NHL Player News

Kulak provided an assist and two PIM in Friday's 6-2 win over the Avalanche.

Despite the lopsided score, Kulak also managed to go minus-1. The helper was his first point in 11 contests. The 30-year-old defenseman has 14 points, 80 shots on net, 67 hits, 73 blocked shots, 26 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 75 outings overall, offering minimal fantasy upside from his third-pairing role.

Nurse logged an assist, two hits and a plus-3 rating in Friday's 6-2 win over the Avalanche.

Nurse ended a seven-game point drought when he set up a Corey Perry tally in the first period. The helper was Nurse's 26th point of the season, and he's added 170 shots on net, 160 hits, 163 blocked shots, 79 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 75 contests. With both scoring struggles and defensive lapses in 2023-24, Nurse's physicality has been the one thing that's kept his fantasy value steady.

Ceci recorded two assists and a plus-4 rating in Friday's 6-2 win over the Avalanche.

Ceci picked up his first points in three games since he returned from an illness. The 30-year-old defenseman is far from a regular contributor on offense, but he has a goal and four assists over his last eight games. He's at 23 points, 91 shots on net, 103 blocked shots, 80 hits and a plus-9 rating through 74 appearances.

Bouchard recorded two assists, two shots on goal, four PIM and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 6-2 win over the Avalanche.

Bouchard had gone without a point over the previous two contests. The defenseman snapped the slump with a helper on Mattias Ekholm's goal in the second period and then set up a Connor McDavid tally in the third. Bouchard is up to 16 goals, 62 assists, 204 shots on net, 100 blocked shots, 63 hits, 28 PIM and a plus-31 rating over 75 outings this season. His scoring droughts have been short, and his offensive consistency has been a huge boost to fantasy managers that selected him in hopes of a breakout year.

Ekholm scored a goal on four shots, dished an assist and added four hits in Friday's 6-2 win over the Avalanche.

Ekholm earned his third multi-point effort over his last four games, with the lone exception being Wednesday's 5-0 loss to the Stars. The 33-year-old defenseman has been more than just a stay-at-home stud this season, racking up 10 goals, 43 points, 161 shots on net, 131 hits, 87 blocked shots and a plus-40 rating through 73 appearances. Ekholm's all-around performance has made him a very effective fantasy blueliner, and he's just two points away from securing a career year.

Dunn (undisclosed) is not in Friday's lineup against the Ducks, per the NHL's media site.

Dunn was a late scratch Friday and it's unclear why he's not available, but he recently missed 12 games with an upper-body issue. The team will likely provide more information after the contest. The 27-year-old has 46 points in 59 games this season. Cale Fleury will replace Dunn in the lineup against Anaheim.

Pietrangelo (illness) will not be available Friday against Arizona.

Pietrangelo recently missed six games with an illness and will now be forced out of the lineup again after suiting up for two straight games. The veteran blueliner has four goals and 33 points through 64 games this season. Zach Whitecloud will take Pietrangelo's spot in the lineup versus the Coyotes.

Blankenburg was called up from AHL Cleveland on Friday.

Blankenburg has three goals and 13 points in 21 contests with Cleveland this season. He's also provided five goals and 17 points in 49 career NHL games. Blankenburg might spend the rest of the campaign with the Blue Jackets because Jake Bean is done for the season after suffering a broken hand during Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Islanders.

Mintyukov (lower body) remains day-to-day and won't be available against Seattle on Friday, per NHL.com.

Mintyukov will be out of action for his third straight game due to his lingering lower-body issue. In his rookie campaign, the blueliner has generated four goals on 88 shots, 24 assists and seven power-play points while averaging 18:51 of ice time in 63 outings. Radko Gudas will rejoin the lineup against the Kraken after recovering from an upper-body injury.

Larsson (personal) will miss Friday's game against Anaheim, per Alison Lukan of Root Sports.

Larsson has four goals, 18 points, 55 PIM, 154 hits and 143 blocks in 75 outings in 2023-24. Justin Schultz is set to draw back into the lineup versus the Ducks due to Larsson being unavailable.