NHL Player News

Mintyukov notched a shorthanded assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Sharks.

Mintyukov earned the first shorthanded point of his career when he set up Brett Leason's first-period tally. The 20-year-old Mintyukov topped 20 minutes of ice time for the first time since Dec. 5 with Ilya Lyubushkin getting scratched for a trade and Cam Fowler (face) exiting the game after one shift. Mintyukov is up to 24 points, 67 shots on net, 66 hits, 47 blocked shots and a minus-12 rating over 48 appearances this season. Mintyukov would likely slot onto the first power-play unit if Fowler's injury costs him playing time.

LaCombe notched a pair of power-play assists and two PIM in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Sharks.

The Ducks dealt Ilya Lyubushkin to the Maple Leafs right after the game started, forcing LaCombe to play with Lyubushkin scratched for the trade. The 23-year-old LaCombe responded with his second multi-point effort of the campaign, snapping a five-game skid. The rookie blueliner has 11 points, 45 shots on net, 40 hits, 92 blocked shots and a minus-26 rating through 52 outings this season. With the Ducks' blue line thinned by the trades of Jamie Drysdale and Lyubushkin, LaCombe should see something close to an everyday role down the stretch.

Borgen notched an assist, three shots on goal, four hits an two blocked shots in Thursday's 2-0 win over the Penguins.

Borgen has four helpers and 13 hits over his last five games. The defenseman helped out on an Oliver Bjorkstrand tally in the first period, which ended up being the game-winner. Borgen has enjoyed a career year so far with 22 points, 62 shots on net, 56 PIM, 150 hits, 77 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over 59 appearances as a defensive stalwart on the second pairing.

Josi tallied a goal and two assists in Thursday's 6-1 win over Minnesota.

Josi set up Yakov Trenin's tally in the first period and Filip Forsberg's power-play marker in the second before adding a goal early in the final frame, beating Filip Gustavsson with a sharp-angle wrister to extend Nashville's lead to 4-1. It's the second straight three-point outing for Josi, who has four goals and eight points in his last four contests. The 33-year-old blueliner is up to 60 points (15 goals, 45 assists) through 61 games this season.

Clarke scored a goal in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.

The Kings opted to play seven defensemen Thursday, with Clarke stepping in for forward Arthur Kaliyev. While it's a positive Clarke played after sitting out two games as a healthy scratch, he saw a meager 7:06 of ice time in the blowout win, as interim head coach Jim Hiller didn't alter his regular defense pairings much. It's fair to say Clarke has earned more time with two goals, four assists, 29 shots on net and 20 blocked shots over 13 appearances this season, especially with all but one of those points coming in his last seven outings. If the Kings go back to six defensemen Sunday versus the Devils, it's unclear which one of Clarke, Jordan Spence, Andreas Englund or Jacob Moverare will come out of the lineup.

Doughty scored a goal on two shots, dished two assists and went plus-3 in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.

Doughty opened the scoring in the first period and later assisted on goals by Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala, who scored on the power play in the third. The second helper was Doughty's 500th NHL assist. The 34-year-old defenseman struggled early in February but closed out the month with 10 points over his last eight games, including three multi-point efforts.

Emberson (undisclosed) won't return to Thursday's game versus the Ducks, Max Miller of The Hockey News reports.

Emberson doled out two hits and added one shot on goal over 6:35 of ice time Thursday. It's unclear what caused his injury, but he was ruled out for the rest of the game at the second intermission. If Emberson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) can't play Saturday in Dallas, Calen Addison will likely get into the lineup.

Maatta scored twice Thursday in a 5-3 loss to the Islanders.

It was Maatta's third career multi-goal game (March 1, 2018 against the Bruins and March 6, 2014 against the Sharks). His first goal came early in the second frame with a slap shot from the left circle. His second came at 10:49 of third to tie the game 3-3. Maatta fired the biscuit into an open net off a cross-ice pass. He's not a consistent fantasy contributor -- he has just four goals, 17 points, 35 shots and 37 hits in 52 games this season. Nice effort, but it's not likely to be repeated.

Fowler took a puck to the face and won't return to Thursday's game versus the Sharks, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Fowler was hit in the chin early in the first period. The defenseman was bleeding heavily as he left the ice, and it's apparently a significant enough injury to keep him out of the rest of the contest. He should be considered day-to-day ahead of Friday's game versus the Devils.

Giordano left Thursday's game versus the Coyotes with an apparent head injury, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Giordano hit the boards hard in the first period and didn't return to the game. The 40-year-old could be set for an absence, which would leave the Maple Leafs short on the blue line. Another update on his status should surface prior to puck drop Saturday versus the Rangers.