NHL Player News

Cole notched an assist, two shots on goal, two hits and five blocked shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.

Cole snapped a 10-game point drought with the helper. The 35-year-old defenseman has seen big minutes lately, topping the 20-minute mark in 11 straight games as Utah continues to weather terrible injury luck on defense. The physical blueliner is up to eight points, 32 shots on net, 33 PIM, 38 hits, 83 blocked shots and a minus-2 rating over 29 appearances.

Kesselring logged an assist, three shots on goal and two blocked shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.

Kesselring has four points over his last six contests. The 24-year-old set up the first of Dylan Guenther's two tallies in Thursday's win. Kesselring is up to 15 points, 52 shots on net, 37 hits, 25 blocked shots, 24 PIM and a plus-10 rating through 29 outings. With injuries piled high on Utah's blue line, Kesselring should continue to log steady top-four minutes and see power-play time.

Moser (undisclosed) sustained an injury in Thursday's game versus the Flames, and head coach Jon Cooper labeled him "highly doubtful" to play Saturday against the Kraken, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

The Lightning are already missing Victor Hedman (lower body) and Erik Cernak (lower body), so they can ill afford to be without a third blueliner. Moser had an assist in Thursday's 8-3 win, giving him 10 points through 27 outings this season, and he's often filled a top-four role. More information on the state of the Tampa Bay blue line will likely be available prior to Saturday's contest.

Kolyachonok scored the game-winning goal and fired two shots on net in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.

Since Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) is facing a significant absence, Kolyachonok may finally get a look in Utah's lineup. He played just 9:47 in Thursday's contest, but his tally at 8:05 of the second period stood as the game-winner. He's played in just three of the last 18 games, and that's been exclusively in a limited third-pairing role. For the season, he's at a career-high five points with seven shots on net, nine hits, nine blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 14 appearances.

Bouchard (lower body) limped off the ice late in the third period of Thursday's game versus the Wild, Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton reports.

It's unclear if he was seriously hurt or just shaken up on the play. Bouchard had two assists in the 7-1 win, putting him at 22 points through 29 appearances this season. The Oilers' next game is Saturday against the Golden Knights, so there should be an update on his status prior to that contest's 4:00 p.m. Eastern puck drop.

Grzelyck recorded two assists, including one on the power play, and two blocked shots in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Canadiens.

Grzelyck was involved in Rickard Rakell's power-play tally in the first period which tied the game at 1-1. It was Grzelyck's career-high eighth power-play point of the season. He later had a hand in Matt Nieto's tally in the third period to give the Penguins an 8-2 lead. Grzelyck has six helpers (four on the power play) over the last six outings and is up to 14 for the season.

Middleton (upper body) won't return to Thursday's game versus the Oilers.

Middleton's injury occurred early in the first period. If he is unable to play in a weekend back-to-back -- the Wild host the Flyers on Saturday and the Golden Knights on Sunday -- the team will likely need to call up a defenseman or give Cameron Crotty his team debut.

Hedman (lower body) is a late scratch for Thursday's game against Calgary, according to Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Hedman is regarded as day-to-day. He has four goals and 25 points in 26 outings in 2024-25. The blueliner was on the ice for the pregame warmups, and there was no prior indication that he was in danger of missing the game. However, Steve Santini skated as an extra for the warmups, perhaps as an insurance policy in case Hedman proved to be unavailable. Either way, Santini will draw into the lineup due to Hedman's absence.

Cernak (lower body) is slated to miss Thursday's tilt against Calgary, according to Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun.

Cernak was also absent for Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Edmonton. He has seven assists, 48 hits and 33 blocks over 25 appearances in 2024-25. His next opportunity to play will come Saturday in Seattle.

Ceci (illness) is available for Thursday's tilt against St. Louis, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Ceci has a goal, seven points, 33 hits and 56 blocks over 31 appearances with San Jose in 2024-25. He didn't miss any action due to the illness, but he was regarded as a game-time decision. Ceci is projected to serve on the top pairing alongside Jake Walman.