NHL Player News

Matthews scored a goal Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Ottawa.

He showed off his silky mitts on a beautiful tip from a Morgan Rielly shot early in the second period to open the scoring for the Leafs. Matthews fired a team-high six shots in 21:50, second only in ice time to Darren Raddysh. The superstar has had a quiet start to the season -- this was his first point in three games. But he rang the post and had a jump in his step Saturday. Matthews is looking to rebound from an injury-riddled 2025-26 where he scored just 27 goals and 26 assists in 60 games. Right now, he's working on chemistry with new linemate Kirill Marchenko, a duo that could light up the league when they fully click.

Nabokov recorded a 32-save shutout in AHL Colorado's 2-0 win over Tucson on Saturday.

Nabokov was making his AHL debut, and he made it a memorable one. The 23-year-old goalie came over from the KHL in the offseason after being a second-round pick in 2024. Nabokov will work on his development in the AHL until a spot opens up for him on the Avalanche's roster.

Marchenko scored a goal Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Ottawa.

It was his first goal as a Maple Leaf. Marchenko was at the right side of the net on the power play when Darren Raddysh fed him the puck, and he quickly went to his backhand and put it past Linus Ullmark's blocker. The Leafs are yet to win this season, but the trade that brought Marchenko to Toronto already looks like a victory.

Giroux delivered two assists in a 3-2 win over Toronto on Saturday.

The 38-year-old veteran of 1,013 NHL games looked sharp out of the gate Saturday. Giroux is on the third line and will see duty on the second power-play unit. He's settled into a groove where he delivers about 50 points, including double digits on the power play, while continuing to win at least 500 faceoffs. Last season, Giroux's efficiency was excellent (63.1 percent) with 504 wins, and he delivered 600 wins (61.5 percent) the year before. He still has fantasy value in his tank.

Amadio scored a goal Saturday in a 3-2 season-opening win over Toronto.

He knotted the game 2-2 in the second off a deft saucer pass from Tim Stutzle that went over a sprawling Morgan Rielly right to the winger, who redirected it past Sergei Bobrovsky. Amadio is fresh off the best season of his career, with 15 goals, 20 assists and 105 hits in 81 games, and he finds himself on a top-nine line with Shane Pinto and Claude Giroux. He could be a smart waiver grab in banger leagues.

Jeannot scored a goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Wild.

Jeannot's goal opened the scoring, but the Bruins ran out of steam in the second game of their back-to-back. The 29-year-old forward has opened the season as a fixture on the fourth line. He's racked up 10 hits and two PIM over three contests, with his goal Saturday being his first point of the campaign. Jeannot can help in banger leagues, but he's unlikely to score enough to be useful in standard fantasy formats, though he had 22 points in 77 regular-season outings last year.

Halliday scored a goal in a 3-2 victory over Toronto on Saturday.

Halliday jammed in a rebound from the side of the net just as a Senators power play ended in the third period. It stood as the winner. Halliday has just 30 games under his NHL belt, but he's earned a role as the Sens' fourth-line pivot. It was his first career game-winning goal.

DiPietro stopped 26 of 29 shots in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Wild. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

The Wild controlled the last two periods, but DiPietro put in a fairly good effort. The 27-year-old netminder is filling an NHL role on a full-time basis for the first time. DiPietro has some fantasy upside in more favorable matchups than this one, but his playing time could be limited to 20-25 games as Jeremy Swayman's backup. The Bruins don't have a back-to-back over the next week, so it's unclear if DiPietro will get another chance to resume the hunt for his first win in the near future.

Spurgeon scored a goal, blocked two shots, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

Spurgeon has gotten a chance at a larger role than initially expected due to the indefinite absence of Brock Faber (skull fracture). Spurgeon is currently on the top pairing at even strength and is also involved on the second power-play unit. The 36-year-old has held up his end of the bargain with two points, two shots on net, five blocks, four PIM and a plus-3 rating over two contests so far. Spurgeon has a fairly lengthy injury history as well, but he's in a position to be productive as long as he stays healthy.

Hughes scored a power-play goal on four shots and dished an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Bruins.

Hughes' second-period tally gave the Wild a 2-1 lead and stood as the game-winner. He also helped out on Jared Spurgeon's goal in the third. Hughes has collected three points, nine shots and a plus-2 rating over the first two games of the campaign. He's in the upper echelon of offensive defensemen in the league, though Hughes' offense will far outpace his physical play -- he had 76 points, seven hits and 87 blocked shots over 74 regular-season outings in 2025-26.