NHL Player News

Matthews underwent successful MCL knee repair surgery Thursday.

Matthews had already been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a Grade 3 MCL tear and quadriceps contusion, and he has a recovery timetable of approximately 12 weeks following Thursday's procedure. The 28-year-old finished his 2025-26 campaign with 27 goals, 26 assists, 81 blocked shots, 42 hits and 18 PIM while averaging 20:48 of ice time. Given his return timetable, it seems unlikely that Matthews will be an option for Team USA at the IIHF World Championship, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him available for training camp ahead of the 2026-27 NHL campaign.

Reimer will patrol the crease at home versus the Islanders on Thursday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Reimer will make just his second appearance in the Senators' last 11 contests. In that lone outing, the 38-year-old netminder stopped all 16 shots he faced in a victory over the Canucks. With a back-to-back upcoming, Reimer should feature against either the Rangers or Red Wings on Monday or Tuesday, respectively.

Stenlund will be a game-time decision Thursday versus Vegas, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.

Stenlund has four goals and 15 points in 66 outings with Utah in 2025-26. He missed Monday's 6-3 win over Dallas because of the injury.

Solovyov notched an assist in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

Solovyov has two helpers over six games since he returned from a six-game stint as a healthy scratch. The defenseman is at eight points, 20 shots on net, 30 hits, 29 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating over 27 appearances between the Penguins and the Avalanche this season. Solovyov may not be a full-time player for the Penguins, and he'll be on the third pairing when in the lineup.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday that Hart (lower body) has resumed skating and is getting closer to returning, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Hart has been sidelined since early January due to a lower-body injury, but it appears as though he'll have an opportunity to return to game action before the end of the regular season. However, Cassidy said that Hart won't travel with the Golden Knights during their upcoming three-game road trip, so the earliest that the 27-year-old netminder will be able to return will be March 26 against Edmonton.

Askarov (lower body) is expected to miss Thursday's game against Buffalo, per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Askarov hasn't been in net since March 10 because of the injury. He's 19-17-3 with a 3.56 GAA and an .886 save percentage in 40 outings in 2025-26. Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to get the home start against Buffalo, while Laurent Brossoit is set to serve as the understudy.

Armia (upper body) won't be in action versus the Flyers on Thursday but could return for Saturday's clash with Buffalo, Alexander Legget of Mayors Manor reports.

Armia will be shelved for his 10th straight game due to his lingering upper-body issue. Prior to his absence, the veteran forward was struggling to produce and was stuck in an 11-game goal drought during which he generated just two assists. Once given the all-clear, Armia should slot into a bottom-six role but could factor on the power play.

Chernyshov (concussion) is not available for Thursday's tilt versus Buffalo on Thursday, according to Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

The highly-regarded Chernyshov has three goals and eight assists in 16 NHL games this season, his first in the league. Chernyshov suffered the injury during his first shift in Montreal on March 14 and he will miss his third straight game. Consider Chernyshov day-to-day at this time.

Bobrovsky will defend the road cage in Edmonton on Thursday.

Bobrovsky saw his two-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday, allowing five goals on 22 shots in a 5 -2 loss to Vancouver. The veteran netminder is 24-20-1 with three shutouts. He has a 3.07 GAA and an .876 save percentage over 46 games this season. The Oilers will be without Leon Draisaitl, who is out for the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury. Edmonton is averaging 3.52 goals per game, third in the NHL this season.

Kindel scored a goal on two shots in Wednesday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

Kindel has scored twice over his last four games. The rookie center is up to 17 goals, 32 points, 131 shots on net, 51 blocked shots, 27 hits and a minus-9 rating through 65 appearances. Expect Kindel to play in a third-line role moving forward since Sidney Crosby (lower body) is back in action.