NHL Player News

Zub (lower body) didn't skate Wednesday, but he might be in the lineup Thursday versus Anaheim, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

Zub missed Tuesday's 6-3 win over Columbus due to the injury. The Senators dressed just five defensemen in his absence, so they could certainly use his services versus the Ducks. Zub has three goals and 18 points in 40 contests this season.

Letang (undisclosed) will be in the lineup versus the Panthers on Wednesday, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports.

Letang left practice for precautionary reasons Monday but appears to be no worse for wear, as the Penguins will be using their full complement of defensemen Wednesday. The veteran blueliner has hit a rough patch offensively with just one point in his last seven games but continues to feature on the top power-play unit ahead of Erik Karlsson.

Ristolainen (upper body) will undergo a procedure in 2-3 weeks and will be re-evaluated at that point, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports.

Ristolainen is currently stuck in a 15-game goal drought during which he's managed just one assist and 23 shots. As such, the majority of fantasy players are unlikely to be impacted by his absence. With Ristolainen unavailable, Marc Staal and Egor Zamula should see upticks in ice time.

Bryson picked up two assists while adding two blocked shots, two PIM and a plus-4 rating in Tuesday's 7-0 win over the Kings.

The 26-year-old blueliner collected his first points in six NHL games this season, getting a regular shift with Owen Power (hand) sidelined. Bryson hasn't shown much offensive upside as a pro -- his best season in the AHL came in 2019-20, when he scored four goals and 27 points in 61 games for Rochester -- and he's unlikely to make much fantasy impact even in an expanded role.

Dahlin scored an even-strength goal and added a power-play assist in Tuesday's 7-0 rout of the Kings.

The 23-year-old blueliner produced his first multi-point performance since Jan. 11, but Dahlin has been delivering consistent offense for the Sabres over the past six weeks. He's been held off the scoresheet only five times in 14 games since the beginning of January, racking up four goals and 12 points over that stretch, and he sits one goal shy of tying the career-high 15 he notched in 2022-23.

Hakanpaa grabbed two assists in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.

Both of Hakanpaa's helpers came in the final period, setting up Jason Robertson for the eventual game-winning goal before earning a second assist on Matt Duchene's empty-netter. It's just the second multi-point game of the season for Hakanpaa, who had just one point in 17 games coming into Tuesday's matchup. The 31-year-old blueliner now has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) with 139 hits and 108 blocked shots through 53 games this season.

Cernak scored his first goal of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins.

The 26-year-old blueliner opened the scoring early in the first period, firing a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that trickled through Linus Ullmark's five-hole. Cernak has two points in four games since returning from an upper-body injury, but his main fantasy value comes from his physical play -- he dished a game-high eight hits Tuesday, and on the season Cernak has 110 hits and 69 blocked shots in 43 games.

Guhle recorded an assist, one shot, one hit and seven penalty minutes over 19:09 of ice time in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Ducks.

Guhle, who was available after getting clipped in Sunday's loss to the Blues, made the night for one Montreal rookie. Late in the third period, he picked the pocket of Anaheim's Troy Terry and led a two-on-zero break that resulted in Brandon Gignac's first NHL goal. The helper was the ninth of the season for Guhle, who has 13 points over 49 games.

Struble logged an assist, one shot on net, one block, two hits and 12 penalty minutes over 17:28 of ice time in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Ducks.

Struble's pass off the boards generated a two-on-one break with Juraj Slafkovsky feeding Nick Suzuki for Montreal's second goal. The helper was the second assist in as many games for Struble, who has shown an offensive sense at times during his first taste of hockey at the NHL level.

Byram logged two assists, two shots on net, one block and one hit over 18:42 of ice time in Tuesday's 6-3 win over Washington.

Byram recorded his second multi-point effort of the season with assists on tallies by Artturi Lehkonen and Miles Wood. Byram's offense has dropped off this season, but he remains a skilled blueliner capable of generating points. The 2019 first-round pick has six goals, nine assists and 56 shots through 46 games.