NHL Player News
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Jake Walman D | EDM
Oilers' Jake Walman: Nets shorthanded goal
Walman scored a shorthanded goal on three shots in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Penguins.
Walman is heating up on offense with a point in four straight games (one goal, three assists). His tally Thursday was a shortie to get the Oilers on the board in the second period. The 29-year-old defenseman is up to four goals (two shorthanded), 10 assists, 39 shots on net, 41 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating over 23 appearances. He has some scoring upside for a blueliner, but his bottom-four role could lead to inconsistency.
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Jack St. Ivany D | PIT
Penguins' Jack St. Ivany: Two more assists in win
St. Ivany notched two assists, two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Oilers.
St. Ivany has logged back-to-back two-assist games. He helped out on tallies by Sidney Crosby and Yegor Chinakhov in this contest. St. Ivany is making a strong case to stay in the lineup once the Penguins' blue line is back to full strength -- the team is still missing Kris Letang (upper body) and Ryan Graves (lower body), though Erik Karlsson (lower body) returned Thursday. Over 16 contests, St. Ivany has seven helpers, 16 shots on net, 40 hits, 22 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating.
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Jeff Petry D | MIN
Panthers' Jeff Petry: Steady time but little offense
Petry's point drought reached 11 games in Thursday's 2-1 shootout win over the Jets.
The Panthers have scored two or fewer goals in eight of those 11 contests during Petry's skid, so it's not like there's been a lot of offense to go around lately. Petry is filling in on the third pairing consistently while Seth Jones (upper body) and Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) are out. Petry has just eight helpers with 38 shots on net, 41 hits, 51 blocked shots, 18 PIM and a minus-10 rating over 47 appearances this season, matching his output from 44 contests with the Red Wings last year.
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Zach Werenski D | CLB
Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski: Elite defender in elite territory
Werenski scored the Blue Jackets' only goal in a 1-0 win over the Stars on Thursday.
It was his 19th marker of the season, and it moved him into sole possession of first place in goals among NHL defenders. Werenski is four goals away from equaling his career high of 23, which he set last season, and he's on a 90-point pace. That would also establish a new career-best mark. He delivered 82 points last season. Cale Makar was the only defender to top 90 points last season, and just two -- Quinn Hughes and Makar -- hit 90 the year before. Werenski is an elite defender in elite territory.
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Jacob Bryson D | WPG
Sabres' Jacob Bryson: Set for absence
Head coach Lindy Ruff said after Thursday's 4-2 win over Montreal that Bryson (upper body) is going to miss some time, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports.
Bryson suffered his upper-body injury during the second period of Thursday's game and was ruled out prior to the start of the third. Zach Metsa will likely play regularly for the duration of Bryson's absence, though the Sabres will probably elevate a defenseman from AHL Rochester in the near future now that they have only six healthy blueliners.
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Simon Edvinsson D | DET
Red Wings' Simon Edvinsson: Unavailable Thursday
Edvinsson is a late scratch Thursday versus Minnesota because of a lower-body injury.
Edvinsson has six goals, 17 points, 54 PIM, 63 hits and 104 blocks in 48 outings in 2025-26. Travis Hamonic will play Thursday as a result of Edvinsson's absence.
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Jacob Bryson D | WPG
Sabres' Jacob Bryson: Sustains upper-body injury
Bryson has been ruled out for the remainder of Thursday's game in Montreal due to an upper-body injury, per Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.
Bryson logged two blocked shots and a plus-1 rating in 6:17 of ice time prior to exiting. If the 28-year-old defenseman is unable to suit up Saturday on Long Island, Zach Metsa will likely draw back into the lineup.
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Kris Letang D | PIT
Penguins' Kris Letang: Not available against Oilers
Letang (upper body) won't be an option for Thursday's matchup in Edmonton and is still considered day-to-day, per Josh Yohe of The Athletic.
While Letang won't be available Thursday, the Penguins will get Erik Karlsson (lower body) back in the lineup in Edmonton. Letang's next chance to suit up will be in Vancouver on Sunday, when Pittsburgh concludes its road trip. Letang has generated three goals, 25 points, 77 shots, 65 hits, 60 blocks and a plus-5 rating across 48 appearances in 2025-26.
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Erik Karlsson D | PIT
Penguins' Erik Karlsson: Removed from IR
Karlsson (lower body) was activated off injured reserve ahead of Thursday's game in Edmonton.
Ryan Graves (lower body) was placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move. It was reported Jan. 13 that the 35-year-old Karlsson would be out of action for at least two weeks, but the veteran blueliner seemingly made strides in his recovery and is poised to return to the lineup Thursday in Edmonton. If Kris Letang (upper body) isn't able to suit up, Karlsson may have a big workload in store if he's 100 percent healthy.