NHL Player News

Vaakanainen logged an assist in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Lightning.

Vaakanainen has two assists over his last two games. The defenseman missed a couple of contests last week due to a lower-body injury but has since reclaimed a spot on the third pairing over Matthew Robertson. Vaakanainen has three helpers, nine shots on net, eight blocked shots, eight PIM, five hits and a plus-3 rating over 13 appearances, so there's not a lot of upside in his playing style.

Mitchell was recalled from AHL Bridgeport on Thursday.

Mitchell will serve as the seventh defenseman for the Isles while Scott Mayfield (personal) is away from the club. Even with his promotion, it will be Adam Boqvist, rather than Mitchell, who steps into the lineup against the Golden Knights on Thursday. For his part, the 25-year-old Mitchell has yet to make his NHL debut despite being in his third full season playing for AHL Bridgeport.

Borgen scored a goal in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Lightning.

Borgen ended a nine-game point drought by getting in on the fun in a first period that saw the teams trade a total of seven goals. The 28-year-old defenseman isn't known for his offense and won't typically offer much point production. He's at three points, 15 shots on net, 24 hits, 22 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating across 18 appearances in a top-four role this year.

Girard (upper body) will be in action against Buffalo on Thursday, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports.

Girard will return following a 15-game stint on injured reserve due to his upper-body issue. In 73 regular-season games last year, the 27-year-old blueliner notched 24 points but could struggle to produce at that level this time around due to his lengthy injury absence. With Girard back in the lineup, Ilya Solovyov figures to be relegated to the press box as a healthy scratch.

Mayfield is doubtful for Thursday game in Vegas, due to the birth of his child, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Mayfield could return as early as Friday in Utah. The blueliner has three assists in 16 games this season. The Islanders could recall a blueliner from AHL Bridgeport ahead of Thursday's tilt, as they are down to six healthy defensemen.

Fox picked up two assists, one on the power play, in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Lightning.

The star blueliner had a hand in Will Cuylle tallies that accounted for the Rangers' first and last goals of the night. Fox has gone 15 games without finding the back of the net himself, but he's produced multiple assists in two straight contests and four of the last eight. On the season, he's amassed three goals and 15 points in 18 games -- fourth among all NHL defensemen behind Cale Makar (23 points), Josh Morrissey and Miro Heiskanen (16 each).

Crevier logged two assists and two hits in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Devils.

Crevier logged his second multi-point effort of the season, helping out on goals by Landon Slaggert and Sam Lafferty in the third period. The 24-year-old Crevier had been the Blackhawks' nominal seventh defenseman in recent weeks, but he was listed on the top pairing Wednesday, with Sam Rinzel slipping into a smaller role. Crevier has contributed two goals, six assists, 16 shots on net, 24 hits, 10 blocked shots, 25 PIM and a plus-6 rating over 16 appearances. If he can chip in decent offense, he'll have appeal in deep fantasy formats as long as his ice time stays up.

Hughes logged an assist, seven shots on goal, two PIM and a minus-2 rating in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks.

Hughes has a helper in each of the last two contests and three assists over six outings in November. The defenseman hasn't logged a multi-point effort since the second game of the year and is still looking for his first goal of the campaign, but he has seen massive minutes since Dougie Hamilton (lower body) exited the lineup. Hughes is at nine helpers, 36 shots on net, 15 blocked shots, 18 PIM and a plus-1 rating over 17 appearances this season.

Nemec scored three goals on five shots and went plus-4 in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks.

Nemec scored his first goal of the season against the Islanders on Monday, and he followed up with a hat trick Wednesday. He tied the game with each of his first two goals, and his third was the game-winner at 3:28 of overtime. For the season, the defenseman has already potted a career-high four goals while adding eight assists, 22 shots on net, 27 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating over 17 appearances. Nemec should continue to see increased usage while Dougie Hamilton (lower body) and Brett Pesce (upper body) are out.

DeSimone scored a goal on four shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

DeSimone got the Mammoth on the board midway through the second period, sparking the team's eventual comeback win. It was a goal against his hometown team, as DeSimone is from the Buffalo suburb of East Amherst, New York. The 30-year-old defenseman has a goal, an assist, five shots on net and a minus-1 rating through two appearances this season. He appears to have gained an advantage over Olli Maatta for ice time on the third pairing. However, DeSimone's typical level of production is much lower than the pace he's operated at since entering the lineup over the weekend.