NHL Player News

Bjornfot scored twice in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Blackhawks.

Prior to Sunday, Bjornfot had just one goal in the first 138 regular-season games of his NHL career. He hadn't earned a point since the 2022-23 campaign with the Kings, when he had one assist over 10 outings. The defenseman provided an unlikely spark, scoring the opening and closing goals of the Panthers' win. He's added seven shots on net, four hits, five blocked shots and a plus-2 rating over five contests this season. Bjornfot is likely to stick in the lineup as a third-pairing defenseman while Seth Jones (upper body) and Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) are out, though Donovan Sebrango could push him for playing time.

Tarasov stopped 19 of 20 shots in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Blackhawks.

Tarasov didn't have to do too much in this contest. He allowed a goal to Tyler Bertuzzi late in the second period, but the Panthers bounced back with a four-goal third to cruise to the win. Tarasov has allowed just five goals on 90 shots during his four-game winning streak. For the season, he's up to 8-6-2 with a 2.53 GAA and a .908 save percentage over 17 appearances. Sergei Bobrovsky is likely to be back between the pipes for Tuesday's home game versus the Mammoth.

Blueger scored a goal on three shots and added five hits in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins.

Blueger has scored in consecutive contests. The 31-year-old center is up to three goals through five games this season, and he's added 10 shots on net, 15 hits and a minus-1 rating. It's tough to envision Blueger keeping up a steady scoring pace for the rest of the campaign, but his category coverage can help fantasy managers in deep formats.

DeBrusk scored a goal on five shots and added three hits in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins.

DeBrusk ended an eight-game goal drought when he scored at 6:29 of the third period. The 29-year-old winger is now at 13 goals, 25 points, 142 shots on net, 50 hits and a minus-12 rating over 51 appearances. He's right in line for a 40-point campaign, a mark he's reached in each of the last four seasons. That said, the Canucks' volatile offense isn't a great place for DeBrusk to attempt to find steady scoring, even in a top-six role.

Lankinen allowed three goals on 25 shots in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins.

Lankinen took his fifth regulation loss in his last six outings, and it was his fifth straight game with at least three goals against. The Penguins' tallies came in a span of 11:58 during the second period, and the Canucks' comeback effort in the third fell short. Lankinen dropped to 7-16-4 with a 3.44 GAA and an .884 save percentage over 28 appearances. He hasn't been good enough and hasn't gotten enough support to regularly contend for wins. The Canucks host the Sharks on Tuesday.

Kindel scored two goals on five shots in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Canucks.

Kindel ended a 19-game goal drought in a big way. He had the Penguins' second and third tallies, and his second goal stood as the game-winner after the Canucks' comeback effort fell short. Kindel is up to 10 goals, 22 points, 97 shots on net, 42 blocked shots, 20 hits and a minus-10 rating over 48 appearances. He's still in a third-line role, but the 18-year-old has already shown some promise as a rookie.

Skinner stopped 30 of 32 shots in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Canucks.

Skinner was spotted a 3-0 lead after two periods. The Canucks pushed back with goals from Jake DeBrusk and Teddy Blueger, but Skinner was able to keep the lead for the Penguins, earning his fourth straight win. He's allowed nine goals on 108 shots during the streak. For the season, the 27-year-old netminder improved to 18-12-4 with a 2.65 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 34 starts. The Penguins will have a short break before their next game, which is at home Thursday versus the Blackhawks.

Mueller scored twice and added an assist in AHL Abbotsford's 4-0 win over San Diego on Sunday.

Mueller has three goals and three assists over his last four games. For the season, he's up to eight goals, 19 points, 58 shots on net and a minus-14 rating over 37 appearances. Mueller has 101 AHL games to his name, and the 22-year-old looks to still need some development time before competing for NHL minutes.

Head coach Adam Foote did not have a postgame update on Boeser's status after the winger took a hit to head at the conclusion of Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Penguins, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.

Boeser was on the receiving end of a high hit from Bryan Rust during a net-front scramble in the final seconds of the third period as the Canucks tried to send the game to overtime. The 28-year-old Boeser will presumably be evaluated further Monday. The right-shot winger should be considered day-to-day ahead of Tuesday's home divisional matchup against the Sharks.

Malkin (undisclosed) suffered an apparent injury at the end of Sunday's 3-2 win in Vancouver, and there was no update on his status after the game, according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic.

Per Yohe, Malkin looked to be grabbing his shoulder on the bench at the end of the game. The veteran forward opened the scoring during Sunday's victory with an even-strength goal and went plus-1 in 16:01 of ice time. Malkin returned to the lineup Jan. 8 after missing 15 games due to an upper-body issue, but it's currently unclear if this latest injury is related to his previous one. Pittsburgh's next game is at home Thursday versus the Blackhawks.