NHL Player News

Hakanpaa scored a goal and added eight hits in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Predators.

Hakanpaa got the Stars on the board at 1:09 of the third period, but they couldn't pull even in a high-scoring frame. Both of the 31-year-old's goals this season have come against the Predators. The blueliner is up to eight points, 33 shots on net, 95 hits, 72 blocked shots, 31 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 41 contests. He continues to see bottom-four usage.

Josi notched three assists and two hits in Friday's 6-3 win over the Stars.

Josi helped out on goals by Tommy Novak, Filip Forsberg (on the power play) and Gustav Nyquist. This was Josi's first multi-point effort since Dec. 15, but in the 11 games in between, he still managed six points. The 33-year-old blueliner has put together a solid campaign so far with 35 points, 138 shots on net, 71 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating through 42 contests. Josi is on pace to challenge for his second 70-point season.

Lauzon scored a goal on three shots and added five hits in Friday's 6-3 win over the Stars.

Lauzon is already at a career-high four goals this season after tallying the opening goal in the second period Friday. He's scored three of them over the last 13 games while adding 63 hits in that span. The defenseman is at six points, 158 hits, 56 blocked shots, 52 PIM and an even plus-minus rating through 42 appearances. He offers little more than physicality, making him a poor option in most fantasy formats.

Jones (shoulder) took part in Friday's practice and hopes to return Saturday versus Dallas if the morning skate goes well, per Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago.

Jones hasn't played since Dec. 10 due to the injury. He has 11 assists, 60 shots, 25 hits and 64 blocks in 27 contests this season. If Jones returns Saturday, then he'll likely skate on the first pairing alongside Alex Vlasic while Jaycob Megna might serve as a healthy scratch after appearing in Chicago's last five games.

Faulk (lower body) was activated off injured reserve Friday.

Faulk is set to rejoin the team against Boston on Saturday following his five-game stint on the shelf due to his lower-body issue. Even with Faulk coming back, the Blues opted to send down a forward, Jakub Vrana, in a corresponding move, which means the club will be carrying eight blueliners for the time being. With Faulk back, Scott Perunovich is a strong candidate to be relegated to the press box as a healthy scratch.

Barrie (upper body) is expected to miss Friday's game against Dallas.

Barrie, who last played Dec. 23, has a goal and 11 points in 30 outings with Nashville in 2023-24. When he's healthy, the 32-year-old defenseman might push Luke Schenn out of the lineup, though it's also possible that Barrie will occasionally be scratched even once he's available. Nashville made the offensive blueliner a healthy scratch four times in the span of seven games from Dec. 2-12.

Emberson is expected to be out of action week-to-week after suffering an undisclosed injury in Toronto on Tuesday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Emberson missed Thursday's tilt in Montreal and will miss the remaining three games of the Sharks' five-game road trip. The 23-year-old defenseman has one goal, six assists, 30 blocked shots and 43 hits in 21 games this season. Nikita Okhotyuk replaced Emberson in the lineup Thursday.

Fox scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Blues.

Fox opened the scoring 1:51 into the first period, working his way in from the point to clean up a net-front rebound and give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. The 25-year-old blueliner now has two goals in his last three games after going 19 contests without a tally. While it's been a down year offensively by Fox's standards, he's still ranked 17th among defensemen with 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) through 30 games after missing time with an injury earlier this season.

Cernak (upper body) is considered day-to-day, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

At this point, Cernak should probably be considered questionable at best for Saturday's game against Anaheim. Either way, the 26-year-old defender has collected just five helpers through 39 contests this campaign, so fantasy managers shouldn't need to track his availability.

Brodin (upper body) practiced Friday, Jessi Pierce of NHL.com reports.

Brodin will not play Friday, but he could return as early as Saturday versus Arizona. Brodin has been out of action since Dec. 8. He has a goal, eight assists and 62 blocked shots in 25 games this season. Zach Bogosian could be in danger of losing some playing time once Brodin returns.