NHL Player News

Forbort (knee) practiced in a regular jersey Tuesday, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650.

It was the first time Forbort was able to ditch the non-contact jersey, so he should probably be considered a doubt to face the Blues on Tuesday but could be back in action sooner rather than later. Even once cleared to play, the veteran defenseman is far from a lock to play on a nightly basis and may have to serve as a healthy scratch periodically.

Hutson logged a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Monday's 3-2 shootout win over the Ducks.

Hutson's seven-game point streak is the longest by a rookie defenseman in Canadiens history. During the streak, he has racked up eight assists, three of which have come on the power play. The 20-year-old is living up to the hype while handling top-four minutes, earning 19 assists, 32 shots on net, 40 blocked shots, 18 PIM, 17 hits and a minus-12 rating over 28 appearances. Hutson's not quite a fantasy superstar yet, but his offense makes him a reliable option in most formats.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff anticipates that Samuelsson (lower body) will return to the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.

Samuelsson has missed 12 consecutive games after being slew-footed against the Canadiens on Nov. 11. Henri Jokiharju and Ryan Johnson are candidates to be replaced in the lineup by Samuelsson. The left-shot blueliner produced just one goal over 13 games before getting injured.

Gustafsson notched an assist and went minus-2 in Monday's 6-5 shootout win over the Sabres.

Gustafsson has two helpers over four appearances in December. He's been scratched once this month after spending the last three games of November in the press box as well. The 32-year-old now has five assists, 26 shots on net, 17 blocked shots, 14 PIM and a minus-6 rating through 20 outings as a part-time option on the third pairing and second power-play unit.

Chiarot logged an assist and three hits in Monday's 6-5 shootout win over the Sabres.

Chiarot has picked up two helpers over his last six games. The 33-year-old remains in a top-four role, but his offense is likely to be limited due to the defensive nature of his play. For the season, he has four assists, 31 shots on net, 39 PIM, 43 hits, 62 blocked shots and a minus-12 rating over 28 contests.

Mayfield is dealing with an illness and will be a game-time decision Tuesday against the Kings, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Mayfield has yet to miss a game this year. If the right-shot blueliner is unavailable Tuesday, Grant Hutton will take his place on the third defensive pairing. Mayfield has accounted for five points (one goal), 21 PIM, 19 shots, 53 hits, 58 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating through 29 games.

Seider scored a goal and added an assist in Monday's 6-5 shootout win over the Sabres.

After setting up an Andrew Copp tally in the first period, Seider forced OT with a goal of his own late in the third when he wired a shot through traffic from the faceoff dot past James Reimer. The performance ended a five-game point drought for the blueliner, and through 28 contests on the season, Seider has picked up three goals and 15 points while adding 76 hits, 59 blocked shots, 54 shots on net, 20 PIM and a plus-4 rating.

Matinpalo was promoted from AHL Belleville on Tuesday.

Matinpalo's last stint in the NHL was hampered by an illness that led to him missing out on his two opportunities to make his 2024-25 season debut. Even with this latest call-up, the blueliner is far from a lock to play in Wednesday's clash with the Ducks as he'll need to edge out Jacob Bernard-Docker for a spot in the lineup.

Whitecloud (upper body) is expected to suit up at some point during the Golden Knights' three-game road trip, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Monday.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy didn't specify which game might work for Whitecloud's return to action, only indicating that it is expected at some point during the trip. Prior to his seven-game absence due to his upper-body problem, the 28-year-old blueliner was struggling to produce in the offensive end with just one point in his last 20 outings. Once cleared to play, Whitecloud figures to supplant Kaedan Korczak for a spot on the third defensive pairing.

Dahlin (back) was placed on injured reserve Monday, per the NHL media site.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said Monday that Dahlin went through a rehab skate with no issues and could return to game action Saturday against the Capitals or Sunday against the Maple Leafs. The defenseman has been dealing with back spasms since Buffalo's Dec. 3 matchup against the Avalanche, and he could still be in the mix to be activated over the weekend. However, Dahlin's move to injured reserve allowed the Sabres to activate Jordan Greenway (undisclosed) ahead of Monday's game against the Red Wings.