NHL Player News

Moverare was scratched for the 13th straight game in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Lightning.

Moverare failed to log a point in seven games between Nov. 17 and Dec. 2 during Drew Doughty's absence with a lower-body injury. Since Doughty returned, Moverare has been stuck in the press box, and it'll likely take another injury on the blue line for the 27-year-old to draw back in. He has no points, four shots on net, five blocked shots, three hits and a minus-2 rating over eight outings this season.

Josi scored a power-play goal on three shots, blocked two shots and went minus-3 in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Kraken.

Josi scored for the third time in the last five games, and two of those tallies have come on the power play. The 35-year-old defenseman is up to five goals, 18 points, 73 shots on net, 44 blocked shots and a minus-10 rating through 28 appearances. Getting Josi healthy and productive has been a big part of the Predators' success over the last month, and he remains a strong option for fantasy blue lines.

Oleksiak scored a goal, blocked four shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Predators.

Oleksiak briefly left the game in the third period after taking a shot to the knee, but he was able to gut it out and return. He logged 18:27 of ice time in the contest. Oleksiak has two points over his last four outings, but he's at just seven points with 39 shots on net, 59 blocks, 49 hits and a plus-6 rating through 36 appearances. He is likely to stay in the lineup regularly, at least until Brandon Montour (hand) can return, which is expected to be another 2-3 weeks away at best.

Levshunov scored a power-play goal on two shots and added two hits in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Stars.

Levshunov has been pretty good since he got scratched Dec. 16 versus Toronto for being late to practice. Over seven games since then, he's racked up a goal and four helpers, with two of those five points coming on the power play. The defenseman is up to two goals, 19 points, 47 shots on net, 24 PIM, 38 hits, 39 blocked shots and a minus-13 rating across 38 appearances this season. Levshunov is firmly in a top-four role and quarterbacks the top power-play unit, and he's been steady even while Connor Bedard (upper body) and Frank Nazar (upper body) have been unavailable.

DeMelo scored a goal Thursday in a 6-5 loss to Toronto.

DeMelo ended a 29-game goal and an eight-game point drought. His slapper may not have beaten Joseph Woll, but the puck was inadvertently deflected by Auston Matthews. It still counts. DeMelo has two goals, 12 assists, 30 shots, 60 hits and 58 blocks in 39 games. His shot total is woefully low, so if he picks up the shot pace even slightly, DeMelo could come close to equaling his career mark of 31 points, including 28 assists, in 82 regular-season games in 2023-24, while delivering triple digits in both hits and blocks.

Stecher scored a goal in a 6-5 win over the Jets on Thursday.

His goal was clutch -- it tied the game 5-5 in the third period. It was Stecher's second goal of the season and his first point since Dec. 16, a span of eight games. He's not a fantasy guy -- he has just seven points, 21 blocks, 19 shots and 12 hits in 21 games. Stecher's limited ice time will drop when Brandon Carlo (foot) returns to action. Carlo resumed skating last Saturday.

Schaefer scored a power-play goal on three shots and added two PIM in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Mammoth.

While it was a lousy performance for the Islanders as a whole, Schaefer secured his 10th goal of the season. That puts him in a tie for fourth in goals among all blueliners this season, and he's tied for third in goals among all rookies. He had a decent December with six points in 14 outings, but it was his quietest month of the season so far. He's at 10 goals, 26 points (13 on the power play), 111 shots on net, 57 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating through 41 appearances. A 20-goal for a rookie defenseman would be incredibly special -- it's only happened three times in NHL history. Brian Leetch did it with 23 goals in 1988-89, while Barry Beck (22 goals in 1977-78) and Dion Phaneuf (20 goals in 2005-06) are the other two members of that elite club. Denis Potvin (17 goals in 1973-74) holds the Islanders record for goals by a rookie blueliner.

Ekman-Larsson had a goal and an assist in Thursday's 6-5 win over Winnipeg.

It's a bit of a surprise, but Ekman-Larsson sits just one point behind Morgan Rielly, who has 26, as the Leafs' top scorer from the blue line. And that's with Rielly's plum role on the team's top power-play unit. OEL has seven goals, 18 assists, 60 shots, 55 hits, 33 blocks and a minus-1 rating in 40 games this season. If he continues this pace, Ekman-Larsson could deliver his second 50-plus point campaign of his 13-season career. He delivered 55 points, including 21 goals, in 2015-16 while with Arizona.

Jensen scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Capitals.

Jensen was a healthy scratch Monday versus the Blue Jackets. Prior to that, he had logged a mere four assists over 20 contests since his Nov. 11 goal versus the Stars. The defenseman has been limited to a bottom-four role this season, which makes it hard for him to be a regular on the scoresheet. He's at nine points, 24 shots on net, 38 blocked shots, 26 hits, 22 PIM and a minus-8 rating over 38 appearances. Jensen is at risk of missing the 20-point mark for the second time in three years.

Sergachev scored a power-play goal and added two assists, one with the man advantage, in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Islanders.

The 27-year-old blueliner helped set up Dylan Guenther for the game's opening goal early in the second period, then produced his other two points early in the third as the Mammoth blew the game open. Sergachev shook off a late November slump and got locked in during the month of December, and over his last 15 games he's delivered three goals and 13 points, including two goals and three assists on the power play.