NHL Player News

Brodie notched an assist and two blocked shots in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Sharks.

Brodie set up Taylor Hall's opening tally in the first period. With two assists through five appearances, Brodie is providing some depth offense in a bottom-four role on the blue line. The veteran defenseman has added two shots on net, eight blocked shots and a minus-1 rating. He's long removed from being a perennial lock for 30 points, so his fantasy value is limited outside of formats that reward blocks.

Josi produced two assists, two shots on goal, three hits and three blocked shots in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Oilers.

Josi had been held off the scoresheet in the previous two games. The 34-year-old defenseman is up to three helpers this season, two of which have come on the power play. He's added 17 shots on net, nine blocked shots, six hits and a minus-4 rating. Josi is among the top blueliners in the NHL, but he hasn't been immune from the Predators' team-wide struggles to begin the year.

Nurse notched an assist, three shots on goal, three blocked shots and five PIM in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Predators.

Nurse scrapped with Michael McCarron in the first period in a heavyweight bout. In the second, Nurse picked up his second assist in as many games when he set up a Jeff Skinner tally. The 29-year-old Nurse has two helpers, 12 shots on net, 12 blocked shots, six hits and five PIM over five appearances this year. At his best, he can provide strong category coverage, particularly in hits, blocks and PIM. He's reached the 30-point mark in six straight seasons as well.

Barron scored a goal on two shots, blocked one shot and delivered two hits in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Kings.

Barron gave Montreal an early lead when he scored on a wraparound shot, beating a slow-to-react David Rittich. It was the first point of the season for Barron, who showed some offensive proclivity in 2023-24, when he recorded 7-6-13 over 48 games.

Ekholm logged an assist, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Predators.

Ekholm has a helper in three of five games this season, providing both steady offense and defense from the top pairing. The 34-year-old blueliner has added 13 shots on net, nine blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating. Ekholm's offense isn't dependent on the power play, which has been a weak spot early in the year for the Oilers -- he's on the sparingly-used second unit, but the vast majority of his points will come at even strength.

Kulak scored two goals and blocked three shots in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Predators.

Kulak tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period and then added an empty-netter to seal the win in the third. Considering he hasn't scored more than six goals in any of his NHL seasons, a two-goal game is a rarity for the 30-year-old defenseman. He's up to three points, nine shots on net, six blocked shots and two PIM through five appearances in a third-pairing role this year.

Broberg notched an assist and three hits in Thursday's 1-0 overtime win over the Islanders.

Broberg set up Jake Neighbours for the game-winning goal 2:04 into overtime. That helper extended Broberg's season-opening point streak to five games (one goal, four assists). The 23-year-old defenseman played a season-high 22:01 in Thursday's game, helping to offset the absence of Nick Leddy (lower body). Broberg's scoring pace will fade eventually, but he looks like a strong depth option for fantasy managers in the early going.

Theodore picked up two goals in a 4-3 loss to the Lightning on Thursday.

One assist came on the power play. Theodore, who was especially effective for fantasy managers in limited play last season (42 points in 47 regular-season games), has seven points (one goal, six assists) in five appearances this season. Theodore is in the last year of his current seven-year, $5.2 million AAV deal, and at 29 years old, he is due for a big raise even with his defensive game showing holes. Whether that comes with the notoriously prudent Golden Knights or not remains to be seen.

Spence had an assist, one shot on goal, two blocks and one hit in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Canadiens.

Spence's shot was redirected by Alex Laferriere early in the second period to give the Kings a 2-1 lead. The defenseman was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch Wednesday. Los Angeles head coach Jim Hiller cited Spence's shaky start to the season as the reason for Wednesday's breather, per Zak Dooley of LA Kings Insider. After logging just 13:31 TOI in the game prior to being scratched, Spence was on ice for 23:03 on Thursday.

Gavrikov recorded two assists, two shots and two blocks in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Canadiens.

Gavrikov picked up a couple of primary assists, setting up the first and fourth goals. He was part of a big offensive night from the blueline unit, which scored twice and had three helpers. The two points were the first of the season for Gavrikov, who logged 17 assists and 23 points over 77 regular-season appearances in 2023-24.