NHL Player News

Staal scored a goal and added three hits in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blackhawks.

Staal snapped a 16-game goal drought with the effort. In that span, he racked up six assists and 21 shots on net, and he's maintained a spot on the second power-play unit, though it hasn't led to increased production. The 37-year-old center has 11 goals, 21 points, 66 shots on net, 94 hits, 26 blocked shots, 25 PIM and a plus-3 rating through 48 appearances this season in his customary middle-six role.

Blake scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blackhawks.

Blake provided the Hurricanes' third tying goal, forcing overtime. The 22-year-old has four goals and two assists over his last eight contests. For the season, he's up to 16 goals, 30 points, 110 shots on net and 30 PIM in 51 games. He's been a middle-six regular throughout the campaign, and he's five points away from surpassing his rookie-year total.

Murphy scored a goal in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes.

Murphy scored from close range, which isn't particularly common for him. The 32-year-old defenseman has earned six points and a plus-6 rating over his last 14 contests, accounting for the bulk of his offense this season. Overall, he has nine points, 45 shots on net, 44 PIM, 51 hits, 71 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating through 50 appearances in a bottom-four role.

Lardis scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes.

Lardis had gone four games without a point. The 20-year-old is still finding his way at the NHL level, playing mainly in a third-line role with some power-play time on the second unit. He's up to five goals, one assist, 30 shots on net, 31 hits and a minus-8 rating over 19 outings to begin his career.

Wolf will be between the home pipes versus Washington on Friday, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Wolf has struggled of late, posting a 1-6-0 mark with a 3.75 GAA and an .885 save percentage in his last seven starts. Wolf is 15-20-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 3.00 GAA and an .897 save percentage over 38 appearances in 2025-26. The Capitals are tied for 13th in NHL scoring this season, generating 3.18 goals per game.

Horvat (lower body) is slated to play in Saturday's clash with Buffalo, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Horvat looks poised to return to his first-line center role in addition to linking up with the No. 1 power-play unit. Injuries have derailed Horvat's season, as he has featured in just four of the Isles' last 18 contests. When healthy, the veteran has produced at a fantastic rate, generating 21 goals and 12 assists in 36 contests, including 12 power-play points.

Nystrom scored his first career goal in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to Chicago.

The 23-year-old rookie tied the game at 1-1 midway through the first period, going top shelf on Spencer Knight from the faceoff circle. Nystrom, a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, has taken advantage of injuries to handle a fairly steady role on Carolina's blue line this season as part of the third pairing. Through 36 games, he's delivered nine points, 42 shots on net, 21 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating.

Andersen stopped 19 shots in regulation and overtime and four of six shootout attempts during Thursday's 4-3 loss to Chicago.

Carolina once again kept the shot volume low on Andersen, but the chances he did see were from in close and high-danger areas. The veteran netminder is 2-0-2 over his last four starts and didn't face more than 30 shots in any of them, posting a 2.43 GAA and .880 save percentage over that stretch.

Mikheyev scored a shorthanded goal and added an even-strength assist in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over Carolina.

The veteran winger opened the scoring midway through the first period, stealing the puck in the Chicago zone, taking it the length of the ice and then tapping his own rebound past Frederik Andersen. It was Mikheyev's first shortie of the season, and through 10 games in January he's stepped up with three goals and seven points.

Knight turned aside 28 shots in regulation and overtime and five of six shootout attempts during Thursday's 4-3 win over the Hurricanes.

Chicago grabbed one-goal leads in every period, only for Carolina to quickly answer back each time, but Knight locked things down in OT and the shootout with only Andrei Svechnikov managing to get a puck past him. Knight has put together an impressive January, going 5-2-0 in seven starts with a 2.25 GAA and .924 save percentage.