NHL Player News

Pouliot was reassigned to AHL Texas on Friday.

With Pouliot heading to the minors, the Stars now have only five healthy blueliners on their roster, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him back with the big club ahead of Saturday's game versus Carolina. Pouliot's gone scoreless through three top-level appearances this year.

Heiskanen notched an assist in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Senators.

Heiskanen has a point in each of his last four games, picking up two goals and an assist in that span. The 24-year-old defenseman had the secondary helper on Joe Pavelski's goal late in the first period. Heiskanen had an uneven start to the season and missed time due to injury in January, but he's been pretty steady of late. He's at 35 points, 109 shots on net, 64 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating through 47 outings overall.

Coach Don Granato said that Johnson (illness) will not be in the lineup Friday in Columbus.

Johnson will likely be replaced by Ryan Johnson on the third pairing, as Owen Power is still sidelined with a hand injury. The Sabres have had a bug going through the team with Victor Olofsson and Eric Comrie also feeling the effects of the illness. Johnson has three goals in 48 games this season.

Bolduc was sent to AHL Bridgeport on a conditioning stint Friday.

Bolduc has been a healthy scratch for seven straight games. He should get plenty of playing time with Bridgeport during his loan. Bolduc has a goal, two assists, 43 hits and 36 blocked shots in 33 NHL games this season.

Johnson was not at practice Friday due to an illness and will be a game-time call for the evening's matchup with Columbus, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.

Johnson has three goals, 88 hits and 65 blocked shots in 48 games this season. The veteran defenseman is playing his first season with the Sabres after playing the last 13 years with the Avalanche. Should Johnson not be available, look for Ryan Johnson to replace him on the third unit against the Blue Jackets.

Power (hand) is practicing Friday in a non-contact jersey, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports.

Power has missed the last five games and will miss a sixth straight Friday in Columbus. Power has only two goals and 18 points in 51 games this season including just two assists on the power play despite averaging 1:40 of playing time with the man advantage.

Jones watched Thursday's 5-1 win over the Devils from the press box and has been a healthy scratch since Feb. 5.

Jones played in the Rangers' first game of the month as Jacob Trouba finished up a two-game suspension, but New York's seventh defenseman hasn't been called upon since that Feb. 5 win over the Avalanche. Jones remains stuck on five points in 17 appearances this season.

Gustafsson picked up an assist, a blocked shot, a hit, two PIM and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Devils.

Gustafsson extended his point streak to three games with a third-period stretch pass from his own zone which helped spring Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck on a 2-on-1, resulting in Trocheck's 20th goal of the season. With five goals and 21 assists through 56 games, Gustafsson's on pace to finish just shy of last season's 42 points.

Miller was a healthy scratch for Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Rangers.

Miller was out of the lineup for the first time since Jan. 22, as the Devils went with Luke Hughes, John Marino, Jonas Siegenthaler, Simon Nemec, Brendan Smith and Kevin Bahl on defense. The personnel change didn't yield any improvement, as New Jersey continues to be held back by a lackluster power play, which ranks last in the league since the calendar flipped to 2024 and went 0-for-5 in Thursday's loss. Miller's possible return to the lineup won't help on the man advantage, as he has just six points in 35 appearances this season, none of which have come on the power play.

DeSimone has yet to play in a game for New Jersey since being claimed off waivers from the Flames on Jan. 25.

Almost a month since joining the Devils, DeSimone has yet to exit the press box. He had five points in 23 games with Calgary prior to being waived, but it may take multiple injuries for DeSimone to see ice time in New Jersey.