NHL Player News

Morrissey scored a power-play goal on five shots, added an assist, logged two hits and blocked two shots in Friday's 6-2 win over the Blue Jackets.

Morrissey earned his fourth multi-point effort of the campaign and his second in the last three games. Both of his points came in the third period as the Jets pulled away with the win. The 29-year-old defenseman is off to another great start in 2024-25 with two goals, 11 assists, six power-play goal, 24 shots on net, 24 blocked shots, eight hits and a plus-7 rating through 11 contests. He's been an elite scorer from the blue line over the last two campaigns and looks set to continue at that level this year.

Pelech didn't return to Friday's game against the Sabres after taking a puck to the face in the second period, Ethan Sears of the New York Post reports.

There was no update on Pelech's status after the contest, leaving him questionable for Sunday's game against the Rangers. With Mike Reilly (upper body) also exiting Friday's contest, the Islanders may need to call up a defenseman if neither injured blueliner is able to suit up.

Reilly sustained an upper-body injury when he hit his head following a hit in Friday's game versus the Sabres, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Reilly will obviously be checked for a concussion. He needed assistance to get off the ice but was available to avoid being stretchered off. In the likely event Reilly misses time, Dennis Cholowski would enter the lineup and Ryan Pulock could see more power-play time.

Romanov (upper body) is expected to play versus the Sabres on Friday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Romanov was considered a game-time decision officially, though he was labeled probable by head coach Patrick Roy after the morning skate. The 24-year-old Romanov will resume his top-four role, though it's his contributions in non-scoring categories that give him some appeal as a streaming and DFS option.

Wotherspoon has been scratched for nine of the Bruins' first 11 games after sitting out Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Given the Bruins' recent defensive struggles (13 goals allowed over three games), Wotherspoon may soon get a look in the lineup again. The 27-year-old hasn't done much when he plays, earning two hits, one shot on goal, two PIM and a minus-1 rating over two appearances. Wotherspoon could push Andrew Peeke, Mason Lohrei or Brandon Carlo for a spot in the lineup if the Bruins continue to take up residence in the Atlantic Division basement.

Lindholm scored a goal on two shots in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Lindholm ended a five-game point drought with his tally. The 30-year-old defenseman is up to four points, 23 shots on net, 11 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating through 11 appearances. Lindholm has finished with a minus rating in just three seasons in his career -- while his offense isn't always particularly strong, he's an excellent defender, so his struggles this year can at least partially be attributed to the Bruins' team-wide problems.

Luneau was reassigned by the Ducks on Friday.

Luneau has no points, two PIM, six shots, five hits and nine blocks while averaging 16:33 of ice time across six appearances this year. He's been a healthy scratch in four of Anaheim's past five games, and a move to AHL San Diego would give the 20-year-old an opportunity to play regularly, which would likely be beneficial to his development.

Chatfield has not recorded a point through the Hurricanes' first nine games of the season.

While Chatfield hasn't chipped in any offense, he has 15 shots on net, 10 hits, seven blocked shots, six PIM and a plus-3 rating. The 28-year-old defenseman is holding down a bottom-four role, averaging 18:12 of ice time. He had 22 points over 72 regular-season contests in 2023-24, which earned him a three-year contract. Chatfield's spot in the lineup is safe with the Hurricanes currently not rostering an extra healthy defenseman.

Gostisbehere notched two power-play assists in Thursday's 8-2 win over the Bruins.

Gostisbehere helped out on first-period tallies by Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov. With three helpers over his last two contests, Gostisbehere remains hot on offense, particularly the power play. The 31-year-old blueliner has nine points (five on the power play), 22 shots on net, 12 hits, eight PIM and a plus-3 rating through nine contests this season. While he's a bit of a power-play specialist, the Hurricanes have also given him an average of 18:48 of ice time -- that's enough work for him to be a fairly consistent scorer for much of the campaign.

Walker scored a goal and went plus-2 in Thursday's 8-2 win over the Bruins.

Walker scored at 7:36 of the third period, earning his first goal and point as a Hurricane. The 29-year-old defenseman signed a five-year, $18 million contract in free agency, but he's mainly seen bottom-four usage (16:19 per game) over nine appearances to begin the season. He's added 14 shots on net, 12 blocked shots, 12 PIM and a plus-4 rating. Walker had a career year in 2023-24 with 29 points over 81 regular-season outings between the Flyers and the Avalanche.