NHL Player News

McDavid delivered four assists, including two on the power play, while taking three shots on goal and posting a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Canucks.

McDavid entered this game tied with Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead in helpers, but the former didn't waste much time showing off his playmaking, recording three assists by the time the first period ended, helping to set up each of Matt Savoie's goals. McDavid added his fourth and final assist on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' power-play goal in the second frame. It was a fitting end of the regular season for McDavid, who finished the campaign as the league leader in points with 138, ranking first in assists (90) and third in goals (48).

Trouba notched an assist and two hits in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Predators.

Since a two-assist effort March 6 versus the Canadiens, Trouba has been limited to five helpers over the last 20 contests of the regular season. The defenseman will be valued for his physicality and his shutdown work during the postseason, which will see him with his hands full against the Oilers. Trouba ends the regular season at 35 points -- his most in four years -- as well as 166 shots on net, 143 hits, 149 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 81 appearances.

Luneau scored a goal on two shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Predators.

Luneau made his first NHL appearance of the season in the regular-season finale. The 22-year-old defenseman picked up his first point for the Ducks since the 2023-24 campaign. He's still young enough to be a prospect, but he's been passed by some other blueliners during his development. Luneau will likely head back to AHL San Diego for the Gulls' playoff run, but considering they barely made the postseason, it wouldn't be shocking to see Luneau recalled again with the Black Aces soon.

O'Hara posted an assist and two hits in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Ducks.

O'Hara saw 11:23 of ice time in his NHL debut, and he helped out on a Steven Stamkos tally in the first period. This was the season finale for the Predators, so expect O'Hara to be back with AHL Milwaukee for the tail end of that team's regular season as well as a playoff run. The 23-year-old should be in competition for NHL minutes in 2026-27.

Nichushkin recorded two assists and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Kraken.

Nichushkin had gone four contests without a point prior to Thursday. The 31-year-old will likely fill a top-six role during the playoffs, though he probably won't be a leader on offense. He concludes the regular season with 49 points, 160 shots on net, 55 hits and a plus-9 rating across 72 appearances.

Blankenburg scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Kraken.

Blankenburg has two goals over his last four games. For the regular season, he ends with eight goals, 24 points, 72 shots on net, 59 blocked shots, 55 hits and a minus-10 rating over 61 appearances between the Avalanche and the Predators. Blankenburg will likely get a chance to play as long as Josh Manson (upper body) is out.

Kelly scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Kraken.

Kelly snapped a five-game drought with this tally. The 26-year-old ends the regular season with a career-best campaign to his name after putting up 21 goals, 35 points, 104 shots on net, 177 hits, 58 blocked shots and a plus-18 rating. He'll be an integral part of the Avalanche's forward depth during the postseason.

Wedgewood posted a 22-save shutout in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Kraken.

Wedgewood was excellent to close out the season, allowing no more than two goals in any of his last eight appearances. He was a little unlucky to go 6-1-1 in that span. Wedgewood ends the regular season at 31-6-6 with four shutouts, a 2.02 GAA and a .921 save percentage in 45 appearances. Wedgewood led the league in GAA and save percentage among goalies to appear in at least 20 games, and his performance, alongside strong work by teammate Mackenzie Blackwood, was enough for the Avalanche's duo to take home the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed as a team (197). The Avalanche allowed 25 fewer goals than the next closest team, the Stars.

Ostman stopped 33 of 35 shots in Thursday's 2-0 loss to the Avalanche.

He didn't face the full brunt of Colorado's attack, as the hosts rested a few players. Ostman still faced plenty of pressure, but he put forth a good effort. The Kraken lost because they couldn't solve opposing goalie Scott Wedgewood. With the Kraken's season over, expect Ostman and Niklas Kokko to be reassigned to AHL Coachella Valley in the coming days.

Byfield scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Flames.

Byfield's goal gave him five points over the last three games of the regular season. He also set a career high with his 24th tally of the year, though he was unable to reach 50 points for a third straight campaign. The 23-year-old ends the regular season at 49 points, 180 shots on net, 66 hits, 44 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over 79 appearances. Byfield has already started to take on significant minutes, a sign that he could be the heir apparent to the top-line center job that the retiring Anze Kopitar will vacate at the end of the Kings' playoff run.