NHL Player News

Zibanejad entered the holiday break on a six-game point drought.

That's Zibanejad longest scoring slump of 2024-25, though he did have a drought that matched it last season from Feb. 24-March 9. The cold stretch coming earlier this year has made it stand out more -- Zibanejad has six goals and 21 points through 34 outings overall. That's not a terrible level of production, but it's well below what we've come to expect from him after the 31-year-old recorded over 70 points in five of six campaigns from 2018-19 through 2023-24 (the lone exception was the shortened 2020-21 season). Zibanejad also has an unusually low minus-19 rating this year, which has continued its descent with his minus-5 across his active six-game drought. The only Rangers player who even comes close to his struggles in that category is Alexis Lafreniere at minus-15.

Kupari was scratched for the last two games prior to the holiday break.

Kupari has held down the fourth-line center spot for most of the campaign, but David Gustafsson appears to be getting a chance to stake his claim to that spot. Gustafsson recently returned from a concussion. Kupari hasn't done much this year, racking up three points, 31 shots on net, 32 hits and a minus-3 rating over 32 appearances, so it's no surprise that his grip on an every-game role has started to slip.

Bjugstad's point drought reached nine games in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Stars.

Bjugstad's role is pretty steady for Utah -- he fills a bottom-six role and provides a bit of physicality. The 32-year-old center has mostly filled a spot on the third line this season. When he's scoring, he can work his way onto some fantasy rosters, but he doesn't need to be picked up when he's cold. Overall, Bjugstad has eight points, 42 shots on net, 38 hits, 16 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 26 appearances.

Kurashev was scratched for the four games prior to the holiday break.

Prior to his trip to the press box, Kurashev had gone nine contests without a point while also losing his power-play role. The 25-year-old winger has been bounced all over the lineup, but it doesn't look like he's meshing with interim head coach Anders Sorensen. Overall, Kurashev has just five points and 31 shots on net through 28 outings, as well as a putrid minus-27 rating.

Brodzinski has been in the lineup for just three of the Rangers' 11 games in December.

While Brodzinski has been a frequent scratch, he could see more time in a bottom-six role while Matt Rempe serves an eight-game suspension. The 31-year-old Brodzinski has just four points over 16 appearances in 2024-25 after putting up 19 points over 57 regular-season contests in 2023-24. Even if he plays more frequently, Brodzinski is unlikely to be a factor in most fantasy formats.

Cizikas has not recorded a point in 23 straight games after being held scoreless in Monday's 7-1 loss to the Sabres.

Cizikas' value typically doesn't come from offense, but this is a long drought for any player. In that span, the bottom-six forward has 51 hits and a minus-8 rating. Cizikas has been a key part of the Islanders' fourth line for years, but with just two points to go with 77 hits, 28 shots on net and a minus-12 rating over 35 appearances, he's tracking toward one of the worst seasons of his career.

Nelson has been quiet offensively, registering just three assists across his past 12 games dating back to Nov. 29.

Nelson has 10 goals and 20 points through 35 appearances in 2024-25, which would translate to roughly 47 points by the end of the regular season if he maintained that pace. That's well below his 2023-24 finish of 34 markers and 69 points in 82 regular-season outings, and it'd also be just the second time Nelson has failed to hit the 50-point mark across the past seven years (the only other time he missed in that stretch was the shortened 2020-21 campaign). Nelson has also managed only six shots over his past eight games -- well below his average of 2.7 shots per game dating back to the start of 2021-22 -- which highlights just how quiet he's been recently.

Necas entered the holiday break on a four-game scoring drought.

While that's not a long time to go without a point, it is Necas' longest cold stretch of the 2024-25 campaign. Before his current stretch, he hadn't been held off the scoresheet for more than two consecutive games this campaign. His current drought hasn't done much to dampen what's been an amazing season -- Necas has 14 goals and 44 points through 34 appearances. His next chance to end the slump will come Friday in New Jersey.

Vrana scored a power-play goal on two shots in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Bruins.

Vrana scored for the third game in a row, and his last two tallies have come on the power play. While that was the Capitals' lone goal of Monday's contest, Vrana is doing his part to stay in the lineup after a long stretch of being scratched. The winger has seven goals, four assists, 24 shots on net and a plus-5 rating over 21 appearances, five points better than what he produced in the same number of games with the Blues in 2023-24.

Lindholm scored a goal on two shots, added four PIM and went plus-3 in Monday's 4-1 win over the Capitals.

Lindholm's offense has turned a corner -- he has three goals and two assists over his last five contests. The center's tally in the third period Monday stood as the game-winner. He's up to six goals, 18 points, 55 shots on net, 61 hits, 33 blocked shots, eight PIM and an even plus-minus rating over 36 outings. Lindholm will try to regain his momentum in a home-and-home set against the Blue Jackets after the holiday break.