NHL Player News

Kadri produced three assists, including one on the power play, and fired seven shots on goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Sharks.

Kadri was involved in all of the Flames' goals in this win. It was his first multi-point effort in December -- he has five goals and five helpers over 10 outings this month. The center is up to 25 points, 117 shots on net, 30 PIM, 25 hits and a minus-14 rating through 35 appearances this season. Kadri's recent consistency has made him a reliable player for fantasy managers.

Backlund scored a power-play goal on three shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Sharks.

Backlund restored the Flames' lead at 6:50 of the second period, and his goal was the game-winner. The 35-year-old center is warming up with three goals, two assists and 16 shots on net over his last five outings. For the season, he has seven goals, 17 points (four on the power play), 98 shots, 20 hits, 20 blocked shots, 20 PIM and a plus-6 rating through 35 appearances. Backlund can be a decent depth center in fantasy when his offense is going, but he may be best utilized as a streaming option.

Huberdeau scored two goals on three shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Sharks.

Huberdeau tallied at 4:40 of the first period and then added an empty-netter at the last second of the contest. His stellar December was not interrupted by the holiday break -- the 31-year-old winger has seven goals and six assists over 10 games this month. Overall, Huberdeau has 15 tallies, 27 points, 63 shots on net, 28 blocked shots, 18 PIM and a minus-8 rating over 35 appearances. He's on pace to reach the 30-goal mark for the first time since 2021-22, but his 23.8 shooting percentage is likely overdue for regression.

Malkin notched an assist and three shots on goal in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Islanders.

Malkin has found steady offense with a goal and four assists over his last five games. The 38-year-old center can still contribute, although not at as high a level as he's been known for in prior years. Overall, he has 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) with 69 shots on net, 25 blocked shots, 18 hits, 16 PIM and a minus-16 rating over 37 appearances. His drop in shooting volume from 2.4 per game last season to under two per game in 2024-25, combined with a drop in efficiency, explains a large part of his decline on offense.

Acciari scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Islanders.

Acciari got the Penguins on the comeback trail in the second period, but they weren't able to pull even. The 33-year-old has three points over his last seven outings. He remains in a fourth-line role, where he's accumulated eight points, 36 shots on net, 80 hits, 45 blocked shots and a minus-11 rating over 37 appearances this season.

Rakell scored a goal, dished a power-play assist, added three hits and went minus-2 in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Islanders.

This was Rakell's sixth multi-point effort over his last nine games, a span in which he has seven goals and eight assists. The 31-year-old forward is on one of the best runs of his career while playing on the resurgent Penguins' top line. He's up to 17 goals, 14 helpers, eight power-play points, 85 shots on net, 68 hits, 37 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating over 37 appearances. He had just 37 points in 70 outings in 2023-24, but he should easily surpass that mark in 2024-25.

Palmieri registered an assist in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Penguins.

Palmieri has two goals and four assists over his last eight contests. The 33-year-old winger set up an Anthony Duclair tally in the second period. Palmieri remains firmly in a middle-six role, and he's up to 26 points, 77 shots on net and a minus-5 rating through 36 outings overall. He doesn't tend to put up big numbers, but he's been steady on a low-scoring team this season.

Nelson notched an assist and two PIM in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Penguins.

Nelson has four assists over his last seven games, but he had no points over the six contests prior to that. He's still struggling to score, and that's not helped by the fact he's gone nine games and counting without putting multiple shots on net. The 33-year-old center is at 21 points, 92 shots on net and a minus-3 rating through 36 appearances. Those season-long numbers suggest he'll turn things around and get back to being a volume shooter, which should in turn help his offense.

Horvat recorded an assist, two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Penguins.

Horvat has racked up four goals and five assists over 10 outings in December. He helped out on a Casey Cizikas tally Saturday after the usual fourth-liner swapped places with Maxim Tsyplakov in the second period. Horvat has been strong this year with 26 points, 98 shots on net, 42 hits and a plus-10 rating over 35 appearances. The Islanders are still playing with line combinations now that the team is healthy at forward, but Horvat always figures to have a prominent role.

Barzal notched an assist, five shots on goal, two hits and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Penguins.

Barzal set up Jean-Gabriel Pageau's opening goal in the first period. The helper was Barzal's second point to go with 18 shots on net and a minus-2 rating over five games since he returned from an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old primarily worked as a winger last year and early in 2024-25, but he's been back at center since his return, which has yielded mixed results. Barzal has seven points, 41 shots on net, 15 hits and a minus-5 rating across 15 appearances this season -- a repeat of his 80-point effort in 2023-24 is highly unlikely given his six-week absence, and even a point-per-game pace isn't probable.