NHL Player News

Carlson tallied a power-play assist, two blocked shots and three hits during Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Bruins.

Carlson's helper on Jakob Chychrun's power-play marker snapped a seven-game point drought for the elder statesman on the Capitals blue line. The 34-year-old defender has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games -- putting him on pace to finish above the 60-point mark for the fourth time in his NHL career.

Dobson picked up an assist Tuesday in a 3-1 loss to Toronto.

The assist was Dobson's 166th, which moved him into a tie with Jeff Norton for seventh on the franchise's all-time list for defensemen. Dobson has scuffled offensively for the Isles this season after putting up a massive 70-point campaign in 2023-24. This season, Dobson sits barely in the top-30 scorers from the blue line with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 38 games. There have been signs of life in his game, though. Dobson had nine points, including four goals, in nine games to start December. He could be a great trade target -- fantasy managers may be tired of waiting for him to be the guy he showed he was last season.

Wotherspoon registered an assist and two blocked shots during Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Capitals.

Wotherspoon's dump in took an odd bounce that Justin Brazeau deposited for Boston's only goal of the game. The 27-year-old has managed the one helper in 18 games to start the season and has yet to establish any significant fantasy value.

Letang (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, per the NHL media site.

Pittsburgh activated Marcus Pettersson (lower body) from injured reserve in a corresponding move. Letang won't be eligible to return until at least Jan. 5 against Carolina following his placement on the IR list. He has amassed seven goals, 16 points, 84 shots on net, 43 blocked shots and 56 hits in 34 appearances this season.

Pettersson (lower body) was activated off injured reserve by the Penguins on Tuesday, per the NHL media site.

Pettersson hasn't suited up since Dec. 14 due to a lower-body injury, but he should be back in action for Tuesday's road game against Detroit. Prior to his six-game absence, Pettersson had racked up two goals, 13 points, 56 blocked shots, 36 hits and 21 PIM while averaging 21:47 of ice time over 32 appearances this season.

Hakanpaa (knee) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, per PuckPedia.

Hakanpaa has played in only two NHL games this season, earning two shots on goal, four blocked shots and one hit. He sat out Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Islanders, his 19th straight game on the shelf. Hakanpaa has been skating but isn't close to returning to the lineup.

Bortuzzo (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to Dec. 10.

Bortuzzo has missed the last eight games due to his lower-body injury, so his move to injured reserve is procedural. Head coach Andre Tourigny said in mid-December that Bortuzzo "will miss quite a bit of time," and a timetable for the defenseman's return isn't yet known.

Head coach Jim Hiller said Tuesday that Doughty (ankle) has resumed skating, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Doughty underwent ankle surgery in early October and has been on long-term injured reserve since the start of the regular season. While Hiller said Tuesday that Doughty is still "a ways away," the 35-year-old blueliner took a significant step in his recovery process by resuming skating. It's possible that Doughty will be in the mix to return to game action sometime in January.

Evans notched an assist, two shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 5-2 win over Utah.

Evans has found less success on offense in December, as his role has shrunk since Vince Dunn returned from an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old Evans managed two points with nine shots on net, 16 hits and 15 blocked shots over 11 outings for the month. Overall, he has 18 points, 39 shots on net, 56 hits, 57 blocks and a minus-2 rating through 36 contests, doubling up the point production he had in the same number of games as a rookie last year.

Larsson logged an assist, three shots on goal, three hits and a plus-4 rating in Monday's 5-2 win over Utah.

Larsson ended a 10-game slump with this performance. The 32-year-old defenseman has maintained his usual spot on the top pairing this season, but the additions of Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans to the Kraken's blue line have resulted in Larsson getting fewer minutes. His ice time is down by more than two minutes from last year (22:57 per game in 2023-24, 20:49 this season). He's picked up seven points, 52 shots on net, 53 hits, 81 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating through 38 appearances.