NHL Player News

Marino notched an assist, two blocked shots and two PIM in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Canadiens.

Marino ended a four-game point drought with the helper. He hasn't been explosive on offense, but with six assists over 13 appearances in November, Marino has been steady in a top-four role. For the season, the blueliner has 11 points, 25 shots on net, 24 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 24 appearances. At this pace, Marino has a decent chance of matching his career-high 26 points from 56 games in the 2019-20 campaign.

Xhekaj was a healthy scratch for Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Mammoth.

Xhekaj's playing time was safe until the Canadiens called up Adam Engstrom, who has far more offensive upside. Going forward, Xhekaj will likely be in the lineup when Montreal wants more toughness, as he doesn't often make a big impact on offense. Through 20 appearances, he has one assist, 31 hits, 40 PIM, 15 blocked shots, 16 shots on net and a minus-4 rating. Xhekaj is unlikely to play in anything more than a third-pairing role when he gets back into the lineup.

Johansson's point drought reached 17 games in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Predators.

Johansson has gone minus-12 in that span as well, so the lack of offense is being compounded by mediocre defensive play. The 24-year-old blueliner is at two assists, 21 shots on net, 24 hits, 30 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating across 24 appearances this season. That kind of production won't make Johansson an option in most fantasy formats, as even his physical play is too lackluster to help in banger leagues.

Chiarot scored a goal on three shots, added four PIM, doled out six hits and blocked two shots in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Predators.

Chiarot has four points over his last seven games. The 34-year-old blueliner isn't known for his offense, but he has chipped in three goals and four helpers over 24 outings this season, which puts him more than halfway to matching his 13-point total from the 2024-25 campaign. In 2025-26, he's added 26 shots on net, 28 PIM, 57 hits, 49 blocks and a plus-2 rating while seeing time in a top-four role.

Josi scored a goal on three shots, added four PIM and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Red Wings.

Josi has a goal and an assist over three games since he recovered from an upper-body injury. The 35-year-old blueliner has two goals, seven points, 32 shots on net, 16 blocked shots, 10 PIM and a minus-6 rating through 11 appearances. Josi should be in most fantasy lineups, as he's likely to be one of the few Predators skaters to produce steady offense.

Blankenburg scored a goal, dished a power-play assist and added two PIM in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Red Wings.

Blankenburg is heating up again with three points, including two on the power play, over his last two games. He's been a regular in the lineup since the end of October, and while he's on the third pairing at even strength, he regularly sees time on the second power-play unit. For the season, the 27-year-old blueliner is at three goals, nine points, 22 shots on net, 14 hits, 11 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating in 13 appearances. That level of offense is encouraging, though Blankenburg will need to continue to play well to avoid being scratched.

Fowler scored a goal, dished an assist and recorded a block in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to New Jersey.

Fowler netted his first goal of the season just over two minutes into regulation before assisting Robert Thomas' power-play tally later in the opening period. With the multi-point night, Fowler has 11 points, 35 shots on goal and 26 blocks through 24 games this season. The 16-year NHL veteran has hovered around 22 minutes per game this season despite skating on St. Louis' third defensive pairing. He has six points in his last nine games and has dished out over half of his helpers this season with a man advantage. Fowler has maintained solid consistency deep into his career, giving him decent fantasy value in deep leagues.

Santini recorded an assist and two shots on goal in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Flames.

Santini set up Declan Carlile on the Lightning's fourth goal of the game. The helper was Santini's first NHL point since the 2022-23 campaign with the Blues, though he has seen very little time at the top level since then. The 30-year-old is filling in for an injury-riddled Lightning blue line that's missing Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Max Crozier to undisclosed injuries. For the season, Santini has a helper, three shots on net, four hits, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in four appearances.

Hamilton registered an assist, placed three shots on net, blocked three attempts and served two PIM in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over St. Louis.

Hamilton tallied a secondary helper on Timo Meier's opening goal for New Jersey halfway through the first period. Overall, Hamilton has four assists, eight points, 45 shots on goal and 23 blocks through 19 games this season. The 32-year-old blueliner's point in Wednesday's win was his first in five games since his return from a lower-body injury. Despite his recent lack of offensive production, the veteran defenseman has maintained his role with the top power-play unit over New Jersey's rising blueliner options such as Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. If Hamilton can stay healthy, he provides enough category coverage in fantasy to warrant consideration in all fantasy formats.

Carlile scored a goal, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Flames.

The goal was Carlile's first point in five NHL outings this season. The 25-year-old blueliner has been filling in on the third pairing amid a rough run of injuries for the Lightning's defense, which is missing Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Max Crozier due to undisclosed injuries. Carlile will likely continue to play until one or two of those players are healthy, though he will have to fend off Maxim Groshev for a third-pairing role.