NHL Player News

Cozens scored a power-play goal and added two assists, one with the man advantage, in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Hurricanes.

The 24-year-old heads into the playoffs with a big head of steam, having delivered back-to-back multi-point performances to close out the regular season. Cozens saw his production take a leap after he was shipped to Ottawa from Buffalo at the trade deadline, racking up five goals and 16 points in 21 appearances for his new squad -- including three goals and eight points on the power play.

Brind'Amour scored his first career NHL goal in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Senators.

The 25-year-old banged home a rebound inside the final minute of the first period to produce his first career point. While Brind'Amour saw significant ice time over the final two games of the regular season as Carolina rested some key players, he's unlikely to have much of a role when the team begins its playoff run Sunday against the Devils.

Girgensons was held off the scoresheet for the 17th game in a row in Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Rangers.

Girgensons' offensive futility is nothing new this year -- he ends his first regular season with the Lightning with a career-low six points, less than half as many points as he had in his next-worst season. He added 83 shots on net, 174 hits, 50 blocked shots, 47 PIM and a minus-7 rating over 82 appearances. The Lightning aren't at full strength up front entering the playoffs, so Girgensons should be able to stick in a bottom-six role, and his physical play will be a benefit with the uptick in intensity of postseason play.

Sharangovich notched an assist in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kings.

Sharangovich put up eight points over the last 11 games of the season. The 26-year-old forward had some struggles this year, which limited him to 32 points, 128 shots on net, 31 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating over 73 appearances. Sharangovich will need to work on year-to-year consistency after his 59-point 2023-24 campaign. His five-year deal at a $5.75 million cap hit kicks in for 2025-26, so expectations for his play will be elevated accordingly.

Morton scored a goal and added four hits in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kings.

Morton made his NHL debut Thursday, and he scored at 6:05 of the third period to put the Flames ahead 2-0. That goal ultimately stood as the game-winner. This was a positive audition for Morton, who is a restricted free agent this summer. He's posted 45 points over 69 games with AHL Calgary. The undrafted forward could compete for a bottom-six job in training camp in the fall. He'll likely head back to the Wranglers for their playoff run to close out 2024-25.

Backlund scored a goal on three shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kings.

Backlund's pair of points came in the third period. He set up a Zayne Parekh tally at 8:24 of the frame, then scored just over three minutes later. Backlund perhaps headed off some age-related concerns with eight goals over the last seven games of the season. Still, he had just 15 goals, 32 points and 175 shots over 76 outings this year. The Swedish center will be in a contract year in 2025-26.

Kadri scored a pair of goals on four shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kings.

Kadri opened the scoring in the second period and added another tally in the third. While the Flames' pursuit of a playoff spot came up short, Kadri can't be blamed for that after posting five goals and four assists over nine outings in April. Overall, he had a career-high 35 goals with 32 assists, 279 shots on net, 55 hits, 30 blocked shots, 72 PIM and a minus-17 rating over 82 appearances this season. Barring a big swing in free agency, Kadri will be the Flames' No. 1 center entering 2025-26.

Strome logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.

Strome ends the regular season as a point-per-game player for the first time in his career. He achieved that milestone in what's become a familiar way -- he set up Alex Ovechkin's power-play tally in the second period. The 28-year-old Strome played in all 82 games for the second year in a row, earning 29 goals, 53 assists, 34 power-play points, 149 shots on net, 54 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating. He'll remain a key part of the Capitals' offense in the playoffs.

McMichael scored a goal in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.

McMichael opened the scoring at 4:08 of the first period, but the Capitals' lead didn't even last a minute before Bryan Rust tied the game. McMichael ended his 11-game goal drought, a span in which he had two assists, 21 shots on net and a minus-8 rating. For the season, he's produced 26 goals, 57 points, 177 shots on net and a plus-19 rating over 82 appearances, though his late fade on offense is a mild concern heading into the postseason.

Laughton scored a goal in a 4-3 overtime win over the Red Wings on Thursday.

Laughton scored 56 seconds into overtime off a rebound to deliver the win. He finished the regular season with a point in each of his last two games, which was a nice bump after struggling to begin his time in Toronto. Laughton had just two points -- one goal and one assist -- in his previous 19 games.