NHL Player News

Forsling notched a shorthanded assist, two shots on goal, three blocked shots and a plus-4 rating in Monday's 6-1 win over the Lightning in Game 5.

Forsling recorded four helpers over five games in the first round. The defenseman also has nine shots on net, nine hits, 11 blocks and plus-5 rating in the postseason. Forsling continues to be a key defenseman for the Panthers and should see top-four minutes throughout the playoffs.

Ekblad notched a shorthanded assist, eight hits, two PIM and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 6-1 win over the Lightning in Game 5.

Ekblad set up the first of Aleksander Barkov's two goals in the game. Through five playoff contests, Ekblad has two helpers, six shots on net, 25 hits, nine blocked shots and a plus-4 rating. The 28-year-old continues to handle a heavy workload on the Panthers' top pairing, though he's been seeing minimal power-play time.

Mikkola scored an empty-net goal, added an assist, logged five hits and blocked three shots in Monday's 6-1 win over the Lightning in Game 5.

Mikkola helped out on Carter Verhaeghe's opening goal in the second period and scored the final goal of the game in the third. This was Mikkola's first multi-point effort since Dec. 6. He's maintained steady ice time in a top-four role this season, though he's rarely been a big contributor on offense. The 28-year-old blueliner had three goals, 17 points, 93 shots on net, 199 hits, 124 blocked shots and 69 PIM over 82 regular-season outings.

Middleton was promoted from AHL Colorado on Monday, per CapFriendly.

Middleton hasn't dressed in an NHL game since the 2020-21 campaign. He tallied six goals and 15 points in 71 AHL games this season.

Malinski was promoted from AHL Colorado on Monday, per CapFriendly.

Malinski scored 10 points in 23 games with the Avalanche this season but hasn't made an NHL appearance since Feb. 6. He'll provide the team with some extra depth this postseason.

Hunt was promoted from AHL Colorado on Monday, per CapFriendly.

Hunt dressed in 47 games with the Avalanche during the 2022-23 campaign but did not make an NHL appearance this season. He tallied 16 goals and 49 points in 70 AHL games before adding another three points in three games during AHL Colorado's brief playoff run.

Ahcan was promoted from AHL Colorado on Monday, per CapFriendly.

Ahcan will serve as extra depth for the Avalanche. He hasn't dressed in an NHL game since the 2021-22 campaign.

De Haan becomes a free agent this offseason.

The veteran defender, who inked a one-year deal for $775,000 last summer, put up three goals and seven assists in 59 games this season. De Haan was scratched for nine of the Lightning's last 11 games, despite putting up an assist in each of the two games played. He played in one postseason game in 2023-24, delivering two blocked shots and one hit in 10:50 of ice time. At his best, de Haan could give you triple-digit hits and blocked shots, but he needs to ink a contract this summer. He'll soon be 33, and the journeyman may struggle to find a suitor. He hasn't played a full season since 2016-17 for the Islanders.

Giordano has not been able to crack the postseason lineup against the Bruins in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Giordano, who missed significant time this season to injury and following his father's death, has 1,148 regular-season NHL games, but only 37 postseason games to his name. He started in 2005-06, and he headed off to the KHL in 2007-08 where he played 50 games for Moscow Dynamo. Giordano is nearing the end of his career, but with newcomers Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson on the blue line, he has found it hard to crack the top-six. The Leafs are on the verge of elimination, down 3-1 to the Bruins this postseason, so Father Time is catching up with Giordano.

Raddysh (undisclosed) is not in Monday's Game 5 lineup against Florida, Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida reports.

Raddysh has now missed two straight games but it's unclear what he's dealing with. The 28-year-old racked up 12 hits while averaging 17:06 of ice time through the first three games this series. Max Crozier is expected to suit up again Monday.