NHL Player News

Sorokin will get the starting nod on the road versus the Rangers on Thursday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin will take the second game of the back-to-back versus New York after David Rittich secured the 5-2 win Wednesday. Since returning from injury, the 30-year-old Sorokin has appeared in seven of the Isles' last 11 contests, posting a 5-2-0 record, 2.02 GAA and three shutouts. The Russian backstop currently leads the NHL with six shutouts and will look to secure No. 7 on Thursday.

Middleton logged an assist and two hits in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

Middleton appeared in his first NHL outing of the season in Wednesday's loss after posting nine points in 39 AHL appearances. The 27-year-old defenseman logged 10:23 of ice time on the third pairing against Ottawa. Middleton was limited to two assists in 41 regular-season outings for the Avalanche in 2024-25, and his stay on the NHL roster could be a short one, as the team has often rotated players in depth roles this year.

Kelly scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

Kelly's goal at 14:05 of the second period briefly tied the game at 1-1, though Ridly Greig answered just 17 seconds later. The 26-year-old Kelly is up to a career-high 20 points in just 51 outings this season, reaching this milestone against his former team. He's added 67 shots on net, 105 hits, 36 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating while playing primarily in a bottom-six role.

Nichushkin scored a goal on two shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

Nichushkin's goal brought the Avalanche within one early in the third period, but they couldn't tie the game. The 30-year-old winger hadn't scored in January prior to Wednesday, picking up just two assists and 16 shots on net over 10 outings. He's now at 12 goals, 29 points, 102 shots on net, 35 hits and a plus-3 rating over 42 contests.

Blackwood allowed three goals on 21 shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators. The last two goals were empty-netters.

The Avalanche struggled as a whole and were in no position to help Blackwood. He's gone 1-3-0 with 15 goals allowed on 101 shots over his last four games, though that's part of a larger rough patch for the team. Overall, Blackwood has a 14-4-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .909 save percentage across 19 appearances. Scott Wedgewood will likely get the nod for Thursday's game in Montreal, but fantasy managers should be patient with Blackwood -- he's talented enough to turn things around, especially on a strong team.

Zub notched two assists, two hits and a plus-3 rating in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.

Zub earned his first multi-point effort since Oct. 25 versus the Capitals. The defenseman has earned seven points and a plus-6 rating over 15 outings in January. For the season, Zub has four goals, 15 helpers, 60 shots on net, 75 blocked shots, 52 hits, 34 PIM and a plus-13 rating in 52 appearances. At this pace, he could challenge for his first 30-point campaign.

Cousins scored a goal on three shots and added three hits in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.

Cousins ended a month-long goal drought, a span in which he logged five assists, 23 hits and 26 PIM over 15 contests between tallies. The 32-year-old opened the scoring Wednesday at 3:21 of the second period. He's matched his point total from each of the last two regular seasons (15) while adding 42 shots on net, 104 hits, 59 PIM, 23 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating. He'll likely finish 2025-26 with 20-plus points for the first time since the 2022-23 regular season.

Greig scored a goal and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.

Greig has picked up his scoring pace with three goals and six helpers over the last eight contests. The 23-year-old has worked his way into a top-six role in that span, and he's also on the second power-play unit, though he hasn't contributed in that situation since Oct. 27. Overall, Greig is up to nine goals, 25 points, 86 shots on net, 61 hits, 61 PIM and a plus-9 rating over 48 outings.

Giroux scored a goal on four shots and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.

Giroux ended an 11-game goal drought with his third-period tally, which stood as the game-winner. The 38-year-old was still productive in that span, racking up seven assists, 16 hits and 15 shots on net. He should continue to be a positive contributor on offense as long as he's in a top-six role. Giroux has 10 goals, 37 points, 90 shots, 49 hits and a plus-13 rating over 53 appearances this season.

Tkachuk scored an empty-net goal on three shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.

Tkachuk has five goals and seven helpers over the last eight contests. The 26-year-old winger took some time to get his offense on track after missing nearly six weeks due to a thumb injury earlier in the campaign, but he's rolling in January. Overall, Tkachuk has 13 goals, 33 points, 129 shots, 92 hits, 34 PIM and a minus-3 rating over 33 appearances.