NHL Player News

Poehling (upper body) won't return to Tuesday's Game 5 versus the Golden Knights.

Poehling was hurt on a heavy hit by Brayden McNabb in the first period. For now, Poehling can be considered day-to-day ahead of Thursday's Game 6. If he has to miss time, Jansen Harkins or Frank Vatrano would be the top candidates to enter the lineup.

Barzal (undisclosed) won't participate in the 2026 IIHF World Championship because of a minor injury, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

Barzal will skip the tournament to recover, but he should be ready for the start of the 2026-27 NHL campaign. In 81 regular-season appearances for the Islanders in 2025-26, he produced 19 goals, 72 points, 184 shots on net and 50 blocked shots.

Eriksson Ek (lower body) will not join the team for Game 5 in Colorado on Wednesday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Eriksson Ek will be sidelined for his fifth straight game due to his lingering lower-body injury. The fact that the 29-year-old center isn't even traveling with the team doesn't bode well for his availability for Game 6 back in Minnesota either. If the Swede does return, it figures to be in a top-six role.

Coyle agreed to terms on a six-year, $36 million contract with Columbus on Tuesday.

Coyle played in all 82 regular-season games for the Jackets this year, racking up 20 goals and 38 helpers. With the 34-year-old center putting pen to paper on a six-year deal, this figures to be the final contract of his career, keeping him with the Jackets long term.

Cerrato inked a three-year, entry-level contract with Carolina on Tuesday.

Cerrato will make the jump to the professional ranks after wrapping up his sophomore campaign at Penn St. With the Nittany Lions, the 21-year-old center notched seven goals and 20 assists in 23 contests. Selected by the club in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft, Cerrato figures to start 2026-27 in the minors but could make his NHL debut for the Hurricanes at some point next year.

Sturm scored a goal on three shots and added two hits in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Avalanche in Game 4.

Sturm netted his first goal of the playoffs, tying the game at 2-2 at 9:15 of the third period. He's earned three points, eight shots on net, 15 hits and a minus-1 rating over seven postseason contests. Sturm continues to fill a fourth-line role while the Wild are thinned out at center in the absence of Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body).

Necas logged two assists, including one on the power play, and added two hits in Monday's 5-2 win over the Wild in Game 4.

Necas is up to seven points over four games in the second round, getting significantly more involved than he did against the Kings in the first round. Overall, the talented forward has one goal, eight assists, 22 shots on net, 13 hits and a plus-7 rating over eight appearances. He's a virtual lock for top-line minutes unless things start going south for the Avalanche.

Colton scored a goal on four shots, added two PIM and doled out three hits in Monday's 5-2 win over the Wild in Game 4.

Colton's goal was his first of the postseason, and it gave the Avalanche their first lead in this contest. The 29-year-old was bumped up to the second line on paper, but he saw just 8:39 of ice time Monday, with Nazem Kadri picking up a larger chunk of the minutes vacated by Artturi Lehkonen (upper body). Colton has three points, 11 shots on net, 19 hits and a minus-1 rating over six playoff appearances.

Kadri scored a power-play goal on five shots and added three hits in Monday's 5-2 win over the Wild in Game 4.

Kadri tied the game at 1-1 in the second period with his tally. The 35-year-old has two goals and three assists during his five-game point streak, with four of those five points coming on the power play. He's up to six points, 24 shots, seven hits and an even plus-minus rating over eight playoff contests in a middle-six role.

Nelson scored an empty-net goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 5-2 win over the Wild in Game 4.

Nelson's two goals this postseason have both gone into empty nets. He's at three points over eight playoff outings, which isn't a lot of secondary scoring for a player in a second-line role. He's added 15 shots on net, 10 hits, nine blocked shots, eight PIM and a plus-3 rating while playing in all situations.