NHL Player News

Makar scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Blues.

Makar tallied 4:09 into the contest, and the Avalanche never looked back. The 27-year-old is showing no signs of rust after battling a lower-body injury for most of the preseason. Makar has three points, four shots, three blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over two contests. He should be among the highest-scoring blueliners when all is said and done this season.

Manson scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist, went plus-4 and added three hits in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Blues.

Manson is filling a third-pairing role alongside Brent Burns to begin the campaign. With three points, three shots, four hits, two blocked shots and a plus-4 rating, Manson has looked good in that role amid the Avalanche's early explosion of offense. The 34-year-old will provide more physicality than scoring in the long run, but he's in a good team situation that gives him some fantasy value in banger leagues and deeper standard formats.

Schaefer recorded two assists, including one on the power play, in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Devils.

Schaefer played a key role as the Islanders broke open a scoreless contest in the second period. His shot created the sequence that ended with Brayden Schenn's goal at 5:00, and the defenseman later set up Bo Horvat's power-play tally at 12:08 to make it 3-0. Schaefer is coming off a spectacular rookie campaign in which he recorded 23 goals and 59 points across 82 regular-season appearances en route to winning the Calder Trophy, and these assists were his first two points of the 2026-27 campaign.

Spurgeon scored a goal, blocked two shots, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

Spurgeon has gotten a chance at a larger role than initially expected due to the indefinite absence of Brock Faber (skull fracture). Spurgeon is currently on the top pairing at even strength and is also involved on the second power-play unit. The 36-year-old has held up his end of the bargain with two points, two shots on net, five blocks, four PIM and a plus-3 rating over two contests so far. Spurgeon has a fairly lengthy injury history as well, but he's in a position to be productive as long as he stays healthy.

Hughes scored a power-play goal on four shots and dished an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

Hughes' second-period tally gave the Wild a 2-1 lead and stood as the game-winner. He also helped out on Jared Spurgeon's goal in the third. Hughes has collected three points, nine shots and a plus-2 rating over the first two games of the campaign. He's in the upper echelon of offensive defensemen in the league, though Hughes' offense will far outpace his physical play -- he had 76 points, seven hits and 87 blocked shots over 74 regular-season outings in 2025-26.

Chabot scored a goal and added an assist in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs.

It was a statement game for the new Senators captain. Chabot put the Sens up 1-0 late in the first period on rebound. And he stepped up when Jake Sanderson (lower body) left the game early and didn't return. Chabot himself has a long history of injury, and he's played a full season just once (80 games in 2024-25) in 10 seasons as a regular. Still, he's capable of a 40-point campaign with some power-play production, and that's valuable in a lot of formats.

D'Astous scored a goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over Washington.

D'Astous delivered a surprisingly strong debut season in 2025-26 with 29 points (six goals, 23 assists), 112 PIM, 96 hits and 74 blocks in 70 games last season. He has been a point producer at every level and in every league he's played in, both in North America and Europe, and he's found a way to translate his game into the NHL. D'Astous is behind Victor Hedman and John Carlson on the blue line and power play, but that changes with a single injury.

Lilleberg sustained an undisclosed injury in Saturday's game versus the Capitals, and there was no update on his status from head coach Jon Cooper after the contest, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Lilleberg was hurt early in the third period. The 25-year-old defenseman picked up a helper prior to his exit. The Lightning dressed seven blueliners Saturday, so they'll have some options for their roster if Lilleberg is unavailable Monday versus the Flyers. Defenseman Max Crozier could come in if the team sticks with seven defensemen, or one of Jansen Harkins or Scott Sabourin could get the call instead.

Sanderson departed Saturday's game versus the Maple Leafs due to a lower-body injury, Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reports.

Sanderson is set for further evaluation Sunday, and the team will know more in the next few days. The defenseman was never seemingly fully healthy after dealing with the injury throughout the preseason, but this is the first time the Senators have put a label on the issue. His status for Monday's game in Boston remains up in the air.

Trouba (illness) is expected to play Saturday versus the Kings, Max Miller of NHL.com reports.

Trouba was tracking towards playing, but there was some doubt after he missed Friday's practice and Saturday's morning skate. The 32-year-old is slated to fill his usual second-pairing role.