NHL Player News

Hertl (shoulder) is slated to return to the lineup for Thursday's game against Seattle, NHL.com reports.

Hertl has missed the last eight games due to his shoulder injury, but he'll be back in action for Thursday's home matchup. Hertl has recorded 31 goals, 28 assists, 96 hits, 54 blocked shots and 20 PIM while averaging 17:07 of ice time over 70 appearances this season, and his return should allow him to regain his conditioning ahead of the playoffs.

Eichel (upper body) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Kraken, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Eichel will be unavailable for a second consecutive matchup due to his upper-body injury, and head coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday that the 28-year-old remains day-to-day. The Golden Knights have just three games remaining on their regular-season schedule, and it's not yet clear whether Eichel will suit up for any of those matchups.

Colton (undisclosed) will be out of the lineup against Vancouver on Thursday, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports.

Colton will be sidelined for a second straight contest due to his lingering undisclosed injury. After racking up 40 points last year, the 28-year-old Colton won't be reaching that same level this year, but he could still reach the 30-point threshold with one more tally this year.

Turcotte (upper body) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Ducks, Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty reports.

Although the 24-year-old will miss a ninth consecutive game Thursday, head coach Jim Hiller said after the team's morning skate that Turcotte is "very close" to returning to action. As a result, it seems possible that he'll be in the mix to return against Colorado on Saturday. Turcotte has made 64 appearances this year, logging eight goals, 15 assists, 38 hits, 27 blocked shots and 20 PIM while averaging 11:46 of ice time.

Kerfoot (illness) will return to the lineup versus Nashville on Thursday, according to Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.

Kerfoot sat out one game with the illness. He has 11 goals and 24 points in 77 games this season. Kerfoot will replace Michael Carcone in the lineup.

Brodzinski scored a goal in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Flyers.

Brodzinski has netted four goals over his last eight games. The 31-year-old continues to fill a bottom-six role for the Rangers and has been decent for much of the campaign. He's earned 11 goals, seven assists, 67 shots on net, 26 hits and a plus-7 rating over 47 appearances. Brodzinski has up to four games left to take a run at the 20-point mark for the first time in his career.

Miller scored a goal on four shots and went minus-3 in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Flyers.

Miller has four goals and six assists over his last eight contests, getting on the scoresheet in seven of those games. The 32-year-old is up to 20 goals, 63 points, 130 shots on net, 166 hits and 55 PIM over 68 appearances between the Rangers and the Canucks. His offense has been strong lately, so fantasy managers should feel confident to play him over the final week of the season as long as he stays in the lineup.

Trocheck scored a shorthanded goal on two shots, added two hits and went minus-2 in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Flyers.

Trocheck has three goals and an assist over his last nine outings, and two of those tallies have come while on the penalty kill. The 31-year-old center is up to 23 goals, 53 points, 191 shots on net, 211 hits, 76 blocked shots, 42 PIM and a plus-1 rating over 78 appearances. It's far from his best year on offense, but Trocheck continues to be a good source of all-around production.

Sturm (upper body) will play versus Detroit on Thursday, per NHL.com.

Sturm will slide into a third-line role in his first outing back following a four-game stint on the shelf. Considering the 29-year-old German has gone 11 games without a goal and managed just one helper over that stretch, his reintroduction into the lineup is unlikely to impact the majority of fantasy managers.

MacKinnon will miss Thursday's clash against Vancouver with an undisclosed injury, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports.

MacKinnon is also doubtful for the final two games of the season on the weekend, as head coach Jared Bednar stated MacKinnon would "probably not" play. MacKinnon is currently tied with Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead in points with 116 and is likely to finish second once again to Kucherov in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.