NHL Player News

Carrier (upper body) participated in Friday's practice session on the second defensive pairing, Marc Antoine Godin of Radio-Canada reports.

Carrier has been sidelined since late March due to his upper-body injury, and he was initially expected to miss 2-4 weeks. He's reached the short range of that threshold, and his participation in Friday's practice signals that he could return to action for the start of postseason play. However, the Canadiens haven't yet revealed his status for Sunday's Game 1 against the Lightning.

Lundkvist inked a two-year, $3.5 million contract extension with Dallas on Friday.

Lundkvist returned to action Wednesday after missing three games with an illness, as well as the birth of his child. Lundkvist had three goals and eight assists in 52 regular-season games with the Stars this season.

Villeneuve was returned to AHL Toronto on Friday.

Villeneuve saw action in just three NHL games this year in which he recorded five blocks, two shots and one hit while averaging 17:20 of ice time. In the minors this year, the 24-year-old defenseman has been significantly more productive, racking up 29 points in 59 contests.

Trouba notched an assist and two hits in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Predators.

Since a two-assist effort March 6 versus the Canadiens, Trouba has been limited to five helpers over the last 20 contests of the regular season. The defenseman will be valued for his physicality and his shutdown work during the postseason, which will see him with his hands full against the Oilers. Trouba ends the regular season at 35 points -- his most in four years -- as well as 166 shots on net, 143 hits, 149 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 81 appearances.

Luneau scored a goal on two shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Predators.

Luneau made his first NHL appearance of the season in the regular-season finale. The 22-year-old defenseman picked up his first point for the Ducks since the 2023-24 campaign. He's still young enough to be a prospect, but he's been passed by some other blueliners during his development. Luneau will likely head back to AHL San Diego for the Gulls' playoff run, but considering they barely made the postseason, it wouldn't be shocking to see Luneau recalled again with the Black Aces soon.

Blankenburg scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Kraken.

Blankenburg has two goals over his last four games. For the regular season, he ends with eight goals, 24 points, 72 shots on net, 59 blocked shots, 55 hits and a minus-10 rating over 61 appearances between the Avalanche and the Predators. Blankenburg will likely get a chance to play as long as Josh Manson (upper body) is out.

Whitecloud notched two assists, two shots on goal, three hits, six blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Kings.

Whitecloud ended the campaign with four helpers over his last six games. The 29-year-old defenseman had a total of 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) while adding 67 shots on net, 124 hits, 140 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating over 78 appearances between Calgary and Vegas. Whitecloud typically won't put up a lot of offense, but the Flames' rebuild has afforded more playing time than he's seen at any other time in his career.

Carlson picked up two assists in a 5-4 win over Nashville on Thursday.

It was Carlson's fifth career 60-point season (14 goals, 46 assists). He, Jakob Chychrun and Moritz Seider finished in a tie for 11th in NHL scoring from the blue line. Carlson is in rare air for defenders with so many 60-point campaigns -- the only active defensemen with more are Erik Karlsson (eight) and Brent Burns (six).

Parekh scored a goal on two shots, added three hits and went plus-2 in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Kings.

Parekh ended his rookie season at four goals and five assists across 37 contests. He earned seven of his nine points over the last 14 games of the season, growing in confidence as his responsibilities increased. The 20-year-old defenseman will likely be a full-time NHL option in 2026-27, and his scoring potential will give him some fantasy upside.

LaCombe scored a goal Thursday in a 5-4 win over Nashville.

He roofed a snap shot through traffic from the blue line and past Juuse Saros to knot the game 2-2 with 21 seconds left in the first period. LaCombe heads into the postseason on a three-game, three-point streak (one goal, two assists). His 58 points (10 goals, 48 assists) put him 16th on the scoring list for NHL defenders.