NHL Player News

Vaakanainen scored a goal in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets.

Vaakanainen initially wasn't credited with the goal, but a late scoring change made it his first tally as a Ranger. It's also his first goal of the campaign to go with six assists over 28 appearances when accounting for his time with the Ducks at the start of the season. He's added 16 shots on net, 29 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating. Vaakanainen has typically maintained a third-pairing role over Zac Jones, though both could end up out of the lineup if the Rangers make any more moves to add defensemen.

Hanifin logged an assist and two shots on goal in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Bruins.

Hanifin has a helper in two straight contests after going 15 games without a point. The 28-year-old is up to 23 points, 102 shots on net, 81 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating. It's a good sign he's built up some momentum heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he'll represent Team USA.

Moser (lower body) was activated from injured reserve Sunday, per the NHL media site.

Moser missed 27 straight games due to the injury and was among Tampa Bay's scratches for Sunday's road game versus Montreal. He could be an option to play after the 4 Nations Face-Off against Seattle on Feb. 23. Moser has two goals, eight assists, 28 shots on net, 39 blocked shots and 19 hits in 27 appearances this season.

Faber supplied a power-play assist, three shots on goal, two blocked shots, one hit and a plus-1 rating Saturday in a 6-3 win over the Islanders.

Faber's helper on Frederick Gaudreau's 11th marker of the campaign cut New York's lead to 3-2 at 13:21 of the middle frame. Faber hadn't registered a point in eight games prior to Saturday. This was also his first assist since Dec. 31. It's been a bit of a disappointment for the 22-year-old from an offensive standpoint this season -- he's on pace for just 35 points after providing eight goals and 39 assists over 82 regular-season contests in 2023-24. However, the right-shot blueliner has reclaimed a spot on the No. 1 power-play unit after a brief demotion to the second group in favor of Jared Spurgeon. Faber will now link up with Team USA ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins Feb. 12.

Whitecloud tallied a goal and blocked two shots in Saturday's 4-3 victory over the Bruins.

Whitecloud put away the only goal of the second period for Vegas off a feed from his new defense partner Noah Hanifin. Whitecloud has four goals, five assists, 51 shots on net and 69 blocks across 49 appearances this season. The 28-year-old blueliner has points in back-to-back games for the second time this season and is contributing offensively in his new pairing with Hanifin. While Whitecloud's fantasy ceiling is capped in a bottom-four role, he can benefit from the talent surrounding him in Vegas.

Spurgeon recorded two even-strength assists Saturday in a 6-3 win over the Islanders.

Spurgeon registered secondary assists on goals by Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy in this contest. Spurgeon has points in back-to-back games, and he's been productive of late with two goals and five helpers over his last eight outings. The right-shot blueliner has been held off the scoresheet only twice during that span. Spurgeon was quarterbacking the top power-play unit for a short period, but Brock Faber has recently reclaimed that role. The 35-year-old Spurgeon is at six goals, 20 points and a plus-4 rating across 41 appearances in 2024-25.

Del Mastro was loaned to AHL Rockford on Sunday, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Del Mastro could return to the Blackhawks after the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He has one assist, two shots on goal, one blocked shot and 13 hits through six NHL appearances this season.

Theodore tallied two assists and blocked three shots in Saturday's 4-3 win against the Bruins.

Theodore's first helper was a shot that Mark Stone tipped in past Boston's Jeremy Swayman. Theodore then assisted on Pavel Dorofeyev's game-tying goal in the third period. The 29-year-old defenseman is up to 41 assists (tied for third-most among blueliners), 48 points, 69 blocks and 111 shots on goal across 55 appearances this season. Theodore registered his first multi-assist game since Jan. 20 on Saturday and has four points in his past four contests. He'll continue to lead Vegas' power play from the blue line coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, in which the playmaking defenseman will compete for Team Canada.

Broberg scored a goal and added an assist in Saturday's 6-5 shootout win over Chicago.

The 23-year-old defenseman got the Blues on the board early in the second period before Robert Thomas banged home the rebound on Broberg's shot late in the third to tie the game at 5-5. Broberg had been mired in a brutal slump to begin 2025, managing just one assist in 16 games since the beginning of January prior to Saturday's outburst, but he'll head into the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off with a bit of confidence.

Thompson was returned to AHL San Jose on Sunday.

Thompson has two goals, three assists, 22 shots on net, 25 blocked shots and nine hits across 18 NHL appearances in 2024-25. The 22-year-old defender has two goals and nine points in 17 minor-league outings this season. If Thompson doesn't return to the Sharks following the 4 Nations Face-Off, Marc-Edouard Vlasic could be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the last three games.