Columbus Blue Jackets center Zach Aston-Reese (upper body) is expected to play on Tuesday versus Florida. He logged only 34 seconds of action last time out versus Colorado due to an upper-body injury. However, Aston-Reese skated with the team Tuesday morning and appears ready to play against the Panthers. Aston-Reese logged 7:33 of ice time on the fourth line in Columbus' season opener against Minnesota. He's a valued grinder but offers next to nothing in fantasy hockey.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese (illness) could return to the lineup on Friday when his team faces the host Arizona Coyotes. The 27-year-old out of Staten Island has missed the last two games with a non-COVID-related illness, including a 3-2 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. The Penguins did not hold a morning skate on Friday, so it isn't clear yet if Aston-Reese is healthy enough to play. That being said, with Pittsburgh winning three of its last four games and with the upcoming schedule including easy competition such as the Coyotes and the Buffalo Sabres, there's no reason to rush Aston-Reese back into the lineup if he still isn't feeling well.
Zach Aston-Reese Filling Top-Six Role As Injuries Pile Up
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese is currently skating as a top-six forward with the team missing multiple regulars. He finished this week with a pair of pointless efforts but had a strong start with a two-point outing and should see more success in the upcoming games. The 26-year-old demonstrated a good nose for the goal right away at the start of the season when he put together a three-game goal-scoring streak. He has seven markers in total for the season and two assists. Aston-Reese is also averaging close to two hits a night. His running mates on the second line are Evan Rodrigues, who has two goals in three games, and Jared McCann, who'll enter Monday's matchup with the Islanders on a three-game point streak that including two multi-point efforts.
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese notched the team's lone goal in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Washington, stretching his goal streak to three games. The 26-year-old has actually played in just three games as well due to a shoulder problem, so he's scored in every outing which is a very impressive feat. John Marino and Teddy Blueger set him up for the goal. Aston-Reese, who plays on Pittsburgh's third line, had only 16 career goals in 116 games entering the season, so he's upped his game massively and will look to continue his goal-scoring streak against the Islanders on Thursday.
