NHL Player News

Gustafsson (lower body) won't play Friday versus the Blackhawks, Murat Ares of The Athletic reports.

Gustafsson will miss a second straight game to begin the season after sustaining an injury late in the preseason. The Jets will roll out a lineup that's unchanged from their season-opening 6-0 win over the Oilers on Wednesday. Gustafsson's next chance to draw in is Sunday against the Wild.

Eyssimont (lower body) won't play versus the Hurricanes on Friday, Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida reports.

Eyssimont remains on the injured non-roster list. Until he is activated, the 28-year-old forward will be unavailable. The Lightning will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Friday's season opener, with Darren Raddysh dressing and Conor Sheary sitting as a healthy scratch.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky said Friday that Celebrini is dealing with a lower-body injury and is still being evaluated, Max Miller of NHL.com reports.

Celebrini wasn't on the ice for Friday's practice session, and he's apparently dealing with an injury following his productive showing during Thursday's Opening Night loss to the Blues in which he tallied a goal and an assist in 17:35 of ice time. Warsofsky isn't yet sure whether Celebrini will be available for Saturday's game against the Ducks.

Texier (upper body) is questionable ahead of Friday's tilt in Vegas, Lou Korac of The Hockey News reports.

Texier was a late scratch in San Jose on Thursday and his status Friday is up in the air. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Zachary Bolduc, who was a plus-1 in 14:30 of ice time. Texier had an assist in Tuesday's game in Seattle.

Lavoie was assigned to AHL Henderson on Friday since the Golden Knights were the only team to submit a waiver claim for him, per PuckPedia.

Lavoie has racked up the frequent flyer miles over the past week, as he was shuffled between Edmonton and Vegas via waivers multiple times. He was claimed off waivers by the Oilers on Wednesday, but he wasn't able to be sent to the minors since another team put in a claim for him. However, the Golden Knights were the lone team to put in a claim for him Friday after Edmonton waived him Thursday, so he'll now prepare to suit up for Henderson.

Pageau scored a shorthanded goal in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to Utah.

Pageau was able to put the Islanders ahead briefly with a third-period tally on a rebound from a Simon Holmstrom shot. Pageau has scored at least one shorthanded goal in six straight seasons, and he has 21 such tallies in his career. The defensive center's production took a step back with 33 points in 82 regular-season games last year, but with the Islanders looking to produce more offense in 2024-25, a rising tide may lift all ships. Pageau is also a steady source of hits and could feature on the second power-play unit throughout the year.

Horvat scored a goal on five shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to Utah.

Horvat's tally tied the game at 2-2 in the third period. The 29-year-old center is skating on a line with Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal, which has the potential to put up big numbers for an Islanders team flashing more skill than it has in recent years. Horvat exceeded the 60-point mark for the second year in a row and the third time in his career in 2023-24, producing 33 goals and 35 assists over 81 regular-season contests, and he earned 18 power-play points as well.

Coach Peter DeBoer hopes that Bourque (undisclosed) is able to play this weekend, despite the forward missing practice Friday, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Bourque did manage to skate before practice Friday. The 22-year-old rookie was placed on the injured non-roster list Monday as he has been dealing with his injury since the latter days of September. The Stars play at home to the Islanders and Seattle on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Should Bourque not be able to play, their following game is Tuesday at home versus San Jose.

Lavoie was claimed off waivers by Vegas from Edmonton on Friday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Lavoie was also taken off waivers by the Golden Knights from the Oilers on Monday. Vegas then tried to send him to the minors by waiving him Tuesday, but Edmonton reclaimed him Wesnesday. Typically when a player heads back to his original team via waivers, that franchise can then simply send him to the minors, but that couldn't happen in Lavoie's case because a third team put in a claim. Edmonton consequently put Lavoie on waivers yet again Thursday. If Vegas was the only team to claim Lavoie this time, then he can be reassigned to the AHL, but if another team put in a claim again, then Vegas will be back in the position of either keeping him in the NHL or placing him on waivers.

Hayton scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Islanders.

Hayton has scored in both games this season and is up to three points and six shots on net while skating in a top-line role. He didn't come into the season with a lot of fantasy buzz, but if he keeps this up, he'll be a must-have option in standard formats. Hayton's career-best numbers came in 2022-23 when he produced 19 goals and 43 points over 82 games, but he could shatter those numbers playing alongside Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz this year.