NHL Player News

Doughty provided a power-play assist and added two PIM in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Capitals.

Doughty has a goal and two helpers over his last four contests. The 35-year-old defenseman assisted on a Kevin Fiala tally as the Kings solidified their lead early in the final frame. Doughty now has eight points, 24 shots on net, 14 PIM, 14 hits and 30 blocked shots over 16 outings in 2024-25.

McIlrath was scratched for the 32nd game in a row in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Kings.

The Capitals recently gave Alexander Alexeyev a conditioning stint in the minors -- both he and McIlrath have spent the vast majority of the campaign in the press box. McIlrath would need to consent to any potential conditioning stint, but he's also a veteran blueliner who can be ready to play on a moment's notice if an injury occurs. The 32-year-old shouldn't be expected to play unless there's an injury on the blue line or if the Capitals start resting players in the final weeks in preparation for the playoffs, though that's unlikely to happen until they clinch at least the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Kaiser logged an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Sharks.

Kaiser has two goals and an assist over seven contests since he rejoined the NHL roster following a month-plus with AHL Rockford. The 22-year-old defenseman is currently handling a top-four role, though minutes are distributed pretty evenly on a blue line that features four younger players. Kaiser is up to six points, 52 shots on net, 42 hits, 74 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over 42 appearances this season.

Ferraro logged an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Ferraro snapped a 14-game point drought with the helper. In that span, he still compiled 23 hits and 32 blocked shots -- it's his non-scoring production that tends to be the steadiest part of his game. Ferraro is up to 12 points, 139 hits, 104 blocked shots, 64 shots on net, 45 PIM and a minus-20 rating through 67 appearances this season. He's serving as the Sharks' top shutdown blueliner.

Mukhamadullin notched an assist, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a minus-1 rating in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Mukhamadullin has excelled in March with five helpers over seven games, and he has a plus-1 rating in that span. The 23-year-old toiled in a bottom-four role earlier in the campaign, but he's now alongside a shutdown defenseman in Mario Ferraro on the top pairing, which allows Mukhamadullin to roam a bit on offense. For the season, Mukhamadullin has eight points, 20 shots on net, 32 blocked shots, 18 hits and a plus-3 rating across 23 appearances.

Hedman picked up an assist Thursday in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers.

It was Hedman's 40th assist this year and his ninth 40-assist season. That moved him past Marty St. Louis and Nikita Kucherov for the most in Lightning history. Hedman has 11 goals, 40 assists and 146 shots in 62 games this season, which puts him in a tie for fifth in the NHL from the blue line.

Ekman-Larsson notched an assist, two hits, two blocked shots and two PIM in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Panthers.

Ekman-Larsson had an injury scare at the start of March but didn't miss any time. He was down on the third pairing Thursday after Chris Tanev (upper body) returned from injured reserve, though Ekman-Larsson still had 20:24 of ice time, second-most among Toronto blueliners. For the season, the 33-year-old Swede is up to 26 points, 103 shots on net, 84 hits, 62 blocked shots, 48 PIM and a plus-12 rating over 64 appearances. As long as he stays involved on the power play, he'll carry decent fantasy value as a streaming option or a depth defenseman in deeper formats.

Middleton's point drought reached 10 games in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers.

Middleton was tracking toward a career year early in the season, but an 11-game absence due to a hand injury has hampered his efforts. Since he returned with a two-point effort Jan. 7, he's been limited to three points across his last 25 outings and none in his last 10. For the season, the blueliner is at seven goals, 11 assists, a plus-13 rating, 82 shots on net, 79 hits, 136 blocked shots and 40 PIM over 55 appearances. The 20-point mark is still in reach if he can steer out of the slump, but it's increasingly unlikely he'll match his 25-point total from last year.

Spurgeon notched two power-play assists and two hits in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers.

Spurgeon has somewhat quietly earned five points over his last five outings, three of which have been power-play helpers. He had a hand in goals by Marcus Johansson and Frederick Gaudreau in this contest. Spurgeon is up to 26 points (eight on the power play), 83 shots on net, 91 blocked shots, 41 hits and a plus-8 rating over 51 appearances. That's better than a 40-point pace for a full year, and while injuries have prevented Spurgeon from getting to that level, he's played well enough to be rostered in fantasy down the stretch.

Jones notched an assist, three shots on goal, four hits, two blocked shots and six PIM in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Wild.

Jones' second penalty, a double-minor for high-sticking, led to the Wild's second goal, which forced overtime. All's well that ends well for the defenseman, as the Rangers got the win on a Braden Schneider tally in the extra session. Jones has picked up three helpers and 14 blocked shots over his last six outings while seeing time on the power play. The 24-year-old blueliner has racked up career highs in assists (10), points (11), blocks (36), PIM (18) and games played (36) this season.