NHL Player News

Ekblad (lower body) failed to record a point in 22:13 of ice time during Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Islanders.

Returning from a seven-game absence caused by a collision with Vladimir Tarasenko, Ekblad saw his usual workload and was leaned on heavily on the penalty kill, seeing 7:47 of ice time with Florida down a man. It's been a tough season overall for the 28-year-old blueliner, who has only four goals and 17 points in 48 games, but with the Panthers having already clinched a playoff spot, Ekblad will try to use the final weeks of the regular season to regain his top form.

Manson logged an assist and two blocked shots in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers.

Manson was the secondary helper on Colorado's first goal. His 22 points this season are his most since 2017-18 when he had 37 as a member of the Ducks.

Vaakanainen registered a shorthanded assist in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Kraken.

Vaakanainen helped out on an Isac Lundestrom tally early in the third period. With four helpers over 12 appearances in March, Vaakanainen has put together a solid month for a depth defenseman. He's at 14 points, 63 shots on net, 74 blocked shots, 44 hits and 24 PIM through 62 appearances this season, though he isn't guaranteed to be in the lineup every game.

Oleksiak notched an assist in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.

Oleksiak has a helper in each of the last three games, his longest streak of the season. The 31-year-old defenseman helped out on Tye Kartye's game-winning tally in the third period. Oleksiak is up to 13 points, 98 shots on net, 154 blocked shots, 104 hits, 35 PIM and a minus-1 rating through 72 outings. He can help in fantasy formats that reward physicality, but it's unwise to expect him to keep up his newfound production through the end of the season.

Schultz logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Ducks.

Schultz set up Andre Burakovsky's game-tying goal in the third period. This was Schultz's second game in a row with a power-play helper, and his third such assist over his last six outings. The defenseman is at 22 points, 86 shots on net, 59 blocked shots, 22 PIM and a minus-20 rating through 62 contests overall in a third-pairing role with power-play time.

Barrie notched an assist, two shots on goal and a minus-3 rating in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Coyotes.

Barrie has been in the lineup for six straight games as the Predators navigate multiple injuries on defense. He has three assists in that span, as well as eight blocked shots and 13 shots on net. The 32-year-old has been scratched more often than not over the last three months. He's at 15 points, 65 shots on net, 47 blocked shots and a minus-10 rating through 41 appearances.

Josi posted three assists, three blocked shots and a minus-3 rating in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Coyotes.

Two of Josi's helpers came on the power play. The defenseman has four goals and 10 assists during his eight-game point streak. Josi continues to be a huge scoring threat from the blue line with 19 goals, 57 helpers, 236 shots on net, 129 blocked shots and a plus-16 rating over 73 appearances. He sits third in scoring among NHL defensemen, trailing only Quinn Hughes (81 points) and Cale Makar (78 points).

Brown posted an assist, six hits, six blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Thursday's 8-4 win over the Predators.

Brown snapped a 10-game point drought when he set up a Logan Cooley tally late in the third period. Brown doesn't add much on offense, but he remains a strong physical presence on the Coyotes' third pairing. For the season, he has seven points, 78 hits, 73 blocked shots, 69 PIM and 33 shots on net through 42 appearances.

Durzi notched an assist, four shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 8-4 win over the Predators.

Durzi has four helpers and a plus-5 rating over his last six contests. He helped out on a Nick Schmaltz tally in the second period of this game. Durzi is up to eight goals, 28 helpers, 121 shots on net, 145 blocked shots, 61 PIM and a plus-1 rating through 67 outings this season. He needs one more goal and one more assist to match his career highs in each of those categories.

Toews was credited with a goal during Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers.

Toews notched his 11th goal of the season on an own-goal that got past Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin. Despite the flukey nature of the goal, Toews now has points in three straight contests, totaling a goal and four points to go along with a plus-2 rating, two penalty minutes and 11 shots.