NHL Player News

Ekblad's hand injury, sustained Tuesday versus the Senators, "doesn't look good," according to head coach Paul Maurice, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.

Ekblad blocked a shot off his hand in the third period Tuesday, and it looks like he'll be the next Panther to potentially have his season end early. The defenseman still needs to be evaluated further, but the Panthers have no motivation to push him to return at this stage. The team will need to make a call-up on the blue line if additional tests reveal the expected bad news.

Yakemchuk (upper body) was injured in Tuesday's game versus the Panthers, and there was no update on his status after the contest, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Noah Gregor delivered an illegal hit on Yakemchuk in the third period, for which the Florida forward received a match penalty. Yakemchuk's injury is terrible for the young blueliner and the Senators as a whole, who are already missing four other defensemen. An update on Yakemchuk's status could be available prior to Thursday's game versus the Sabres.

Lauzon produced an assist, two hits and two PIM in Monday's 4-2 win over the Canucks.

Lauzon was limited to two assists, 50 hits, 34 PIM and 18 blocked shots over 16 outings in March. He's still a regular in the lineup in a third-pairing role, but offense isn't a big part of his game. For the season, Lauzon is at 11 helpers, 62 shots on net, 89 PIM, 225 hits and 93 blocked shots over 61 contests.

Andersson scored a goal on three shots in Monday's 4-2 win over the Canucks.

Andersson tied the game at 1-1 with his second-period tally. The 29-year-old defenseman is warming up at the right time for fantasy managers who rode out his post-Olympics slump. He has three goals and an assist over his last four games, with a tally on the power play and a shorthanded goal in that span. For the season, the veteran blueliner is at 15 goals, 41 points, 161 shots on net, 136 blocked shots, 69 PIM and a minus-1 rating over 74 outings between Vegas and Calgary.

Lindstein scored a goal on two shots in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Sharks.

Lindstein hadn't gotten on the scoresheet since he had an assist in his debut March 10 versus the Islanders. The 21-year-old defenseman opened the scoring Monday at 5:28 of the first period. Lindstein has added 11 shots on net, six hits, seven blocked shots, six PIM and a plus-4 rating over 10 appearances. His offense is still a work in progress and likely won't ever be a leading skill, but he should be reliable in his own zone throughout his career.

Fowler scored a power-play goal and blocked three shots in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Sharks.

Fowler concludes March on a decent note. The 34-year-old defenseman had two goals, seven assists and a plus-11 rating over 14 outings for the month, accounting for a third of his offense this season. He's up to three goals, 24 helpers, nine power-play points, 86 shots on net, 67 blocked shots and a minus-11 rating through 73 appearances.

Leddy produced an assist and three blocked shots in Monday's 5-4 win over the Blues on Monday.

Leddy was able to get on the scoresheet against his former team. The helper snapped a five-game skid for the defenseman, who is filling in on the third pairing in the absence of John Klingberg (lower body). Leddy is now at five assists, 11 shots on net, 36 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating over 25 appearances this season.

Zellweger registered an assist in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs.

Zellweger has earned two points over his last four outings, though he was a healthy scratch once in that span as well. The 22-year-old defenseman has mostly been able to retain a third-pairing spot in the lineup recently, but that's come without power-play usage. With the helper Monday, Zellweger has a career-high 21 points over 72 games, and he's added 117 shots on net, 79 blocked shots, 34 PIM and 31 hits this season.

Malinski scored a goal on four shots, added an assist, blocked four shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 9-2 win over the Flames.

Malinski has five points, a plus-5 rating and seven blocks over his last four contests. The 27-year-old defenseman rarely steals the spotlight, but he's been excellent this year with 34 points, 140 shots on net, 82 blocks and a plus-41 rating through 73 appearances, more than double his 15-point output from the 2024-25 regular season. If Cale Makar (upper body) misses time, Malinski could carve out a larger power-play role in the short term.

Wotherspoon notched two assists, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Monday's 8-3 win over the Islanders.

Wotherspoon has nine helpers over his last nine contests. The 28-year-old has made the most of his recent top-four usage, though his fantasy value is still limited to deeper formats. He's at 29 points, 64 shots on net, 152 hits, 107 blocked shots, 48 PIM and a plus-16 rating over 74 games this season.