NHL Player News

Ristolainen (upper body) will remain out Thursday versus Pittsburgh, per Flyers Director of Broadcasting Brian Smith.

Ristolainen also missed Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Buffalo. He has three assists in 13 outings in 2025-26. Noah Juulsen is projected to stay in the lineup, but Juulsen might be a healthy scratch once Ristolainen is ready to play.

Mateychuk is slated to miss Thursday's game versus the Canucks, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Mateychuk's second evaluation results haven't been revealed, but it looks like he'll need to miss a second contest. The Blue Jackets will get a boost on defense with the return of Erik Gudbranson (hip) and Damon Severson (illness). Once cleared to play, Mateychuk will have a little more competition for top-four minutes.

Montour (hand) was taken off injured reserve, per Sound of Hockey, which indicates that he'll play Thursday in Boston.

Montour hasn't been in the lineup since Dec. 16 due to the injury. He has six goals, 16 points, 21 PIM, 34 hits and 35 blocks in 27 appearances in 2025-26. Now that Montour is healthy, he'll probably serve in a top-four capacity, while Cale Fleury might be a healthy scratch against the Bruins.

Lambos was recalled from AHL Iowa on Thursday.

Jonas Brodin (lower body) was put on injured reserve in a corresponding move. Lambos has three goals, eight points and 28 PIM in 34 appearances with Iowa in 2025-26. He made his NHL debut with Minnesota on Dec. 18, recording one shot and one block in 10:16 of ice time, but he hasn't played at the top level since.

Brodin (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday.

The Wild announced earlier Thursday that Brodin is considered week-to-week, so his placement on injured reserve isn't particularly surprising. Head coach John Hynes said Thursday that he isn't sure whether Brodin's injury will impact his status for the Olympics in February, so whether the defenseman will be back in action before next month remains to be seen. Carson Lambos was recalled by the Wild in a corresponding move to provide additional depth in Brodin's absence.

Heiskanen (personal) will not be in the lineup Thursday in Utah, per Mike Heika of the Stars' official site.

Heiskanen will miss his second consecutive game. He had not tallied a point in his previous four games, tied for his longest drought so far this season. Heiskanen has seven goals and 29 assists in 46 games this year, including one goal and 13 assists on the power play.

Broberg (concussion) could still be cleared in time for Friday's clash with the Lightning, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

According to head coach Jim Montgomery, Broberg still needs to clear some medical hurdles before he can play but hasn't been ruled out versus Tampa Bay. While the defenseman is currently stuck in a 27-game goal drought, he has managed eight helpers over that stretch while making 44 blocks.

Samuelsson scored a goal, added three hits and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Flyers.

Samuelsson put the Sabres ahead 2-0 in the first period. The 25-year-old defenseman is having a career year, and he's not slowing down in January, earning four points over his last six games. For the season, he has eight goals -- more than he had in the first five years of his career combined -- as well as 15 assists, 63 shots on net, 68 hits, 92 blocked shots and a plus-19 rating through 43 appearances. While he's not on the power play, Samuelsson has done enough everywhere else to be a viable depth blueliner in fantasy.

Mayo was loaned to AHL Cleveland on Thursday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Mayo was called up by Columbus on Tuesday, but he'll head back to the minors after Erik Gudbranson (hip) was activated off injured reserve Thursday. Mayo has made three appearances for the Blue Jackets this year, recording an assist and a blocked shot while averaging 8:24 of ice time.

Gostisbehere is considered a game-time decision for Friday's game against the Panthers due to an apparent illness, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

Head coach Rod Brind'Amour said that Gostisbehere didn't feel good Wednesday, so the team kept him off the ice for Thursday's practice session, and it's not yet clear whether he'll be available for Friday's matchup against Florida. Gostisbehere has recorded three points over his last five appearances, logging two goals, an assist, 10 blocked shots, 10 PIM and a hit while averaging 19:40 of ice time across that span.