NHL Player News

Gostisbehere scored two goals, distributed an assist and put three shots on net in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Mammoth.

Gostisbehere scored on a power play late in the second period before playing a pivotal role in the Hurricanes' late comeback in his return from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury. After sliding the primary helper on Andrei Svechnikov's goal with the man advantage, Gostisbehere found the back of the net himself at even strength 32 seconds later to tie the contest at four goals apiece. With the three-point performance, Gostisbehere is up to eight goals, 27 assists, 76 shots on net and 42 blocked shots through 36 games in 2025-26. While he's dealt with injuries throughout the season, the 32-year-old blueliner has been elite when healthy. Thursday's outing was his fourth of the season with three points and his eighth multi-point effort. Barring injury, Gostisbehere is on track to finish the year with a career high in points per game, giving him strong fantasy value from the blue line moving forward.

Svechnikov scored two goals on four shots, recorded an assist, served two PIM and dished out two hits in Thursday's 5-4 win over Utah.

Svechnikov tallied an unassisted goal early in the first period before later picking up a power-play helper late in the second. With nearly all hope lost of pulling off a comeback victory, his power-play twine finder sparked a three-goal outbreak to help Carolina steal the win with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. Overall, the 25-year-old winger is up to 20 goals, 26 assists, 145 shots on net and 92 hits across 53 games this season. The budding star has completely bounced back after last year and sits just two points shy of matching the 48 he posted in 72 regular-season games in 2024-25. He is above the necessary pace to reach 70 points for the first time in his career while maintaining strong category coverage, which places him in a fantasy territory he hasn't sniffed since his career-best year during the 2021-22 campaign.

Bussi halted 21 of 25 shots on net in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Mammoth.

With two minutes remaining on the clock, Bussi was headed towards his fourth regulation loss of the season before Carolina's offense erupted for three goals to place its netminder in the win column. With the comeback win, Bussi now has a 20-3-1 record, 2.22 GAA and .906 save percentage across 24 appearances this season. The 27-year-old netminder is on a four-game winning streak and has won seven of his last eight starts. In that span, he has posted a 2.01 GAA and a .916 save percentage, which ranks near the top of the league in both categories. Bussi continues to silence critics and looks every part of a top-tier NHL netminder, which gives him elite fantasy value in nearly all formats moving forward. He'll have a chance to extend his impressive run of play Saturday in a road clash with the Capitals.

Vejmelka stopped 28 of 33 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes.

After allowing just two goals across the first 58 minutes of the contest, Vejmelka crashed and burned when he surrendered three goals in the final two minutes of the third period. With the loss, the 29-year-old netminder now has a 25-13-2 record, 2.62 GAA and .899 save percentage through 41 appearances this season. After posting an eight-game winning streak earlier in January, Utah's starting netminder has dropped a pair of road games to Eastern Conference opponents in his last two outings. With a league-leading 25 wins and the Mammoth occupying a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, Vejmelka remains a high-level goaltending option across most fantasy formats. His next chance to bounce back is in Saturday's home clash against Dallas.

Dries was reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids on Friday.

Dries has yet to get into an NHL game this season, serving exclusively as a healthy scratch when he's been called up to the NHL roster. With the Griffins in action versus AHL Chicago on Friday, Dries could suit up in that contest and then be recalled by the Red Wings prior to Saturday's matchup with Colorado.

Connor scored a goal on five shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.

This tally ended a five-game goal drought for Connor, who still had four assists in that span. The 29-year-old winger is up to 24 goals, 61 points and 173 shots on net through 53 appearances this season. Few forwards can match Connor's consistency. He's well on his way to another 90-point campaign, which would be his third in the last five years.

James scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Jets.

James scored at 14:58 of the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. The 23-year-old continues to make a name for himself as a rookie, earning four points over his last six games. For the season, he has filled a versatile role, picking up five goals, seven assists, 43 shots on net, 51 hits and a plus-2 rating over 37 appearances.

Nazar notched two assists and two PIM in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Penguins.

Nazar missed 15 games due to an upper-body injury, and he proceeded to go four contests without a point after his return. He was on the top line Thursday and helped out on goals by Connor Murphy and Connor Bedard. Nazar now has 23 points, 80 shots on net and a minus-7 rating through 38 appearances. He should be a top-six fixture for the remainder of the season, giving Nazar decent appeal in most fantasy formats, especially if he gains wing eligibility.

Murphy scored a goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Penguins.

Murphy scored the opening goal at 9:32 of the first period. The Penguins had the next six tallies before Connor Bedard stopped the bleeding. Murphy has three goals and an assist over his last 12 games, an unusual burst of offense for the shutdown defenseman. He's now at 10 points, 50 shots on net, 52 hits, 81 blocked shots, 44 PIM and a minus-3 rating over 54 appearances.

Hayes was scratched for the 14th time in 16 games in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Hayes has found himself firmly in the press box in January, and it's unclear what it would take for him to carve out a spot in the lineup. The 33-year-old will be ready on a moment's notice, but the Penguins are working on incorporating more young players in the lineup. Hayes hasn't helped his own cause this season, earning five points, 39 shots on net, 27 hits and a minus-5 rating over 23 appearances.