NHL Player News

MacKinnon scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Senators.

MacKinnon ended his five-game goal drought when he scored at 10:29 of the first period. It was the first of four goals in a span of seven minutes that put the Avalanche firmly in charge of the action Thursday. The 29-year-old has five goals and nine helpers over nine outings in March to maintain his league lead in points. Overall, MacKinnon is at 28 goals, 77 assists, 283 shots on net and a plus-27 rating through 70 appearances. He's done all of that with a 9.9 shooting percentage, his second-lowest mark in eight years since he became an annual point-per-game performer.

Bemstrom (undisclosed) will not be an option to face the Blue Jackets on Friday, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports.

Bemstrom will miss his second straight outing due to his lingering undisclosed injury. Without Bemstrom or Thomas Novak (lower body) in the lineup, the Penguins will continue to roll out Blake Lizotte and Joona Koppanen on the third line while Connor Dewar slots into a top-six role.

Novak (lower body) will not be in the lineup versus Columbus on Friday, Dan Potash of Sportsnet Pittsburgh reports.

Novak has started skating but wasn't on the ice for Friday's game-day skate as part of his recovery process. At this point, the forward should probably be considered day-to-day heading into the final weeks of the season. In Novak's stead, Blake Lizotte figures to fill a third-line center role while Joona Koppanen remains in the lineup.

Hischier produced a goal and an assist in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Flames.

His efforts helped build a 3-1 Devils' lead through two periods, but things fell apart for the home squad in the third. Hischier extended his point streak to five games with the performance, and in eight contests since Jack Hughes (shoulder) was lost for the season, he's collected four goals and eight points as New Jersey's No. 1 center. Hischier needs to light the lamp one more time to record his second career 30-goal campaign.

Huberdeau scored the game-winning goal and added a power-play assist in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Devils.

The veteran winger helped set up Matthew Coronato for Calgary's first goal midway through the second frame, then Huberdeau completed a third-period comeback from a 3-1 deficit by taking advantage of a poor clearing attempt from Devils' defenseman Johnny Kovacevic. Huberdeau has been locked in of late, and over the last nine games he's racked up four goals and nine points, including two tallies and three assists with the man advantage. With 26 goals in 68 appearances, he has a shot at recording his first 30-goal campaign since 2021-22.

Colton notched two assists, one on the power play, in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Senators.

It's the fourth multi-point performance for Colton in the last 10 games, although he has only one helper in the other six contests combined over that stretch. The middle-six winger's spot on the Avs' second power-play unit helps boost his fantasy value in deeper formats, where he also contributes with his physical play -- Colton has 15 goals, 27 points, 112 shots on net and 135 hits through 53 appearances this season.

Nelson scored two goals, one on the power play and the other the game-winner, in Thursday's 5-1 victory over the Senators.

The goals were his first in seven appearances since being acquired by the Avalanche at the trade deadline. The power-play tally was only Nelson's second of the season -- his other came back on Nov. 23 -- but the former Islander is up to seven game-winning goals on the campaign, one short of the career-high eight he produced in 2022-23. The veteran center is three goals shy of 25, and three points away from recording 50 -- marks he's reached in each of the prior five full seasons.

Steel logged an assist and two shots on goal in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Lightning.

Steel helped out on an Oskar Back tally in the second period. The assist ended Steel's eight-game point drought, though it's encouraging he wasn't scratched during the slump, especially with the depth of the Stars' offense. The 27-year-old center is at 21 points, 80 shots on net, 51 hits and a minus-4 rating over 66 appearances. While Steel will likely play regularly, his fourth-line role is not particularly helpful for fantasy.

Blackwell logged an assist and two PIM in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Lightning.

Blackwell ended a five-game point drought, though that span also saw him scratched seven times. The 31-year-old is still competing for playing time -- he was in the lineup over Evgenii Dadonov in this contest, likely due to Blackwell's strengths as a defensive forward. For the season, he's at 14 points, 58 shots on net, 75 hits and a plus-1 rating across 54 appearances.

Couturier scored a goal on five shots in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Capitals.

Couturier's tally brought the Flyers within a goal at 17:24 of the third period, but they couldn't net an equalizer. This was his first goal since March 4, and he was limited to two helpers over seven outings between tallies. The 32-year-old center has not been immune from the Flyers' scoring struggles lately, making him a risky fantasy option at best. He's produced 11 goals, 33 points, 121 shots on net, 43 hits, 39 blocked shots, 37 PIM and an even plus-minus rating over 67 appearances in 2024-25.