NHL Player News

Gostisbehere scored a goal on two shots and blocked two shots in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Devils in Game 2.

Gostisbehere tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period. The 32-year-old defenseman is still listed on the third pairing, but his power-play role makes him a de facto top-four blueliner in terms of usage and scoring. He had a strong regular season with 45 points (27 on the power play) as well as 122 shots on net, 66 blocked shots, 52 PIM and a plus-1 rating over 70 appearances.

Alexeyev (upper body) is considered a game-time decision for Wednesday's Game 2 against Montreal, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Alexeyev lost several teeth during Monday's Game 1, but he went to the dentist afterward and will wear a full face shield Wednesday if he's available. The 25-year-old blueliner logged 14:02 of ice time Monday and recorded three blocked shots, two hits and a plus-1 rating.

Pietrangelo logged an assist, two hits and three blocked shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Wild in Game 2.

Pietrangelo has a helper in each of the first two playoff games. He's also racked up seven blocks, three hits, three shots on net and a plus-2 rating. The 35-year-old defenseman should continue to see plenty of ice time in a top-four role, but don't be surprised if the offense fades, as Pietrangelo's defense is his strongest attribute at this stage of his career.

Hanifin scored a goal on five shots, added three hits and blocked two shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Wild in Game 2.

The Wild tried to clear the puck, but it ended up on Hanifin's stick, and he scored to get the Golden Knights on the board at 12:04 of the second period. This only cut the deficit to 4-1, and a comeback effort never earnestly materialized. Hanifin is off to a strong start in the playoffs with two points, five hits, four blocked shots, five shots on net and a plus-1 rating over two contests. He'll continue to handle top-four minutes.

Brodin notched an assist and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Golden Knights in Game 2.

Brodin helped out on Matt Boldy's opening goal, sending a pass to Kirill Kaprizov who then sent Boldy in on a breakaway. The helper was Brodin's second in the last three games, which follows a 10-game drought. The 31-year-old defenseman had a lot of injury troubles in 2024-25, which limited him to 20 points, 71 shots on net, 104 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating over 50 regular-season appearances. As long as he stays healthy, Brodin will handle top-four minutes in the playoffs.

McDonagh provided an assist in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 1.

McDonagh has nine points over his last 13 outings. The 35-year-old shutdown defenseman is finding ways to make a positive impact on offense as well, but he'll always take care of his own zone first. He had a total of 31 points, 78 shots on net, 152 blocked shots and a plus-43 rating over 82 regular-season contests, playing in every game for the first time since 2018-19. McDonagh is the Lightning's second-most important blueliner behind Victor Hedman.

Hedman supplied a power-play assist in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Panthers in Game 1.

Hedman has earned a goal and six assists over his last seven games, with four of those seven points coming on the power play. The 34-year-old defenseman had another strong campaign, earning 15 goals, 66 points (26 on the power play), 181 shots on net, 133 blocked shots and a plus-18 rating over 79 regular-season contests. He'll be the Lightning's top blueliner throughout the postseason.

Kulikov notched an assist and five hits in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Lightning in Game 1.

This was Kulikov's third game back after he missed 12 contests due to an upper-body injury. The 34-year-old defenseman is once again in a top-four role, though he could see a slight drop in minutes once Aaron Ekblad (suspension) comes back for Saturday's Game 3. Kulikov is a reliable shutdown defender, and he earned 13 points, 114 hits, 71 blocked shots and a plus-12 rating over 70 regular-season appearances.

Rielly scored a goal Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime win over Ottawa.

Rielly has found the back of the net in each of the Leafs' two postseason games (five shots). Tuesday, he drove to the left post, and William Nylander sauced a perfect pass right to his stick for a tap-in. Rielly's regular season was mid at best by his standards, with just 41 points in 82 appearances -- that's 17 fewer points in 10 more games than last season (58 points; 72 games). However, he's really put his foot on the gas in the playoffs so far.

Schmidt scored two goals on three shots and added two hits in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Lightning in Game 1.

Schmidt's first tally, at 4:41 of the second period, was the game-winner. He added a power-play goal in the third to provide more insurance for the Panthers. The 33-year-old blueliner had all of five goals and 19 points over 80 regular-season outings while mainly playing in a bottom-four role. Aaron Ekblad (suspension) has one game left before he can return, at which point Schmidt or Uvis Balinskis is likely to exit the lineup, though Schmidt certainly helped his own cause with this two-goal effort.