Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin: Lights lamp Saturday
Rotowire
Nikishin scored a goal and added two hits in Saturday's 4-3 shootout win over the Flyers.
Nikishin has a goal and an assist over his last two games. However, even with the goal Saturday, he was down to a season-low 13:26 of ice time. The 24-year-old has done a fine job with 11 points, 51 shots on net, 62 hits, 39 blocked shots and a plus-11 rating over 30 appearances. He could get pinched out of the lineup at times once Jaccob Slavin (lower body) returns to action, though it's also possible the Hurricanes send him to AHL Chicago to keep his workload up with bigger minutes with the farm team.
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Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin: Showing future star potential
Rotowire
Nikishin scored a goal Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Boston.
He wired a slap shot from the slot late in the third period with the extra skater on the ice for Carolina's lone goal. Nikishin has a goal and an assist in his last two games. He has produced two tallies, six points, 21 shots on net and a plus-10 rating through 11 contests this season. He's already in the hunt for the Calder Trophy as the best rookie. Due to injuries, he is on the top pairing and has been working on the second power-play unit. Nikishin is a star in the making.
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Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin: Buries first goal
Rotowire
Nikishin scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Ducks.
Nikishin has opened the season with a four-game point streak consisting of one goal and three assists. His tally Thursday was the first of his NHL career. The 24-year-old rookie has added eight shots on net, 10 hits, five blocked shots and a plus-6 rating. While he's been at least somewhat sheltered on the Hurricanes' third pairing, his adjustment to the NHL is clearly going well, and he offers multi-category upside in fantasy.
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Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin: Collects assist Thursday
Rotowire
Nikishin recorded an assist in Thursday's 6-3 win over New Jersey.
It was Nikishin's first career regular-season game in the NHL, though he did already record an assist in four NHL playoff outings with Carolina last year. The 24-year-old also had a plus-3 rating, one shot, three hits and two blocks in Thursday's victory. It's a great start to the season for Nikishin, but keep in mind that he's serving on the third pairing and isn't expected to get regular power-play ice time, so his offensive contributions will likely be limited in 2025-26.
