NHL Player News

Vaakanainen registered an assist and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins.

Vaakanainen may have a clearer path to playing time in the near future after the Rangers dealt Carson Soucy to the Islanders on Monday. Vaakanainen got into the lineup on the third pairing Monday, playing for just the seventh time in 26 games since the start of December. The Finn has four assists, 15 shots on net, 18 blocked shots and 12 PIM over 23 appearances. Barring a call-up of a young blueliner, Vaakanainen will probably play regularly until Adam Fox (lower body) returns.

Borgen scored a goal on three shots in Monday's 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins.

Borgen ended his 23-game point drought with a long-range equalizer at 13:43 of the third period. The 29-year-old has remained in a bottom-four role throughout the slump, but he's best known for his shutdown work. He's at three goals, two assists, 47 shots, 66 hits, 62 blocked shots and 26 PIM through 46 appearances this season.

DeAngelo scored a power-play goal on seven shots, blocked three shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 4-0 win over the Flyers.

DeAngelo stretched the Islanders' lead to 3-0 in the second period. The defenseman has put together a strong January with three goals and nine points over 12 outings, by far his best month of the campaign. He's at four goals, 22 points (four on the power play), 101 shots on net, 45 blocked shots, 33 PIM and a minus-2 rating over 52 appearances this season.

Lyubushkin (lower body) didn't join the Stars for their three-game road trip, Robert Tiffin of D Magazine reports Tuesday.

Lyubushkin was originally deemed doubtful for Tuesday's matchup with the Blues, but now it seems he will miss the next three games entirely. Given the length of his expected absence, the blueliner will be a strong candidate to end up on injured reserve in order to free up a roster spot for Dallas.

Ekholm scored three goals in Monday's 7-4 win over the Ducks.

Ekholm is not known for his scoring ability, as he hadn't scored a goal in 22 games between his previous tally and this hat trick. He scored twice in the second period and later closed out the scoring with an empty-netter in the final frame. Ekholm has six goals on the season, but he's not likely to become a regular fantasy contributor overnight. There's a big chance this performance was just an outlier.

Lundmark was reassigned to AHL Syracuse on Tuesday.

Lundmark's demotion likely indicates that at least one of Tampa Bay's four injured blueliners will be ready for Thursday's home matchup versus Winnipeg. Lundmark made his NHL debut during Saturday's 8-5 loss in Columbus, posting two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-1 rating while managing 16:45 of ice time.

Toews (upper body) is day-to-day but will not suit up for Wednesday's contest in Ottawa, according to Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette.

Rawal noted that Toews has yet to take contact in practice, so it seems unlikely the left-shot blueliner will be available for the second half of Colorado's back-to-back in Montreal on Thursday, though that has yet to be made official. The Avalanche currently have only five healthy defensemen on their roster, so a player will be brought up from the minors prior to Wednesday's game.

Raddysh scored a power-play goal in Monday's 2-0 win over Utah.

Raddysh broke the deadlock with a slap shot at the 17:38 mark of the second period. He's having an outstanding season in 2025-26 and is already up to 14 goals, with eight of those coming with the man advantage. Raddysh has established a new career-best mark in points with 44 (14 goals, 30 helpers) across 45 contests this season, so he should be rostered across all formats going forward.

Malinski signed a four-year, $19 million contract extension with Colorado on Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Malinski has three goals, 24 points, 98 shots on net and 56 blocked shots across 50 appearances this season. He has played up and down the lineup in 2025-26, but he has been skating on the top pairing with Cale Makar due to the absence of Devon Toews (upper body).

St. Ivany underwent successful surgery on his left hand, and his expected recovery time is up to eight weeks, the Penguins announced Tuesday.

St. Ivany sustained his hand injury Sunday in Vancouver. Considering the amount of time he will miss, the 26-year-old will likely be placed on injured reserve at some point in the near future. Connor Clifton and Ilya Solovyov will compete for playing time on the third pairing while St. Ivany is sidelined.