NHL Player News

Gostisbehere (abdomen) doesn't have a timetable for his return to the lineup, according to Walt Ruff and Peter Dewar of the Hurricanes' official site.

Gostisbehere suffered a midsection injury in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Vegas and sat out Thursday's 6-2 win over the Islanders. He won't play in Saturday's matinee matchup against Boston, and it's unclear when he will be ready to return to the lineup. Gostisbehere has generated one goal, six assists, six shots on net and eight blocked shots across six appearances this season. Due to the absences of Gostisbehere, K'Andre Miller (lower body) and Jaccob Slavin (lower body), Mike Reilly, Joel Nystrom and Charles-Alexis Legault have been occupying spots on Carolina's blue line.

Gudbranson (hip) won't play Saturday against the Blues and Sunday versus the Islanders, according to Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers.

Gudbranson has already missed two games this week with the injury. The 33-year-old blueliner has five hits and one blocked shot in four appearances this season. The Blue Jackets recalled Dustin Mayo on Thursday to occupy a depth role on the roster.

Zellweger registered an assist, two PIM, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 5-2 win over the Red Wings.

The helper was Zellweger's second of the season. The 22-year-old defenseman has maintained a top-four role this season and is also seeing some power-play time, though he's not pushing Jackson LaCombe's spot on the first unit. In addition to the two assists, Zellweger has 22 shots on net, 10 blocks, four hits, eight PIM and a plus-4 rating through 10 appearances.

Johnson scored a goal on two shots and added an assist in AHL Rochester's 2-1 win over Laval on Friday.

Johnson started the season in the NHL but failed to earn a point over three games. He's gone on to post five points across six outings since returning to Rochester. The 24-year-old defenseman doesn't have a clear path back to the Sabres, but he should be near the top of the list of call-ups if the team suffers injuries on the blue line.

Burns scored a goal on two shots and added four PIM in Friday's 4-2 win over the Golden Knights.

Burns has a goal and an assist over his last two outings. The defenseman's tally at 10:11 of the third period Friday stood as the game-winner for the Avalanche. He's at six points, 30 shots on net, 15 blocked shots, 12 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 12 appearances. Burns continues to handle second-pairing minutes as a steady veteran on the blue line.

Roy logged an assist and two shots on goal in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Islanders.

Roy's helper on a Tom Wilson goal in the second period was the first point of the year for the veteran defenseman. He's added 14 hits, 21 blocked shots, 15 shots on net and a plus-1 rating over 11 appearances. Roy's usage is mostly defensive, so don't expect a ton of point production, though he has recorded at least 20 points in four straight seasons.

Gudas (lower body) is not expected to play Friday versus the Red Wings, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports.

Gudas will miss a third consecutive game due to the injury. There's been no timeline established for his return yet. With Gudas still out of action, Ian Moore remains in the lineup in a bottom-pairing role.

Makar scored an empty-net goal and added an assist in Friday's 4-2 win over the Golden Knights.

Makar was coming off a four-assist performance the last time out, and the star defenseman continues to produce at an elite level for Colorado. This time, he participated in the build-up of the first goal just 41 seconds into the game and later closed out the scoring with an empty-netter at the 18:22 mark of the final frame. Makar has cracked the scoresheet in each of Colorado's last six games while tallying 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in that span.

DeMelo logged two assists and two shots on goal in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Blackhawks.

DeMelo earned his second multi-point effort of the season by setting up goals by Gabriel Vilardi and Josh Morrissey. The 32-year-old DeMelo continues to play on the top pairing as a defensive presence to balance Morrissey's more offense-inclined style. DeMelo is off to a positive start through October, racking up a goal, six helpers, nine shots on net, 10 hits, 24 blocked shots, eight PIM and a plus-7 rating through 11 outings.

Morrissey scored a goal, added an assist and went plus-3 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Blackhawks.

Morrissey has logged three multi-point efforts during his four-game point streak. The defenseman is up to a goal and nine assists this year, and all but two of the helpers have come during the streak. The 30-year-old has added 18 shots on net, 23 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating over 11 appearances. He'll remain a consistently strong performer on offense as part of the Jets' high-end offense.