NHL Player News

Walman (undisclosed) has been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Sharks, Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels reports.

Walman will be unavailable for a fifth consecutive game for an undisclosed reason, and it's not yet clear whether he'll be available for the start of the playoffs. The 29-year-old finishes the regular season with seven goals, 33 assists, 145 blocked shots, 57 hits and 42 PIM while averaging 22:46 of ice time.

Thompson (upper body) is expected to miss the Sharks' season finale against Edmonton on Wednesday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Thompson will complete the NHL campaign with four goals and 10 points in 31 outings with the Sharks. He also has three goals and 14 points in 27 AHL appearances with the Barracuda in 2024-25.

Ufko was returned to AHL Milwaukee on Wednesday, Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reports.

Ufko made his NHL debut against Utah on Monday, logging a hit in 15:37 of ice time. However, he'll head back to the minors ahead of Nashville's regular-season finale against the Stars on Wednesday, suggesting that Andreas Englund (illness) could be back in action to close out the year.

Toews (rest) took part in Wednesday's practice, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports. He should draw back into the lineup for Game 1 of the Avalanche's first-round series against Dallas.

Toews took the Avalanche's final two regular-season games off to prepare for the playoffs. He finished the regular season with 10 goals and 44 points in 76 appearances.

Makar (rest) participated in Wednesday's practice session, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports, indicating that he should be available for the start of the postseason.

Makar sat out Colorado's final two regular-season games for rest purposes, but he should unsurprisingly be back in action for the start of the playoffs. He recorded points in 10 of his last 13 appearances of the regular season, recording six goals, 11 assists, 29 blocked shots, seven hits and a plus-5 rating while averaging 26:08 of ice time.

Rinzel notched a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.

Rinzel hit the ground running at the NHL level, earning five assists over his first nine games. His last three helpers came on the power play. The 20-year-old University of Minnesota product should have an inside track to an NHL job, including top-four minutes and power-play time, to begin 2025-26. Fantasy managers in redraft formats should consider him a sleeper option -- if he quarterbacks the top power-play unit, he'll get enough offense to be useful.

Petrovic was reassigned to AHL Texas on Wednesday, per Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News.

Petrovic has no points over five appearances with Dallas in 2024-25. He also has five goals, 25 points and 66 PIM in 58 outings with Texas this season.

Bichsel was reassigned to AHL Texas on Wednesday, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Bichsel's demotion will clear the necessary cap space for Tyler Seguin (hip) to be activated off long-term injured reserve. Additionally, the demotion of Bichsel and Alex Petrovic means Esa Lindell (rest) and Thomas Harley (rest) figure to be ready to play against Nashville on Wednesday.

Fowler posted two assists, including one on the power play, fired four shots on goal and went plus-3 in Tuesday's 6-1 win over Utah.

The Blues took the drama out of their playoff picture with a four-goal first period, and Fowler had a helper on Zachary Bolduc's tally late in the frame. Fowler also helped out on the second of Jordan Kyrou's two goals in the third period. This was an interesting regular season for Fowler, who left the only team he'd known, the Ducks, in a December trade. That ended up revitalizing his output -- the 33-year-old was able to get back to the 40-point mark for the third time in four years, with 36 of those points coming over 51 games with the Blues. He'll have his hands full defensively in a top-four role in the first round versus the Jets.

Slavin (rest) won't play Wednesday versus Montreal.

Slavin has six goals and 27 points over 80 outings in 2024-25. The 30-year-old is getting a game off ahead of the playoffs. He might draw back into the lineup Thursday against Ottawa.