NHL Player News

Makar notched a pair of power-play assists, three shots on goal, two blocked shots and a minus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Sharks.

Makar has a goal and seven assists over nine outings in December, with just two of those being multi-point efforts this month. The 26-year-old defenseman had a hand in tallies by Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen. Makar is up to 40 points (17 on the power play), 100 shots on net, 46 blocked shots, 29 hits and a plus-2 rating over 34 appearances. He may not match last year's 90-point effort, but he should be among the top-scoring blueliners all season.

Korczak was scratched for the fourth straight game when he sat out Thursday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.

Korczak was a regular in the lineup when the Golden Knights were dealing with injuries on the blue line. Now that the team has its preferred six defensemen healthy, Korczak is back to being a healthy scratch. The 23-year-old didn't help his own cause, going minus-4 during an 11-game point drought prior to his return to the press box. He has three assists, 13 shots on net, 27 hits and 20 blocked shots over 17 outings this season.

Hanifin posted an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.

Hanifin has three helpers over his last three games after going seven contests without a point. The 27-year-old blueliner set up Brett Howden for the empty-netter to seal the win in the final minute of the game. Through 32 appearances, Hanifin has 15 points, 57 shots on net, 50 blocked shots, 21 hits and a minus-1 rating this season.

Theodore logged an assist in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.

Theodore continues to rack up offense in December -- he has three goals and six assists over seven games this month. The blueliner set up Alex Pietrangelo's game-tying goal in the second period. Theodore is up to 27 points, 60 shots on net, 40 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating through 31 contests this season, playing in his usual top-four role with power-play time.

Pietrangelo scored a goal on three shots and went plus-3 in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Canucks.

Pietrangelo ended an eight-game point drought with the game-tying goal in the second period. The 34-year-old's defense will keep him in a top-four role even when his offense is lacking. For the season, he has produced three goals, 13 helpers, 57 shots on net, 46 blocked shots, 26 hits and a plus-10 rating over 29 appearances.

Skjei had a goal and assist in a 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday.

He had gone nine games without a point and 24 without a goal. Skjei has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 33 games, so it's unlikely he gets back to his career mark of 47 points set last season. The gaps in Skjei's offense are simply too far apart to offer managers any value.

Bahl had an assist and two shots on goal in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators.

Bahl has logged a helper in three of the last four games, and he has six points over his last 10 outings. The 24-year-old defenseman's assist Thursday gave him career highs in points (12) and assists (11) through just 33 appearances. He's added 39 shots on net, 50 hits, 52 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating while serving as a defensive fixture in the Flames' top four this year.

Hamonic posted an assist, three shots on goal and two blocked shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Flames.

Hamonic ended a 14-game point drought with the helper. The 34-year-old defenseman had the secondary assist on Nick Cousins' tally in the first period. Hamonic remains mostly a defensive presence, and he's logging top-four minutes again after a stretch earlier in December where his ice time dropped. He's produced a mere two helpers with 39 shots on net, 53 blocked shots, 33 hits and a minus-8 rating through 31 outings overall.

Sanderson notched an assist, two shots on goal and three blocked shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Flames.

Sanderson has started to get back on track with three helpers over his last five games. Prior to that, he went six contests without a point. The 22-year-old defenseman is up to a goal, 16 assists, 66 shots on net, 64 blocked shots and a minus-12 rating through 32 appearances this season. This was just his fourth even-strength point of the campaign -- he has 12 on the power play and one shorthanded assist on his ledger.

Karlsson scored a goal and added an assist in a 5-4 overtime win over Nashville on Thursday.

Karlsson now has three goals and 19 assists in 34 games. Yes, managers and fans have been frustrated with Karlsson, in large part because of they still see him as the 101-point guy he was in San Jose in 2022-23. Four words: lightning in a bottle. Still, he's on pace for mid-50s in points, much like he delivered last season. Fantasy managers don't care about his defensive gaffes, but the Pens could reduce his playing time to protect him a bit and reduce frustration overall. His average ice time this season is 22:43, down from his 25:18 average.