NHL Player News

Walman (undisclosed) won't be in action against the Sharks on Friday but should be available against Winnipeg on Sunday or Los Angeles on Monday, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports.

Walman will miss his second straight contest due to his undisclosed injury. Based on head coach Kris Knoblauch's comments, it's possible that Walman only plays in one of the back-to-back contests to avoid putting too much strain on whatever is bothering him. Over nine games prior to getting hurt, the 29-year-old blueliner had generated one goal and five helpers while averaging 21:01 of ice time. Ty Emberson figures to be the odd man out once Walman returns -- though Troy Stecher could also be in danger of losing ice time.

Ekholm (undisclosed) will return to the lineup versus San Jose on Friday, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.

Ekholm has missed the last seven games and 13 of the Oilers' last 17 contests. He had one goal and five assists in the four games he managed to play between injuries, giving the 34-year-old defenseman nine goals, 24 assists, 42 hits and 95 blocked shots across 64 appearances this season.

Schmidt logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Schmidt snapped a seven-game slump with the helper on Evan Rodrigues' second-period tally. The 33-year-old Schmidt is getting time on the second power-play unit in the absence of Aaron Ekblad (suspension). For the season, Schmidt has 19 points (four on the power play), 66 shots on net, 78 hits, 62 blocked shots, 30 PIM and a plus-6 rating over 77 appearances. He spent a large part of the campaign in a third-pairing role but has been in the top four lately while the Panthers deal with some absences.

Balinskis posted two assists in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Balinskis ended a 15-game point drought with a helper on Mackie Samoskevich's second-period goal. Later in the frame, Balinskis set up a Brad Marchand tally as well. It's been an interesting second season for Balinskis, who has mostly been a third-pairing defenseman for the Panthers. He's managed 17 points, 88 shots on net, 79 hits, 52 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating. He's not currently part of the power-play mix but has averaged 59 seconds per game with the man advantage in 2024-25 after getting a couple of looks in that role earlier.

Forsling notched two assists and four shots on goal in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Forsling has two goals and six helpers over his last 11 contests. The defenseman had a hand in second-period tallies by Evan Rodrigues (on the power play) and Mackie Samoskevich. That power-play helper was Forsling's first contribution with the man advantage all season, though he's averaged just 16 seconds of ice time per game in that situation. Overall, the blueliner has 30 points, a mark he's reached in four straight seasons, while adding 193 shots on net, 86 blocked shots, 81 hits and a plus-33 rating over 78 appearances.

McCabe (undisclosed) is expected to be sidelined for the Leafs' next two outings, David Alter of The Hockey News reports Friday.

McCabe is still expected to return during the regular season, but will have just two games to do so after missing the upcoming two outings. Prior to his absence, the 31-year-old blueliner was contributing offensively with six assists in his last seven outings. Due to Oliver Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed) also being unavailable, the Leafs are expected to roll with five blueliners versus the Habs on Saturday.

Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed) will not be available Saturday versus Montreal, Joshua Kloke of The Athletic reports.

Ekman-Larsson's loss will leave the Maple Leafs with only five healthy defensemen as Jake McCabe will also sit with an undisclosed injury. Ekman-Larsson has four goals, 25 assists, 108 hits and 83 blocked shots across 77 games this season.

Christiansen (upper body) has been ruled out for Saturday's home game against the Capitals, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

The 25-year-old suffered an upper-body injury during Thursday's win over Buffalo, and while head coach Dean Evason doesn't yet have a timetable for Christiansen's return, he'll be unavailable for at least one game. The Blue Jackets have just three regular-season games remaining after Saturday's matchup, and it's not yet clear whether Christiansen will be able to suit up in any of those contests.

Ahcan was recalled by the Avalanche on Friday.

Ahcan has spent 2024-25 in the minors after passing through waivers ahead of the regular season. Over 67 appearances with AHL Colorado this year, he's recorded five goals, 36 assists and 20 PIM.

Del Mastro was loaned to AHL Rockford on Friday, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.

Del Mastro will get in added experience as the IceHogs are playoff-bound in the AHL. Del Mastro had two goals, four assists, 40 hits and 21 blocked shots over 24 appearances with Chicago in 2024-25. The 22-year-old spent 42 games with AHL Rockford, accumulating eight assists before his recall.