NHL Player News

Provorov scored a shorthanded goal on two shots and blocked five shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to Utah.

Provorov is on a tear to open February, scoring in three straight games while adding an assist, nine shots and 12 blocks. The 28-year-old's tally Thursday was the first shortie of his career, though he also has seven shorthanded assists to his name. He's up to six goals, 25 points (three on the power play, three shorthanded), 67 shots on net, 88 blocks and a plus-4 rating across 55 appearances in 2024-25.

Maatta scored a goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.

Maatta put a puck toward the net and it took a deflection in for his second goal of the campaign. The 30-year-old blueliner has earned four points across his last nine outings, though his role has shrunk a bit with Utah's blue line at its healthiest since early in the season. The Finn has 12 points, 49 shots on net, 102 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over 51 appearances between Utah and Detroit this season.

McNabb notched an assist, three blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Devils.

McNabb has earned five points over his last nine outings, and he's gone 14 contests without taking a minus rating. The 34-year-old is playing solid defense and continues to mesh well with Shea Theodore in a top-four role. McNabb is at 12 points, 70 shots on net, a plus-31 rating, 95 hits and 122 blocked shots through 55 appearances, offering a path to fantasy relevance in deep formats that reward non-scoring production.

Whitecloud produced an assist, two shots on goal and three hits in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Devils.

Whitecloud snapped an 11-game point drought when he helped out on Jack Eichel's third-period tally. A couple of slumps from blueliners have caused the Golden Knights to shuffle their pairings -- Whitecloud and Noah Hanifin were both able to end droughts in this contest while playing together on the third pairing. Whitecloud has minimal scoring upside with eight points, 50 shots on net, 67 hits, 67 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 48 appearances this season.

Hanifin registered an assist in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Devils.

Hanifin went 15 games without a point, a span in which he was also minus-10. It's cost him playing time recently -- he's been on the third pairing over the last few contests after being a top-four fixture through the first half of the campaign. Hanifin has had at least 38 points in each of the last three seasons, but he's at 22 points, 100 shots on net, 81 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating over 55 appearances in 2024-25. His defensive play will keep him from getting scratched, but he doesn't need to be active in all fantasy formats.

Theodore scored a goal on three shots, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Devils.

Theodore has three goals and 10 assists over his last 13 outings, a span that includes five power-play points. The 29-year-old defenseman is up to seven goals, 46 points, 110 shots on net, 66 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating through 54 appearances. This season is already tied for his second-highest point output, and he's six behind his career-high 52 from the 2021-22 campaign.

Werenski recorded a shorthanded assist in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to Utah.

The star blueliner had missed Columbus' last game due to an undisclosed injury, but Werenski saw his usual massive workload in his return -- his 29:16 led all skaters for either team on the night -- and he set up Ivan Provorov for the Blue Jackets' second goal inside the final minute of the second period. Werenski hasn't gone more than two games without getting onto the scoresheet since early November, and Thursday's helper established a new career-high scoring mark for the 27-year-old with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists) in only 54 appearances.

Vaakanainen (illness) won't be in action versus the Penguins on Friday, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.

Vaakanainen will miss his second straight game due to his illness and should probably be considered a long shot to play in the second game of the Rangers' back-to-back versus Columbus on Saturday. With Vaakanainen unavailable, Zac Jones figures to stay in the lineup after logging 13:30 of ice time against Boston on Wednesday.

Andrae logged an assist, two shots on goal, two hits and two PIM in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals.

The helper was Andrae's first point in three contests since he was recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley. He's filling while Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) and Egor Zamula (upper body) are sidelined. Through 23 outings with the NHL club, Andrae has produced six points, 31 shots on net, 31 blocked shots, 28 hits, 14 PIM and a plus-2 rating. He impressed at times during an earlier stint in the NHL but wasn't able to sustain that level of play, so his stay with the big club this time may not last very long if he starts to struggle.

Drysdale logged an assist and went minus-2 in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals.

Drysdale had been held off the scoresheet over his last 10 outings, going minus-5 in that span. It's not all his fault -- during his slump, the Flyers were shut out three times and scored just a total of 18 goals. Drysdale is up to 12 points, 40 shots on net, 58 blocked shots and a minus-23 rating over 44 appearances. He hasn't taken a step forward as much as expected, but he has managed to stay in the lineup regularly when healthy despite his shaky defensive play.