NHL Player News

Provorov (undisclosed) joined the Blue Jackets for Friday's morning skate after undergoing X-rays due to an incident in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Ottawa, per Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch.

It's still not clear if Provorov will be available for Saturday's game against San Jose, but seeing him on the ice is an encouraging sign. He has four goals, 23 points, 44 hits and 99 blocks in 52 contests this season. Andrew Peeke will likely draw into the lineup Saturday if Provorov ends up being unavailable.

Guenette was reassigned to AHL Belleville on Friday.

Guenette's demotion likely indicates Jake Sanderson (lower body) or Artem Zub (lower body) may be ready to play versus Chicago on Saturday. In his first NHL game of the season Thursday, the 22-year-old Guenette logged 11:53 of ice time against the Ducks in which he registered one shot and two hits. Guenette figures to spend most of the remainder of the campaign in the minors.

Krug scored and added an assist in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Oilers.

This was just Krug's second goal of the season. It wouldn't be fair to say the 32-year-old defender has lost his offensive gifts, but the goals haven't quite been there this season. Part of that is a lack of power-play goals. He's still part of the team's top unit, but he hasn't yet scored on the man advantage. In years past, he's added as many as six goals and 30 points on the power play. Even last year, in a relatively down season for offensive production, Krug had four goals and 14 points on the power play through 63 games. This year, through 53 contests, he has just eight power-play assists and no goals.

Kulak logged an assist, five shots on goal and two blocked shots in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Blues.

Kulak has found a little more offense with three assists over his last eight games. It'll be tough for him to maintain that kind of production since he's in a third-pairing role with fairly limited ice time. The 30-year-old defenseman is at seven points, 51 shots on net, 50 blocked shots, 39 hits, 20 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 50 appearances this season, giving him minimal fantasy value.

Bouchard recorded a power-play assist, three shots on goal, two blocked shots and a minus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Blues.

Bouchard helped out on Leon Draisaitl's first-period tally. With five points over five games since the All-Star break, the time off doesn't appear to have stalled Bouchard's offense. The 24-year-old blueliner is at 48 points (22 on the power play), 135 shots on net, 70 blocked shots, 40 hits and a plus-10 rating over 50 contests. As long as he's on the first power-play unit, he's in a good position to rack up offense.

Harley recorded an assist, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Predators.

Harley hasn't had a dry spell longer than two games since early December. The 22-year-old defenseman has just two points over five games since the All-Star break, but he's also been on the top pairing alongside Miro Heiskanen, which means much tougher defensive matchups. That pairing also tends to split the bulk of the blue-line production in Dallas, but both are solid fantasy options. Harley has 31 points, 97 shots on net, 90 blocked shots and a plus-17 rating through 51 appearances this season.

Lundkvist is undergoing further evaluation for concussion symptoms, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports Friday.

Lundkvist's status against Edmonton on Saturday should probably be considered doubtful at this point, though he hasn't been officially ruled out. The blueliner has generated just five shots in his last six contests while averaging 12:13 of ice time, so few fantasy players are likely to be impacted by his potential absence. If Lundkvist does miss out Saturday, Joel Hanley figures to step into the lineup in his stead.

Suter posted two assists and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Predators.

Suter has three assists over five games since the All-Star break. While that's solid production, it's unlikely to be sustainable given he has just 13 points in 54 outings overall. He's added 68 shots on goal, 75 blocked shots, 56 hits and a plus-9 rating. The 39-year-old spent much of the first half of the season on the top pairing with Miro Heiskanen, but a drop to the third pairing with no power-play time leaves Suter outside the range of fantasy viability in most formats.

Heiskanen scored a goal on three shots, blocked three shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Predators.

Heiskanen has earned two goals and three assists over seven games since he returned from a lower-body injury. The defenseman's tally Thursday extended the Stars' lead to 5-0 in the second period. He's at six goals, 32 points, 100 shots on net, 63 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating through 44 outings. Heiskanen and Thomas Harley have been the Stars' top pairing lately, and while they can both put up points, Heiskanen no longer has to be the biggest producer on offense from the blue line.

Hunt was called up from AHL Calgary on Friday.

Hunt is pointless in his four NHL games this season during which he's averaged 12:45 of ice time while recording 10 shots, six hits and a minus-3 rating. With Cole Schwindt returning to the minors in a corresponding move, Hunt could be in contention to get back into the lineup versus the Red Wings on Saturday, though that will likely depend on the health of Jakob Pelletier (upper body).