NHL Player News

Nikishin scored a shorthanded goal and added three hits Thursday in a 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.

Nikishin's shorthanded goal was the first by a rookie defenseman in franchise history, including the Hartford Whalers era. He sits 13th in rookie scoring overall this season (11 goals, 19 assists). Nikishin has returned the top power-play role to Shayne Gostisbehere, but it's clear he has the ability to play maestro with the man advantage. Nikishin's future as a true top option could arrive very soon.

Graf scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Graf had gone eight games without a goal prior to Thursday. He snapped a seven-game point drought with a helper Wednesday versus the Ducks before netting his 20th goal of the campaign in Thursday's win. This was also Graf's fourth game-winner of the season. The versatile 23-year-old has 42 points, 108 shots on net, 75 hits, 47 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over 73 appearances. With the Sharks nearly at full health at forward, expect Graf to see most of his time on the third line for the rest of the campaign.

Ostapchuk scored a goal, dished an assist, added four hits, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Ostapchuk snapped his 16-game point drought with a goal just 3:27 into the contest. He also helped out on Adam Gaudette's empty-netter. Ostapchuk's performance Thursday was the first multi-point game of his career. The 22-year-old is up to four goals, three assists, 39 shots on net, 121 hits, 26 blocked shots, 41 PIM and a minus-8 rating through 51 appearances in a fourth-line role this season.

Eklund scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Eklund ended a 10-game goal drought with his second-period tally. He had three assists and a minus-11 rating during the scoring slump. The 23-year-old winger is up to 13 goals, 45 points, 163 shots on net, 63 hits, 50 blocked shots and a minus-33 rating over 70 appearances. He's taken a step back compared to his 58-point campaign in 2024-25, but Eklund has been trusted due to his two-way play in a top-six role.

Hall delivered two assists and a blocked shot in a 5-1 win over Columbus on Thursday.

Hall now has four assists in his last four games and 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his last 16 outings. His 42 points (75 games) equal his output between Chicago and Carolina last season (77 games). Hall's fantasy value is limited to deeper leagues given his sluggish production, but the 34-year-old is just 16 games away from reaching the 1,000-game milestone.

Nedeljkovic stopped 18 of 19 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Nedeljkovic has won his last two outings, part of a larger four-game winning streak that has the Sharks making their presence felt in the playoff race. He limited the damage Thursday to a John Tavares power-play goal in the second period. Nedeljkovic is up to 15-13-4 with a 2.91 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 36 appearances this season. Yaroslav Askarov is likely to get most of the starts down the stretch, but the Sharks still have two back-to-back sets on the schedule, so Nedeljkovic won't be completely out of the mix. The team has a critical matchup ahead when the Predators visit San Jose on Saturday.

Aho had two assists Thursday in a 5-1 win over Columbus.

The first helper came shorthanded. The second was on the power play, which was Aho's 400th NHL assist. He is on a four-game, five-assist streak (eight shots), and his 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists) in 75 games put him on course for his fourth 80-plus point season.

Dubois tallied a power-play goal, distributed an assist and put four shots on net in Thursday's 7-3 loss to New Jersey.

Dubois followed up his four-point night from Tuesday with another pair of points. He tied the game at two goals apiece with his power-play twine finder midway through the first period before recording the secondary helper on Tom Wilson's tally in the third. Overall, Dubois now has five goals, 10 assists, 37 shots on net, 21 hits and 12 blocked shots across 24 games this season. Since returning to action prior to the Olympic break, the 27-year-old center has brought stability to the Capitals' offense and has provided two-way value from his role as a middle-six center. With six points in his last two games, he holds solid streaming value in various fantasy league formats moving forward.

Andersen made nine saves in a 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Yes, you read that right -- nine shots. The only goal that Andersen conceded came off a rebound in a goal-mouth scramble in the second period. He has been alternating starts with Brandon Bussi, but he had lost his previous two starts, both of which came against Montreal. The Canes' tight system doesn't allow many shots. That's great for the goalies, but it puts pressure on fantasy managers who count anything other than wins. Andersen has a 3.09 GAA and .871 save percentage in 32 starts (14-13-5). Those stats are well below this season's league-wide averages of 2.87 and .896.

Wilson scored a goal, registered an assist and placed three shots on net in Thursday's 7-3 loss to New Jersey.

Wilson's tally in the third period brought the Capitals within two scores before New Jersey took care of business down the stretch. With his twine finder, Wilson is up to 28 goals, 56 points, 143 shots on net, 170 hits and 49 blocked shots through 66 games this season. The 32-year-old winger now has three goals over his last two games and is just two tallies away from reaching the 30-goal mark for the second time in his 13-year NHL career. He holds solid all-around value for the remainder of the fantasy playoffs.