NHL Player News

Bortuzzo has played in just eight of Utah's first 20 games of the season.

Bortuzzo has no points, 15 blocked shots, 16 PIM, nine hits, three shots on goal and a minus-4 rating. Utah has opted to give younger defensemen like Maveric Lamoureux and Vladislav Kolyachonok looks over Bortuzzo, who fills a third-pairing role when he plays. The 35-year-old Bortuzzo can play a physical game, but his playing time isn't steady enough to warrant fantasy consideration.

Lamoureux notched an assist, three shots on goal, three hits, two blocked shots and six PIM in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Penguins.

Lamoureux ended a seven-game slump with the helper. The 20-year-old defenseman hasn't avoided mixing it up, racking up 28 PIM in that span. He's up to three points, 14 shots on net, 16 hits, 36 PIM and a plus-4 rating over 13 appearances. Lamoureux adds toughness and a little bit of a scoring touch in a bottom-four role, but his fantasy utility remains limited without much of a power-play role.

Sergachev scored a goal and went plus-2 in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Penguins.

Sergachev is up to five goals this season, three of which he's scored over the last five contests. His tally Saturday stood as the game-winner. Sergachev has 13 points, 33 shots on net, 35 blocked shots, 13 hits and a minus-2 rating through 20 outings overall while serving as Utah's top blueliner.

Oesterle was loaned to AHL Providence on Sunday.

Oesterle hasn't earned a point in three NHL outings this season while posting two shots on net, three hits and three blocked shots. He has been a healthy scratch for the last two games but could return to the big club ahead of Tuesday's game against Vancouver to serve as an extra defender.

Carlo was held off the scoresheet for the 18th straight game Saturday in a 2-1 win over the Red Wings.

Carlo opened the season with three points in four outings, but his offense has quickly dried up. The defenseman has added 20 shots on net, 28 hits, 57 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating over 22 appearances. He's a steady defender, but his fantasy value is limited to formats that heavily reward non-scoring production.

Peeke produced an assist and two blocked shots in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Red Wings.

The helper was Peeke's first point in three games since he returned from an upper-body injury that cost him five contests. The 26-year-old defenseman has filled a bottom-four role this season, earning three assists over 16 appearances. He's added 11 shots on net, 18 hits, 26 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating. Peeke, Parker Wotherspoon and Jordan Oesterle are competing for the last two spots on the blue line in the absence of Hampus Lindholm (lower body).

Lohrei logged a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Red Wings.

Lohrei has racked up four assists over his last five outings, with two of them coming on the power play. The 23-year-old was on the top pairing Saturday, logging 20:18 of ice time, including 2:07 on the power play. Lohrei is an intriguing option for fantasy while Hampus Lindholm (lower body) is out. For the season, Lohrei has eight points, 19 shots on net, 18 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating over 18 appearances, and while he hasn't been in the lineup all the time, it appears he's moved past being a healthy scratch.

Balinskis recorded an assist in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Avalanche.

Balinskis had a run on the first power-play unit for most of November, but he's since moved down to the second unit, with Aaron Ekblad taking over on the first unit. The 28-year-old Balinskis has six helpers, 27 shots on net, 20 hits, 11 PIM and a minus-9 rating through 21 contests. He's an odd fit for power-play duties given the other talented blueliners on the Panthers' roster, but he'll be on the fringe of fantasy interest as long as he's getting looks with the man advantage.

Mikkola posted an assist, two blocked shots and a minus-3 rating in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Avalanche.

The helper snapped Mikkola's five-game point drought. Prior to that slump, he had put up six assists in a seven-game span. The 28-year-old blueliner is at nine assists, 29 shots on net, 29 hits, 29 blocked shots, 22 PIM and a minus-2 rating through 21 outings this season.

Toews notched two assists, three blocked shots and a plus-4 rating in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Panthers.

Toews has three helpers over his last three contests. The 30-year-old defenseman had his best game of the season Saturday, and it looks like his offense is trending in the right direction since the Avalanche have gotten close to full strength. Overall, Toews has seven points, 25 shots on net, 21 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over 17 appearances, but his spot in the top four is safe.