in 21:33 of ice time. The right-shot center is off to a great start with three goals and one assist through two games this season. The Ontario native will skate in his 800th career NHL game when Winnipeg hosts Minnesota on Sunday.

Tavares (illness) could miss Saturday's contest against the Penguins, David Alter of The Hockey News.

Tavares missed Saturday's morning skate with an illness, though he's a "possibility" to play Saturday night against the Penguins, per coach Craig Berube. The 34-year-old Tavares has a goal through two games to start the season.

Barkov (lower body) didn't practice Saturday and will miss the Panthers' road matchup with the Sabres, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

While the extent of Barkov's injury is still unclear, the Panthers will be without their captain for at least one game. The 29-year-old center had one assist in two games this year after posting 23 goals and 80 points across 73 contests in 2023-24. The earliest Barkov could return would be Monday against the Bruins. Anton Lundell figures to move into a top-six role in his absence, with Patrick Giles slotting into the lineup.

Staal scored a goal in Friday's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

Staal opened the scoring for the Hurricanes late in the first period with a snap shot that went straight past Andrei Vasilevskiy, but Carolina gave up four unanswered goals in the final two periods to take the loss. Staal's production has been trending in the wrong direction over the last four years, and while he should remain a productive threat based on his middle-six role, don't expect him to deliver goals on a regular basis. He found the back of the net just 10 times in 80 games during the 2023-24 regular season.

Point scored a power-play goal in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Point equalized Friday's game with a power-play goal in the second period with assists from Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Point has reached the 90-point plateau in each of the last two seasons. Kucherov will be the primary scoring weapon on the Lightning roster, but Point should have plenty of opportunities for sustained production again.

Guentzel recorded two assists in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Guentzel inked a seven-year deal with the Lightning in the offseason after starting eight straight seasons with the Penguins. Despite being uncertain for the season opener after missing some practice time, he didn't have problems performing on the top line alongside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Guentzel should have plenty of opportunities to produce on one of the best offensive teams in the NHL, and he'll look for his first goal of the campaign against the Canucks on Tuesday.