NHL Player News

Ekblad notched an assist and two shots on goal in Monday's 6-5 win over the Oilers.

Ekblad ended a five-game drought when he helped out on Gustav Forsling's second-period tally. The 28-year-old Ekblad is now at 15 points, 57 shots on net, 47 hits, 47 blocked shots, 33 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 32 appearances. He's playing on the first pairing and first power-play unit, and he's well on his way to surpassing the 18 points he put up over 51 regular-season contests in 2023-24.

Forsling scored a goal on four shots in Monday's 6-5 win over the Oilers.

The Oilers took a 4-2 lead midway through the second period, but Forsling's tally late in the frame sparked the Panthers' comeback. The defenseman has been limited to two goals over seven games in December, though he's added 28 shots on net to dramatically up his shot rate compared to the 48 shots he had over the first 25 contests of the season. Overall, the 28-year-old is at five tallies, 13 points, 76 shots, 29 blocked shots, 28 hits and a plus-16 rating through 32 appearances.

Bichsel scored a goal and added four hits in Monday's 3-1 win over the Capitals.

Bichsel's shot banked in off a Capitals defenseman at 17:35 of the second period, and that stood as the game-winning goal. The 20-year-old defenseman has two goals, three shots on net, 12 hits and a plus-2 rating through his first three NHL outings. The Stars will likely remain cautious with his minutes, but his strong play could force them to keep him around with the big club even once Matt Dumba (upper body) and Thomas Harley (illness) are healthy.

Vaakanainen (upper body) will make his debut with the Rangers on Tuesday against the Predators, per Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today.

Vaakanainen was acquired in a trade by the Rangers from the Ducks on Dec. 6. The left-shot blueliner hasn't suited up since Nov. 13 due to his injury. Vaakanainen will skate on the third pair alongside Chad Ruhwedel, and Connor Mackey will come out of the lineup.

Makar delivered an assist in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Canucks.

Makar participated in the build-up to the team's lone goal, courtesy of Valeri Nichushkin with 46 seconds left in the third period, meaning the defenseman has cracked the scoresheet in three of Colorado's last four games. Even though Makar hasn't scored a goal since lightning the lamp in a 2-1 win over the Red Wings on Dec. 7, he remains productive on offense. He leads all defensemen in assists (29) and points (38) across 33 games in 2024-25.

Hughes delivered an assist in Monday's 3-1 win over the Avalanche.

Hughes set up Kiefer Sherwood's hat-trick goal, an empty-netter with 2:35 left in the third period, to record his 28th assist of the campaign. One of the most productive blueliners in the league and an outstanding playmaker, Hughes looks well on pace to record 60 assists for the fourth season in a row, and he might even surpass his career high of 75 assists from 2023-24.

Jones (foot) is now considered day-to-day but won't play against Washington on Tuesday, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports.

Jones has been out of the lineup since Nov. 14 versus the Kraken, a stretch of 14 games on the shelf that appears to be nearing its end. In 17 games this year, the Texas-born defenseman has generated two goals and eight helpers, including five power-play points. Once given the all-clear, Jones should retake his spot with the man advantage in addition to eating up plenty of minutes on the blue line.

Dahlin (back) is expected to get a full practice Thursday which could clear the way for him to play in Friday's matchup with Toronto, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

Based on Dahlin's timeline, he won't be available for Tuesday's clash with Montreal but appears to be making strides in his recovery. The 24-year-old blueliner will be sidelined for his seventh consecutive game due to his back problem. Prior to getting hurt, Dahlin was stuck in a four-game pointless streak, his longest of the 2024-25 campaign.

Friedman was assigned to AHL Abbotsford on Tuesday.

Friedman played in three consecutive contests from Dec. 10-14, but he was a healthy scratch against Colorado on Monday. The right-shot blueliner hasn't registered a point in the NHL this season.

Lauzon (lower body) will be out of action against the Rangers on Tuesday but did take the ice for the game-day skate, Robby Stanley of NHL.com reports.

Lauzon seems to be trending in the right direction even if he won't be in the lineup versus New York. This will be the 10th straight absence for the 27-year-old blueliner, having last played against the Devils on Nov. 25. With Roman Josi (lower body) and Alexandre Carrier (upper body) also sidelined, the Preds have had to roll out a defensive group feature plenty of AHL options, including Nick Blankenburg and Adam Wilsby.