NHL Player News
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Jack Drury C | COL
Avalanche's Jack Drury: Puts away goal in win
Drury scored a goal on two shots in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Predators.
Drury had just one assist over 10 games since his last goal, which also came against Nashville on Nov. 22. The 25-year-old has shuffled down the lineup a bit now that the Avalanche are missing just Logan O'Connor (hip). Drury is centering the fourth line, though his faceoff and penalty-killing skills have earned him a little more ice time. He's up to five goals, 11 points, 40 shots on net, 26 blocked shots and a plus-8 rating through 32 outings this season.
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Nathan MacKinnon C | COL
Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon: Picks up two points in win
MacKinnon scored a goal on three shots, dished an assist, added two hits and went plus-3 in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Predators.
By his standards this year, this was a fairly pedestrian performance for MacKinnon. He opened the scoring at 1:26 of the first period and set up Valeri Nichushkin's empty-netter in the third. MacKinnon has four goals and five assists over his last five games, a span that includes four multi-point efforts. His three shots Saturday were his fewest in a game since he had one Nov. 22 versus the Predators. The superstar center has 26 goals, 55 points, 150 shots, 24 hits and a plus-40 rating through 32 appearances.
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Alex Barre-Boulet C | COL
Avalanche's Alex Barre-Boulet: Rattles off three points
Barre-Boulet scored twice and added an assist in AHL Colorado's 6-1 win over Ontario on Saturday.
Barre-Boulet continues to be steady for the Eagles with eight goals and 12 helpers over 24 appearances this season. He's a strong AHL scorer who has struggled to translate that to NHL success, and the Avalanche are healthy enough at forward to not have a need to call him up. The 28-year-old also didn't receive a promotion while the team was dealing with injuries, so he may struggle to get back to the NHL any time soon.
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Calum Ritchie C | NYI
Islanders' Calum Ritchie: Starting to flash draft pedigree
Ritchie scored a goal Saturday in a 3-2 shootout win over the Lightning.
Ritchie put the Isles up 2-0 in the first period off the rush. Anthony Duclair dropped the puck to Ritchie inside the left circle, and his wrist shot got past Jonas Johansson's blocker. Ritchie has two goals on seven shots and two assists in his last seven games. Overall, the first-round pick from 2023 has four goals, three assists and 28 shots through 23 appearances this season.
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Sam Reinhart C | FLA
Panthers' Sam Reinhart: Pockets pair of assists
Reinhart logged two assists, three shots on goal and two hits in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Reinhart has two goals and five assists through seven contests in December. He hasn't had to lead the way on offense as the Panthers have been getting contributions from many of their key forwards. He's now at 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) with 78 shots on net, 29 hits, 22 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating over 31 appearances.
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Sam Bennett C | FLA
Panthers' Sam Bennett: Reaches 10-goal mark
Bennett scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Bennett has been dynamic in December with four goals and five assists over seven contests. The 29-year-old gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead with his second-period tally. He's up to 10 goals, 21 points, 70 shots on net, 61 hits, 24 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 31 outings. Bennett is on pace to reach the 20-goal mark for the fourth time in five full years with the Panthers.
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Anton Lundell C | FLA
Panthers' Anton Lundell: Goal, assist in win
Lundell scored a goal on three shots, dished an assist, added two hits and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Stars.
Lundell earned his first multi-point effort since Nov. 22 versus the Oilers. The 24-year-old center's opening goal 19 seconds into the second period was the game-winner, and he set up Brad Marchand for the empty-netter. Lundell now has nine goals, 25 points, 70 shots on net, 35 hits, 24 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating through 31 appearances. Lundell has a decent chance of topping the 20-goal and 50-point marks for the first time in his career.
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Emmitt Finnie C | DET
Red Wings' Emmitt Finnie: Tallies in Saturday's win
Finnie scored a goal, blocked two shots and added two PIM in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Finnie snapped a three-game slump with his second-period tally. The 20-year-old has been back on the top line in recent weeks, which has helped to steady his offense after he slumped with a move to the bottom six. For the season, he's produced seven goals, 15 points, 59 shots on net, 59 hits, 23 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating in 33 appearances.
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Hayden Paupanekis C | MON
Canadiens' Hayden Paupanekis: Erupts for five points in WHL win
Paupanekis scored twice and added three assists in WHL Kelowna's 8-5 win over Regina on Saturday.
Paupanekis hasn't done a whole lot this year, but he's starting to heat up. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) over his last six games, but this was his first multi-point effort since Oct. 25. The Canadiens prospect is at a total of nine goals and 19 points through 22 appearances after this big performance.
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Sidney Crosby C | PIT
Penguins' Sidney Crosby: Two-point effort against San Jose
Crosby delivered a goal and an assist, both on the power play, in Saturday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Sharks.
The future Hall of Famer got the Penguins on the board midway through the first period before helping to set up Bryan Rust for a tally just before the second intermission. Crosby has points in four straight games and seven of the last eight. He's produced 19 goals and 34 points in 30 contests this season -- putting him two points away from tying the legendary Mario Lemieux for first place on the Penguins' all-time scoring list.