NHL Player News

Danault (rest) was on the ice for Thursday's practice session, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.

After sitting out the regular-season finale, Danault was back in his usual fourth-line role ahead of the Habs' first-round series versus the Lightning. It's been an underwhelming 2025-26 campaign for the 33-year-old winger, as he managed just 12 points in 45 games for Montreal, giving him a combined 17 points this year. That's well off the 40-plus points he registered in each of the prior four campaigns.

Dewar (lower body) practiced in a regular jersey Thursday, Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site reports.

Dewar was previously deemed week-to-week but seems to be trending in the right direction ahead of the postseason. The 26-year-old center has missed the Penguins' prior four contests due to his lower-body issue. The Manitoba native is currently mired in a 15-game goal drought during which he's notched five assists, 21 hits and 11 shots. If given the all-clear, Dewar should reclaim a spot on the fourth line.

Lizotte (upper body) took the ice for Thursday's practice in a regular sweater, Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site reports.

Lizotte has been sidelined since March 14 against the Mammoth due to his upper-body issue, a stretch of 16 games on the shelf. When healthy, the 28-year-old Minnesota native logged seven goals and 12 assists in 55 regular-season contests. If given the all-clear for Game 1 of the postseason, Lizotte could step into the lineup in favor of Elmer Soderblom.

Bourque scored a goal in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo.

That's four goals in the last two games and seven in the last 12 for Bourque, with the late surge securing his first career 20-goal campaign. The 24-year-old heads into the postseason handling a top-six role for the Stars at even strength, but a lack of consistent power-play time still limits his appeal for playoff pools.

Hryckowian produced an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo.

It's the first multi-point performance since March 6 for Hryckowian. The 25-year-old rookie wraps up the regular season with 14 goals and 30 points in 81 games, adding 119 hits and 43 PIM, and he'll head into the playoffs filling a physical bottom-six role for the Stars.

Del Bel Belluz was reassigned to AHL Cleveland on Thursday.

Del Bel Belluz had one assist in 14 regular-season NHL games this season, down from two goals and six assists in 15 games in 2024-25. He spent most of the season with the AHL Monsters, generating a team-leading 22 goals and 57 points in 53 appearances.

Aston-Reese was reassigned to AHL Cleveland on Thursday.

Aston-Reese saw action in 27 games for the Blue Jackets this season in which he notched one goal, four assists and 17 shots. The veteran forward was significantly more productive in the minors this year, producing seven goals and seven assists in 25 games for the Monsters.

Wright scored a goal in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Wright returned from missing eight games due to an upper-body injury and was the only Kraken player to solve Carter Hart. The tally gives Wright 12 goals, 27 points, 97 shots on net, 58 blocked shots, 51 hits and a plus-6 rating over 73 appearances this season. That's a large step back from his 44-point campaign in 2024-25, though it's possibly just a sophomore slump -- Wright is still young enough to be a breakout candidate next year.

Eichel produced two assists, four shots on goal and a plus-3 rating in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Kraken.

Eichel tore up the league late in the regular season with three goals and 13 helpers over his last 10 games. The surge got him to 90 points in 74 appearances this season, and he's added 260 shots on net and a plus-23 rating. Eichel continuing to be the best player on the ice in most games will be a key factor for Vegas to make a deep playoff run.

Misa scored a power-play goal on two shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks.

Misa has a point in three straight games, and his last two contributions have come on the power play. This tally was his first in a month -- he last scored March 15 in Ottawa. The 19-year-old has had some growing pains this season while primarily seeing bottom-six minutes, earning eight goals, 20 points, 53 shots on net and a minus-3 rating over 44 appearances. Four of his points have come with the man advantage.