NHL Player News

Kovacevic tallied an assist, two shots on net and two hits in Friday's 6-1 loss to Winnipeg.

In his first game since signing a five-year, $20 million contract extension with New Jersey, Kovacevic had a strong performance offensively with the primary helper on Dawson Mercer's goal. The 27-year-old Kovacevic is up to 14 assists, 15 points, 60 shots on net, 85 hits and 81 blocks in 64 games this season. With Dougie Hamilton (lower body) sidelined for an extended period, Kovacevic should see an increased role at even strength. Kovacevic's assist Friday helped him tie his career high in points. While he still has room to improve offensively, Kovacevic has some value in category leagues and is an all-around blueliner who should be a staple with New Jersey for the next few seasons.

Morrissey had a power-play goal, an assist, four shots on net and two blocks in Friday's 6-1 win over New Jersey.

Both points came in the second period, including his power-play goal that would end up being Friday's game-winning tally. The 29-year-old blueliner has 10 goals, 41 assists, 138 shots on net and 91 blocks in 63 games this season. Morrissey is tied for fourth-most points among defensemen with 51. His career high of 76 points from the 2022-33 regular season will likely be out of reach, but he should finish in the 65-70 point range if he maintains his current pace. Morrissey provides plenty of value to fantasy lineups with his strong category coverage and offensive production.

LaCombe notched a power-play assist and two PIM in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Blues.

LaCombe's six-game point streak ended in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Canucks. The defenseman wasn't bothered, and he got back on the scoresheet when his shot was tipped in by Sam Colangelo in the first period of Friday's contest. LaCombe is up to 34 points (six on the power play), 111 shots on net, 92 blocked shots, 48 hits and a plus-9 rating over 55 appearances. He's emerged as the Ducks' top blueliner this year and should continue to put up decent-to-strong all-around numbers.

Leddy produced an assist, two PIM and a plus-3 rating in Friday's 4-3 win over the Ducks.

This was Leddy's first point in 10 games since he returned from a long-term lower-body injury that cost him 49 contests. The 33-year-old was playing in a limited role for the most part since his return, but he was elevated to the top pairing at even strength with Colton Parayko (knee) now out of the lineup for the rest of the regular season. Leddy has added 13 shots on net, 13 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over 14 appearances this season. His best years on offense are behind him, so it's unlikely he'll be much of a factor in fantasy.

Faulk notched an assist and four blocked shots in Friday's 4-3 win over the Ducks.

Faulk ended a four-game slump with the helper. He has four assists over his last seven outings, but he'll likely be asked to do more overall with Colton Parayko (knee) out for the rest of the regular season. Faulk is at 23 points, 97 shots on net, 84 blocked shots, 68 hits and a minus-10 rating through 60 appearances. Faulk's playing style is probably the best match to Parayko's on the Blues' roster, and they'll have to keep their playoff push alive from within after the team made no moves at the trade deadline.

Fowler notched a pair of assists and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 4-3 win over the Ducks.

Fowler played in his first game in Anaheim since a Dec. 14 trade that sent him to the Blues, ending his 15-year career with the Ducks. He's flourished since the deal, earning 21 points over 34 outings with St. Louis, including three assists over two contests against his former team. For the season, the 33-year-old defenseman has 25 points, 64 shots on net, 77 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 51 appearances. Fowler is likely to see ample ice time as the Blues figure out how to spread Colton Parayko's (knee) minutes across the defense.

Faber scored a power-play goal on four shots and added three hits in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Canucks.

Faber tallied at 7:12 of the third period to break up Kevin Lankinen's shutout bid. This ended a 15-game goal drought for Faber, who was limited to two power-play assists and a minus-9 rating in that span. There's no doubt it's been a rough stretch for Faber, but he remains on the top pairing and first power-play unit for the Wild. He's now at seven goals, 24 points (10 on the power play), 80 shots on net, 76 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 59 contests. While the 22-year-old has had a sophomore slump, the long-term future is still quite bright.

Hronek logged two assists, two blocked shots and two PIM in Friday's 3-1 win over the Wild.

Hronek has a pair of helpers in each of the last two games. In fact, his last four journeys onto the scoresheet were all multi-point efforts, giving him a goal and seven helpers across his last 10 appearances. The 27-year-old defenseman has 22 points (six on the power play), 56 shots on net, 63 hits, 51 blocked shots, 24 PIM and a plus-1 rating across 41 appearances this season. While he's not played at the same level as last year, Hronek continues to offer decent category coverage in a top-pairing role, even when Quinn Hughes (undisclosed) is out of the lineup.

Whitecloud posted an assist, two shots on goal, four hits and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 4-0 win over the Penguins.

Whitecloud followed up his three-game point streak in February with a four-game slump. That dry spell ended Friday when he assisted on Tanner Pearson's opening tally. Whitecloud is now at 11 points, 55 shots on net, 83 hits, 77 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over 55 appearances. He's on pace for a career high in games played, but he'll likely fall short of the career-best 19 points he had in 2021-22.

Hague logged an assist in Friday's 4-0 win over the Penguins.

Hague has three points over 10 contests since the start of February. The defenseman helped out on an Ivan Barbashev tally in the second period. Hague has stepped up to fill a larger role in the absence of Shea Theodore (arm) over the last six games, but don't expect a significant uptick in offense. For the season, Hague is at 10 points, 60 shots on net, 59 hits, 54 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating over 51 appearances, and he's never had more than 17 points in a single campaign.