NHL Player News

Pulock notched an assist and blocked three assists in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Stars.

Pulock missed the previous two games due to a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old defenseman saw 20:53 of ice time in his usual top-pairing role, which is right in line with his season average. He's up to 26 points, matching his highest total in any of the previous five campaigns. Pulock has added 81 shots on net, 128 blocked shots, 47 hits and a plus-14 rating through 68 outings.

Jones posted an assist and two PIM in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Wild.

This was Jones' first point in five contests since he returned from a 26-game absence due to an upper-body injury. The 31-year-old defenseman should continue to get steady top-four minutes, but the Panthers' weaker team offense this season limits his fantasy appeal. The blueliner has earned 25 points, 82 shots on net, 42 hits, 50 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over 45 appearances.

Ekblad scored a goal on five shots in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Wild.

Ekblad had gone 28 games without a goal, picking up a modest nine assists in that span. He also snapped an eight-game point drought with the third-period tally, which briefly tied the game at 2-2. The defenseman has four goals, 26 points, 94 shots on net, 83 hits, 101 blocked shots, 55 PIM and a minus-6 rating across 69 appearances this season, down from 33 points in 56 regular-season outings a year ago.

Kuznetsov is reportedly still dealing with his upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports Friday.

The nature of Kuznetsov's status has been rather unclear of late, as he has also been listed as a healthy scratch based on other reports. Either way, the 24-year-old blueliner has been out of the lineup for six straight games and figures to be questionable, at best, heading into Saturday's matchup with Vancouver.

Petry logged an assist and four shots on goal in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Panthers.

Petry has played just twice since being acquired from the Panthers on March 5. He was able to get on the scoresheet against his former team while slotting in on the third pairing. Petry has nine helpers, 50 shots on net, 61 hits, 58 blocked shots and a minus-8 rating over 60 appearances this season, but he'll likely max out as a part-time option for the Wild unless numerous injuries deplete the team's defense.

Gostisbehere (lower body) might be ready to play in Saturday's clash with the Devils, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

Gostisbehere was working on the third pairing at Friday's practice and was running the No. 1 power-play unit, strong indicators that he will be back in action versus the Devils. If the blueliner does return, it will end a nine-game absence due to his lower-body problem. Prior to his absence, Gostisbehere was rolling offensively with 11 points in his previous 10 outings.

Schaefer notched two assists in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Stars.

The rookie phenom had a hand in tallies by Bo Horvat in the first period and Calum Ritchie in the third. Schaefer is doing his best to push the Islanders across the finish line in the regular season and into the playoffs, and through 13 games in March he's delivered four goals and 13 points with 49 shots on net, 19 blocked shots, eight PIM and a plus-8 rating.

Anderson logged two assists, two shots on goal, three blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-0 win over the Canucks.

Anderson set up Trevor Moore in the second period and Quinton Byfield on the empty-netter in the third. This ended a four-game slump for Anderson, who has done pretty well in March with two goals and six assists over 13 outings. The 26-year-old defenseman rarely plays a big part on offense, instead focusing on his own zone in a shutdown role. He has 17 points, 56 shots on net, 95 hits, 114 blocked shots and a plus-3 rating through 70 appearances this season.

Bouchard scored the game-winning goal and added an assist, two PIM and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Golden Knights.

Bouchard has earned a goal and seven helpers over his last six contests. His goal was his first since March 12 versus the Stars, and it was his 20th of the campaign. This is the first time the defenseman has reached that mark, and he also set a career high in points with 84 through 73 appearances. The 26-year-old has added 203 shots on net, 91 blocked shots and a plus-21 rating over 73 appearances. Bouchard is seven points ahead of Zach Werenski for the scoring lead among blueliners, giving the Edmonton rearguard a growing case for Norris Trophy consideration.

Sergachev notched three assists, two shots on goal and four blocked shots in Thursday's 7-4 loss to the Capitals.

Sergachev picked up all three helpers in the first period, with two of them coming on the power play. The 27-year-old defenseman has seven assists over the last eight games, though he's also gone minus-3 in that span. For the season, he's up to 49 points (20 on the power play), 138 shots on net, 115 blocked shots, 38 PIM and 36 hits across 69 outings.