Penguins' Thomas Novak: Won't play against Florida
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Novak (lower body) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Panthers.
Novak recently resumed skating, but he'll be unavailable for a sixth consecutive matchup as he continues to deal with a lower-body injury. It's not yet clear when he'll be in the mix to return to game action, but his next opportunity to do so will be Tuesday in Tampa Bay.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Unavailable against Jackets
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Novak (lower body) will not be in the lineup versus Columbus on Friday, Dan Potash of Sportsnet Pittsburgh reports.
Novak has started skating but wasn't on the ice for Friday's game-day skate as part of his recovery process. At this point, the forward should probably be considered day-to-day heading into the final weeks of the season. In Novak's stead, Blake Lizotte figures to fill a third-line center role while Joona Koppanen remains in the lineup.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Won't play Tuesday
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Novak (lower body) won't play against the Islanders on Tuesday.
Novak will miss his fourth straight game, and a timeline for his return is unclear because he hasn't been skating. He hasn't earned a point in two games with Pittsburgh since being acquired from Nashville on March 5.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Still sidelined
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Novak (lower body) won't play Saturday against the Devils, Justin Guerriero of Tribune-Review Sports reports.
It will be the third game Novak has missed since suffering an injury last Sunday against the Wild. The 27-year-old Novak has gone scoreless in two games with the Penguins this year after recording 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) in 52 contests with Nashville before being traded.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Remains out Thursday
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Novak (lower body) won't play Thursday versus St. Louis.
It will be Novak's second straight game on the shelf. He has 13 goals and 22 points in 54 appearances between Nashville and Pittsburgh this season. When healthy, Novak will likely serve in a middle-six capacity.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Unavailable against Knights
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Novak (lower body) won't be an option versus Vegas on Tuesday but is considered day-to-day, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.
Novak was just two games into his Pittsburgh stint after coming over from Nashville at the trade deadline when he sustained his lower-body injury. With Novak out of the lineup, it looks like fellow deadline addition Connor Dewar will get a look at a second-line role with Evgeni Malkin while Danton Heinen could find himself back on the No. 2 power-play unit.
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Penguins' Thomas Novak: Injured Sunday
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Novak sustained a lower-body injury in the third period of Sunday's 3-1 win over the Wild and did not return.
Novak had two shots on goal and four blocked shots in 12:01 of ice time before departing. The left-shot forward was acquired by the Penguins from the Predators on Friday and received second-line minutes and a spot on the No. 2 power-play unit in Sunday's victory. The Minnesota native should be considered day-to-day ahead of Tuesday's home game against the Golden Knights.
Novak and Luke Schenn were traded to the Penguins from the Predators on Wednesday in exchange for Michael Bunting (abdomen) and a 2026 fourth-round pick, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports.
Novak is an intriguing player for the Penguins, but the chances are low of him being anything more than a middle-six forward who could feature on the second power-play unit. The 27-year-old Novak had a slow start in 2024-25 and has managed just 22 points over 52 appearances, but he had totals of 43 points in 2022-23 and 45 points in 2023-24. It's also possible the Penguins try to flip him before Friday's trade deadline, but if he stays in Pittsburgh, his fantasy value will hold pretty steady to what it was in Nashville.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Lights lamp in Tuesday's win
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Bruins.
Novak was listed on the second line but ended up with a team-low 11:41 of ice time. That's even with him scoring a goal in the first period to erase the Bruins' early lead created by Charlie Coyle. Novak has three points over his last four games and could continue to play on the second line if Steven Stamkos remains on the wing following the Gustav Nyquist trade over the weekend.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Tallies power-play goal
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Novak scored a power-play goal on three shots and blocked two shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Jets.
Novak's goal at 15:29 of the first period stood as the game-winner. It was his first goal in four contests since the NHL resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off -- prior to the break, the 27-year-old had six goals and four assists over a 10-game span. For the season, he's up to 12 goals, 20 points, 85 shots on net, 20 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating over 49 appearances. Novak is on pace for his worst full NHL campaign, but he's done enough to maintain a middle-six role.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Nets another goal in win
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Sabres.
Novak has six goals and four assists over his last 10 contests. The 27-year-old's tally opened the scoring in the first period Saturday. He's up to 11 goals, 19 points, 79 shots on net and a minus-1 rating through 45 appearances. The break for the 4 Nations Face-Off comes at a bad time for Novak, who finally had some momentum on offense for the first time this season, so he'll be a player to watch when the NHL resumes Feb. 22 as the Predators host the Avalanche.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Tallies late in loss
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
Novak has five goals and four assists over his last nine outings. Despite that decent performance, he's mostly been confined to third-line minutes. He did earn some shifts higher in the lineup as Joakim Kemell was sheltered in his NHL debut Friday. Novak has 10 goals, 18 points, 77 shots on net and a minus-2 rating through 44 appearances this season.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Scores again Friday
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Novak scored a goal in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Sabres.
Novak was limited to 11:53 of ice time in the loss but maintained his power-play spot on the second unit. The 27-year-old has done well despite a limited role lately, earning four goals and four assists over his last six outings. For the season, he's at a less inspiring 17 points with 72 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 41 appearances. Novak is worth a look at least as a streaming option for fantasy managers in need of offense.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Nets lone goal in loss
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Novak scored a goal on two shots in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Canucks.
Novak's tally at 8:41 of the first period was 90 seconds after Nils Hoglander opened the scoring for the Canucks. The 27-year-old Novak has found a groove recently with three goals and four assists over his last seven contests, primarily in a third-line role on the wing with Fedor Svechkov at center. Novak struggled at center earlier in the season, and it's still too soon to say that he's turned a corner. For the campaign, he's at eight goals, 16 points, 71 shots on net and a minus-1 rating over 40 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Contributes pair of points in win
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Novak scored a goal on three shots and added a power-play assist in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Sharks.
Novak was involved in Nashville's first two goals, which came 56 seconds apart in the first period. The 27-year-old didn't get in on the fun again in a second straight high-scoring battle between these two teams, but he has earned six points over his last three outings following his prior seven-game slump. The forward has seven goals, 15 points (four on the power play), 66 shots on net and an even plus-minus rating over 38 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Three points in win
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Novak notched a goal and two assists, including one on the power play, in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Sharks.
Novak cracked the scoresheet for the second game in a row, making it the first time he has recorded points in at least two straight games since a three-game stretch between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14. It was also the first multi-point effort of the campaign for the 27-year-old, but these outputs aren't expected to become the norm for Novak, especially considering his bottom-six role in the lineup.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Gathers helper in win
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Novak provided an assist in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Wild.
Novak ended a seven-game drought with the helper. That stretch includes his two-game absence due to an upper-body injury to begin January. The 27-year-old forward has remained in a bottom-six role lately, as Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly have functioned as top-six centers. Novak has just 10 points with 61 shots on net and a minus-2 rating over 36 appearances.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Projected to play in Winnipeg
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Head coach Andrew Brunette said that he expects Novak (upper body) will be able to play in Tuesday's road matchup against the Jets, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.
Novak missed back-to-back games in Vancouver and Calgary due to his injury. The left-shot center will most likely fill a bottom-six role against the Jets on Tuesday. The 27-year-old has contributed five goals and four helpers over 31 appearances this season.
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Predators' Thomas Novak: Likely out Saturday
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Novak (upper body) isn't expected to play Saturday against the Flames, Nick Kieser of 102.5 ESPN Nashville reports.
Novak sat out the Predators' 3-0 win over Vancouver due to the injury, and it appears he'll likely miss at least one more contest. With Novak unavailable, Fedor Svechkov will likely remain in Nashville's bottom six.
