Nylander is battling an illness and will miss his fourth game of the season after only missing one game in his previous four seasons combined. The 29-year-old Nylander is leading the Maple Leafs offensively with 31 points (11G / 20A) in 20 games. The Maple Leafs will likely welcome a defenseman back onto their top powerplay unit with the absence of Nylander.

Dowd has missed five straight games due to an undisclosed injury, and will remain out of the lineup on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was recently placed on Injured Reserve, but is eligible to be activated at any time. The 35-year-old Dowd is averaging 15:08 time-on-ice and has five points (1G / 4A) in 19 games this season.

Foegele is battling an undisclosed injury and will not play in Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks. The 29-year-old Foegele had a career-high 46 points (24G / 22A) in 82 games last season, but is off to a slow start in 2025-26 with only four points (4G / 0A) through 18 games. Jeff Malott will draw into the lineup as Foegele's replacement.

Kapanen has been on long-term Injured Reserve since suffering an undisclosed injury on October 19th, and has apparently suffered a setback, exiting Thursday's practice early. Before his injury, the 29-year-old Kapanen had two assists in six games.

The Oilers have struggled this season, 10-10-5 through 25 games, and received more bad news on Friday, announcing that Roslovic will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old Roslovic has been a terrific fit with the Oilers since signing with them at the beginning of October, scoring 18 points (10G / 8A) in 23 games.

Hartman has not played since suffering a lower-body injury on November 16th, but he will return to the lineup on Friday against the high-flying Colorado Avalanche. Before his injury, the 31-year-old Hartman recorded seven points (4G / 3A) and 19 hits in 20 games this season.

Tkachuk suffered an injury in the third game of the season, underwent thumb surgery, and has been sidelined since. The Senators' Captain will return to the lineup on Friday against the St. Louis Blues, giving a boost to his team that has fared reasonably well without him, going 12-7-4 through 23 games. The 26-year-old Tkachuk scored points (0G / 3A) through three games this season prior to his injury.

Jared McCann just returned to Seattle's lineup from a multi-week injury absence in their most recent game, a game where another top-nine forward, Jaden Schwartz, was forced to leave due to a lower-body injury. The 33-year-old Schwartz was off to an impressive 2025-26 campaign before his injury, scoring 15 points (8G / 7A) in 23 games.

Nugent-Hopkins has been sidelined since November 8th due to an undisclosed injury, but he will return to the lineup on Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. Despite a subpar start to the season for the Oilers, Nugent-Hopkins provided ample production before his injury, scoring 16 points (5G / 11A) in 16 games. The 32-year-old forward is pacing for only the second point-per-game season of his career.

Foegele is battling an undisclosed injury and his status is uncertain for Friday's game against the Anaheim Ducks. The 29-year-old Foegele had a career-high 46 points (24G / 22A) in 82 games last season, but is off to a slow start in 2025-26 with only four points (4G / 0A) through 18 games.

Duchene suffered an upper-body injury after a massive open-ice hit from Minnesota's Jacob Middleton in the third game of the season, was sidelined for one game, returned, and has mysteriously been out of the lineup since. Few details have been released regarding Duchene's injury, but has has been practicing with the team for the last several days. That said, there is no real timeline for when he may return, despite travelling with the team on the current road trip. The 34-year-old Duchene led Dallas last season with 82 points (30G / 52A) in 82 games.

Burakovsky has not played in the Blackhawks' previous three games, but he will return to the lineup on Friday against the Nashville Predators. The 30-year-old Burakovsky had a career-high 61 points (22G / 39A) in 80 games with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2021-22 season, but has never come close to that total in other seasons. Playing predominantly alongside superstar Connor Bedar, Burakovsky has shown that evasive scoring tough through 18 games this season, scoring 15 points (7G / 8A).

Foligno was limited to only 7:28 time-on-ice in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, exiting the contest due to a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old Foligno has a -10 plus/minus and is off to the worst offensive start to his career, with only two points (0G / 2A) in 23 games.

Zacha has missed only four games over the previous three seasons, but will not play on Friday against the New York Rangers, missing his first contest of 2025-26 due to an undisclosed injury and being listed as day-to-day. The 28-year-old Czech forward has 17 points (5G / 12A) and joins a growing list of noteworthy Bruins players sidelined due to injuries.

A Bruins team that is already without the services of several key players will also be without Pastrnak on Friday against the New York Rangers. The 29-year-old elite Czech forward has 29 points (11G / 18A) in 25 games, factoring in on 37 percent of Boston's goals this season. Pastrnak has played all 82 games in three straight seasons and will miss his first contest of 2025-26, out day-to-day.

Rasmussen has missed the last three game games due to an injury, but he will draw back into the lineup on Friday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The towering 6'6 forward is averaging 11:39 time-on-ice and has five points (2G / 3A) in 19 games this season.

Mittelstadt has not played in three weeks, recovering from an upper-body injury, but will draw back into the lineup on Friday against the New York Rangers. The 27-year-old forward is averaging 14:32 time-on-ice and has nine points (4G / 5A) in 15 games this season. With a myriad of injuries in Boston's top-six, Mittelstadt will likely be due for a sizeable increase in his deployment in his return to the ice.

Edvinsson has missed the last three games due to an illness, but will re-enter the lineup on Friday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 22-year-old Swedish defenseman is averaging 21:32 time-on-ice and has six points (3G / 3A) in 21 games this season.