Bemstrom suffered an injury during the preseason and has been working his way back ever since. He scored one goal in three games during his time with Cleveland (AHL) and is finally set to make his season debut on Thursday. The 22-year-old forward had three goals and two assists (five points) in 20 games with Columbus last year.

Jarry was one of five players added to the protocol list on Monday, bringing the Penguins total to six. This group will likely miss at least the next two games. Expect Casey DeSmith to take over in net while Jarry is out.

The Predators had an outbreak before the Christmas break, so on the day where they activated six skaters, they also added three new players to the protocol list, including Novak.

Hayes left Monday's practice early after a positive set and has been placed on the COVID-19 protocol list. The Flyers are one of the few teams that actually have games this week but it looks like they will be without Hayes on Tuesday.

Lizotte has missed the last five games while in COVID-19 protocol but was activated on Wednesday and is expected to play on Thursday. He has one goal and four assists (five points) in 21 games this season.

Mantha was placed on IR on November 5th and moved to LTIR on Wednesday to make room for Nicklas Backstrom to be added to the roster ahead of his season debut.