NHL Player News

Pachal posted an assist, four hits and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Devils.

Pachal has played in five straight contests. He has received an uptick in usage after the Flames dealt MacKenzie Weegar to the Mammoth, though Pachal's role is far from safe with younger options in Zayne Parekh and Hunter Brzustewicz competing for minutes. Through 32 outings this season, Pachal has four assists, 24 shots on net, 79 hits, 27 blocked shots, 43 PIM and a plus-2 rating, primarily from a third-pairing role.

Benning logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 2-1 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.

Benning helped out on Sam Reinhart's game-winning tally in overtime. This was Benning's NHL debut, and he was able to be a contributor right away. He should continue to get a look in a power-play spot while the Panthers await the returns of Uvis Balinskis (undisclosed) and Seth Jones (upper body).

Samuelsson is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is questionable to face Toronto on Saturday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Samuelsson missed two games earlier in the year but has been a mainstay in the lineup ever since. In his 64 outings, the 25-year-old blueliner has set new personal bests in goals (12) and assists (24) while averaging a career-high 23:07 of ice time. If Samuelsson does miss out, Zach Metsa could step into the lineup in his stead.

Per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times, Cernak (undisclosed) is slated to return to the lineup Saturday against Carolina, according to Tampa Bay assistant coach Rob Zettler.

Cernak has missed the last two games. The 28-year-old blueliner has one goal and seven points across 43 games this season. Declan Carlile (undisclosed) should be the odd-man out Saturday against Carolina.

Jensen missed practice Friday with a lower-body injury, Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reports.

Jensen's injury is not to his hip, which caused him to undergo offseason surgery. He has four goals, 13 assists and 65 blocked shots over 61 games this season. If Jensen is unable to play Saturday versus Anaheim, look for Dennis Gilbert to enter the lineup on the third pairing, alongside Nikolas Matinpalo.

Cernak (undisclosed) practiced Friday and will be a game-time decision for Saturday's clash versus Carolina, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Cernak has missed the last two games with the injury. He has one goal, six assists, 81 hits, 77 blocked shots and 52 PIM across 43 games this season. Look for Declan Carlile (undisclosed) to be scratched if Cernak is able to play.

Chychrun scored the game-winning goal in Thursday's 2-1 victory over Buffalo.

With 93 seconds left in regulation, Chychrun ripped a one-timer past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the faceoff dot on a feed from Aliaksei Protas. The game-winner was Chychrun's seventh of the season, a new career high. The 27-year-old is the unquestioned No. 1 blueliner for the Capitals now that John Carlson's (lower body) in Anaheim, and over his last nine games Chychrun has collected four goals and eight points.

Santini was reassigned to AHL Syracuse on Friday.

Santini was a healthy scratch Thursday after seeing 9:21 of action Tuesday versus Columbus. The defenseman has one assist across 10 NHL appearances this season. Santini had six assists in 32 AHL games before his recall.

Bouchard scored a goal and fired six shots on net in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Dallas.

Bouchard put the Oilers on the board at 7:53 of the second period to cut the deficit to four goals. His tally brought him up to 19 goals, 76 points, 184 shots on net and 87 blocked shots across 66 games this season. While the Oilers have had an up-and-down start to their post-Olympic break action, the 26-year-old blueliner has excelled offensively with 16 points during his nine-game point streak. He leads all NHL defensemen in points by eight, and despite playing on a stacked offense, he has carried his weight in the offensive third. He's on pace to shatter his career-best mark of 82 points from the 2023-24 campaign, and if he continues to score steadily, Bouchard should be a candidate for this season's Norris Trophy.

Heiskanen supplied three assists, including one on a power-play, in Thursday's 7-2 win over Edmonton.

Heiskanen secured his three-point outing Thursday inside the first 27 minutes of the game across three of Dallas' first five goals. With the trio of apples, he is up to 47 assists, 56 points, 128 shots on net and 111 blocked shots across 63 games this season. The 26-year-old blueliner has bounced back on both ends of the ice this year, with his offensive output of 56 points currently standing as the second-best total of his career. With 20 points in his last 16 games, Heiskanen should continue to elevate the Stars' offense and defense, giving him strong fantasy value in all formats moving forward.