NHL Player News

Samuelsson produced an assist and five hits in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Blues.

Samuelsson has four points over his last seven outings. That's pretty good for a shutdown defenseman, but it's unlikely to be a pace he sustains in the long run. The blueliner has five points, 25 shots on net, 37 hits, 29 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating through 22 contests overall while often serving in a top-four role.

York notched an assist and two blocked shots in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Kings.

York has a helper in four straight games while adding six blocked shots and a plus-4 rating in that span. The 23-year-old missed the first matchup against the Kings on Dec. 19 as a healthy scratch, but he's been in a top-four role since getting back into the lineup. He's now at nine points, 26 shots on net, 44 blocked shots, 16 PIM and a plus-1 rating through 23 appearances. York's usage has shaded toward defensive for much of the campaign -- he's averaging just 13 seconds per game on the power play, which won't help him in pursuit of the 30-point threshold for a second consecutive season.

Ristolainen logged an assist and four shots on goal in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Kings.

Ristolainen had five assists over a six-game span between Nov. 23 and Dec. 5, but he followed that up with a 10-game dry spell. The 30-year-old defenseman ended the drought when he assisted on a Matvei Michkov's second-period tally. Offense is secondary for Ristolainen, who plays on the second pairing to provide a physical edge and defensive presence. He's at nine points, 48 shots on net, 59 hits, 56 blocked shots and a minus-3 rating through 37 appearances in 2024-25.

Sanheim logged an assist, two blocked shots and two PIM in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Kings.

Sanheim helped out on a Tyson Foerster tally in the first period. The assist ended a four-game point drought for Sanheim, which was his worst slump since he opened the season with no points over five outings. The 28-year-old defenseman is up to 21 points, 74 shots on net, 80 blocked shots, 26 PIM, 25 hits and a plus-3 rating over 37 appearances. Since he does enough in the non-scoring areas, Sanheim's lack of offense recently has not endangered his top-four status.

Moverare posted an assist and a plus-2 rating in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Flyers.

Moverare has two helpers over his last five contests. That's been enough for him to hold onto a third-pairing role over Andreas Englund, but Moverare could eventually lose his place in the lineup if the Kings go back to the traditional six-defensemen formation rather than the seven-defensemen approach they've taken for the better part of a month. The 26-year-old has two helpers, 13 shots on net, 18 hits, 23 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over 18 appearances this season.

Clarke notched an assist and two blocked shots in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Flyers.

Clarke has logged five helpers over his last seven outings, including an assist in three straight contests. The 21-year-old defenseman is up to 21 points, 72 shots on net, 65 blocked shots, 22 PIM and a plus-6 rating through 36 appearances. Drew Doughty (ankle) remains on track to debut some time shortly after the start of January, but that shouldn't cost Clarke his spot in the lineup even if the Kings switch away from deploying seven defensemen.

Jones notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and a minus-3 rating in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Stars.

Jones has a point in each of the last two games after coming up empty in his first two contests back from a broken foot. The 30-year-old defenseman is up to 12 points (six on the power play), 43 shots on net, 39 blocked shots, 23 hits and a minus-10 rating through 21 appearances. Jones can be a multi-category force in fantasy, but he will weigh down a manager's plus-minus rating by playing big minutes on a defensively suspect team.

Heiskanen logged two assists, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Blackhawks.

Heiskanen helped out on Jason Robertson's power-play tally in the second period and Matt Duchene's insurance goal in the third. December has been a little rough for Heiskanen, who has five assists and a minus-2 rating over 13 contests this month. He's up to 17 points (four on the power play), 77 shots on net, 60 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 35 outings this season.

Pietrangelo logged an assist and four blocked shots in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Flames.

Pietrangelo has four helpers over his last two games. He set up Brett Howden's opening tally in the second period, which stood as the game-winner. The 34-year-old Pietrangelo is up to 20 points, 64 shots on net, 57 blocked shots, 26 hits and a plus-17 rating through 33 appearances this season. As long as he stays healthy, he shouldn't have trouble surpassing his 33-point regular season from 2023-24.

Theodore notched two assists, two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Flames.

Theodore assisted on third-period tallies by Victor Olofsson (on the power play) and Tanner Pearson (into an empty net). This was Theodore's fifth multi-point effort over 11 games in December -- he has three goals and nine helpers this month. Overall, he's at 30 points (12 on the power play), 67 shots on net, 47 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating through 35 appearances this season.