NHL Player News

Gudas (illness) will be a game-time decision versus Winnipeg on Friday, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Gudas missed Wednesday's tilt versus the Maple Leafs and has missed four of the last five games as he was previously out with an ankle injury. Gudas has five goals, five assists, 65 PIM, 87 hits and 63 blocked shots in 32 games. Should Gudas return to action, look for Jackson LaCombe to be a healthy scratch.

Per Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, Heiskanen (lower body) is considered week-to-week.

The good news is that Heiskanen will not require surgery and the injury is not season ending. Heiskanen was injured Thursday versus Colorado. He had four assists in his last four games, giving him 27 points in 37 games this season. He will be replaced by Thomas Harley on the first power play while Esa Lindell could see some time on the second unit.

Faulk (lower body) will not make the trip to Carolina for Saturday's game versus the Hurricanes, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Faulk is expected to skate while the team is away and might be ready to practice Monday, which could open the door for him to return versus Florida on Tuesday. Still, that's a lot of ifs for fantasy players looking for some clarity on the blueliner's status. Prior to getting hurt, the Minnesota native recorded two goals and three assists, including two power-play points, in his previous seven contests and should offer decent offensive upside once cleared to return.

Durzi notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and a minus-2 rating in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Islanders.

Durzi has a goal and seven assists over six games since he returned from a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old has resumed his role as power-play quarterback and top-four defenseman at even strength. For the season, he's produced 21 points (nine on the power play), 58 shots on net, 64 blocked shots, 33 PIM and a plus-8 rating through 31 outings overall.

Hanifin scored a goal on six shots, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Predators.

Hanifin went five games without a point, and he hadn't scored a goal since Nov. 30. The defenseman can often find non-scoring ways to contribute -- he's logged multiple blocked shots in four of his last six outings. Overall, the 26-year-old has 18 points, 68 shots on net, 56 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over 38 appearances, putting him in position to push for a 40-point campaign.

Per Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch, coach Pascal Vincent said Friday that Boqvist (shoulder) is "good to go" for Saturday's game versus Minnesota.

The defenseman has been out of action for a month -- he last played versus LA on Dec. 5. Boqvist has three assists in 13 games this season. Boqvist will need to be activated from injured reserve in order to return to action, so look for Jake Christiansen to get sent back to the AHL in a corresponding move.

Carlile was returned to AHL Syracuse on Friday.

Carlile made his NHL debut Thursday versus the Wild and was a plus-1 with one hit and two blocked shots in 11:27 of action. Carlile has three goals and nine points in 31 AHL games this season.

Walker was demoted to AHL Iowa on Friday.

Walker averaged 8:38 of ice time over the last two games with the Wild in which he notched two shots, one block and a minus-1 rating. It seems the 24-year-old didn't impress the team brass enough to keep him on the NHL roster, as the Wild opted to switch Walker out for Adam Raska, who was called up in a corresponding move.

Day was sent back to AHL Syracuse on Friday.

Day was a healthy scratch for the eighth time this season Thursday against Minnesota. He has yet to see any NHL action with the Lightning this season. Day does, however, have eight assists in 17 AHL games this year.

Coach Lindy Ruff said Friday that Hamilton (pectoral) "is a long ways away," Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Hamilton had surgery Dec. 1 for a torn pectoral muscle and will likely be sidelined for another three to four months. The defenseman had five goals and 16 points in 20 games before his injury, including four goals and eight points on the power play. Hamilton is iffy at best to return before the end of the regular season, but he could be back for some playoff action depending on how deep a run the Devils are able to make.