NHL Player News

Lyubushkin (undisclosed) will play against Ottawa on Sunday, according to Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine.

Following a six-game absence, Lyubushkin will replace Vladislav Kolyachonok in Sunday's lineup against the Senators. The 31-year-old Lyubushkin has contributed four assists, nine shots on net, 33 blocked shots and 22 hits in 17 appearances this season.

Ginning was placed on waivers Sunday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Ginning hasn't been in Philadelphia's lineup since Oct. 25 against the Islanders, and he has made only five NHL appearances this season. The Flyers recalled him from his minor-league conditioning loan before putting him on waivers. He will likely report back to AHL Lehigh Valley if another team doesn't claim him.

Fox (upper body) was placed on long-term injured reserve Sunday, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Fox sustained the injury in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay. He won't be eligible to return to the lineup until at least Dec. 27 against the Islanders due to his placement on long-term injured reserve. However, an exact timeline for his recovery remains unclear. Fox has amassed three goals, 26 points, 51 shots on net, 41 blocked shots and 15 hits in 27 appearances this season.

Nemec scored a goal on three shots, blocked two shots, added two PIM and went minus-4 in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Flyers.

Nemec continues to show growth on offense -- he's earned two goals and an assist over his last five contests. The 21-year-old is seeing top-four minutes, but Saturday's performance was a bumpy one for him after a November that saw him post a minus rating in just two of 14 contests. He's up to six goals, 15 points, 38 shots on net, 39 blocked shots, 14 PIM and a plus-5 rating over 25 appearances this season. Nemec will have a career year on offense with five more points, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him achieve that before the midpoint of the campaign.

Blankenburg scored a power-play goal on four shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Jets.

Blankenburg is on a four-game point streak, accumulating three goals and two assists, including three power-play points, in that span. For the season, he's up to four goals, 11 points, 29 shots on net, 14 hits, 15 blocked shots and a minus-8 rating over 15 appearances. It's getting hard to ignore Blankenburg's production -- even though he's in a third-pairing role and on the second power-play unit, he's worth considering in fantasy while he's hot on offense.

Schenn logged two assists, four hits and two blocked shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Predators.

Schenn had been a healthy scratch for the previous three games, even with Neal Pionk (lower body) and Haydn Fleury (concussion) sidelined. The Jets opted to put Schenn in against his former team, and he delivered his best game of the season, assisting on tallies by Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Connor. Through 17 appearances, Schenn has four helpers -- all of which have come in his last four games. He's added 14 shots on net, 39 hits, 23 blocked shots, 12 PIM and a minus-3 rating. Schenn will compete with Elias Salomonsson for playing time until the Jets' blue line gets healthier.

Cormier notched three assists in AHL Henderson's 7-4 loss to Bakersfield on Saturday.

Cormier is up to four goals and 13 assists over 18 games this season, though he's picked up the pace with a goal and seven helpers over his last six outings. The defenseman's strong play comes at a good time, as the Golden Knights have just six healthy blueliners on the NHL roster. They start a road trip Friday, and they may be interested in calling up a defenseman, likely Cormier or Dylan Coghlan, to provide emergency depth if Jeremy Lauzon (undisclosed) remains out.

Samberg had three assists in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Predators.

Samberg had a hand in both of Nino Niederreiter's goals and assisted on Gabriel Vilardi's opening goal. After missing the first 16 games of the year due to a broken wrist, Samberg went seven straight contests without a point. He finally got on the scoresheet in Saturday's win. He also has eight shots on goal, 17 blocked shots and seven hits this campaign.

Spurgeon's point drought reached 11 games in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres.

Spurgeon is plus-7 with 21 blocked shots and 11 hits in that span, and he's still on the Wild's second power-play unit. That suggests he's doing the little things right and getting unlucky on offense. The 36-year-old defenseman is at four points, 25 shots on net, 46 blocks, 37 hits, six PIM and a minus-4 rating through 26 appearances this season. Spurgeon's production on the scoresheet will rebound eventually, but he doesn't have the offensive upside of fellow Wild defenders Brock Faber and Zeev Buium.

Rielly delivered two assists in a 7-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.

It was Rielly's first multi-point effort since Nov. 8, a span of 10 games. Still, the defender continues to put up somewhat gaudy numbers from the blue line. He has four goals, 16 assists and 46 shots on net in 24 games. That puts Rielly in a three-way tie with Lane Hutson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson for 10th in the NHL in points among defensemen.