NHL Player News

Gostisbehere (back) will not play Sunday against Toronto, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reports.

Gostisbehere will miss a third straight game Sunday. Carolina has little reason to rush the defenseman back, having already clinched a playoff spot. Scott Morrow figures to remain in the lineup in Gostisbehere's absence.

Crotty was reassigned to AHL Iowa on Sunday.

Crotty made his first appearance of the season Saturday, playing just 5:08 in a win over the Canucks. With Zeev Buium joining Minnesota, Crotty figures to remain in the AHL as a potential depth option.

Levshunov notched an assist and two hits in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Jets.

Levshunov snapped a five-game point drought with the helper. The 19-year-old defenseman, one of the Blackhawks' top prospects, has gotten shuffled down the lineup a bit with the arrival of Sam Rinzel. Levshunov and Rinzel could end up competing for first-pairing minutes in 2025-26, though they could be risky options in redraft leagues if the Blackhawks' roster doesn't make significant improvements. Through 16 appearances, Levshunov has six assists, 21 shots on net, 16 blocked shots, 13 hits and a minus-15 rating. He is eligible to participate in AHL Rockford's playoff run.

Samberg recorded an assist, three shots on goal and two PIM in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

Samberg snapped a seven-game skid on offense. The 26-year-old has held down a second-pairing spot when healthy this season, and he's been pretty effective in that role. His helper Saturday got him to the 20-point mark for the first time in his career. He's at six goals, 14 assists, 91 shots on net, 116 blocked shots, 54 hits and a plus-35 rating over 58 outings.

DeMelo registered an assist and went plus-2 in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

DeMelo ended a seven-game point drought with the helper on Josh Morrissey's game-tying goal late in the third period. The 31-year-old DeMelo continues to play a shutdown role on the top pairing, which gives him plenty of ice time to chip in some depth offense as well. He's at 19 points, 73 shots on net, 136 hits, 110 blocked shots, 38 PIM and a plus-33 rating over 80 appearances this season, though that's well off the pace of his 31-point career year from 2023-24.

Pionk notched a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

This was Pionk's second game back after missing 12 contests due to a lower-body injury. The defenseman has jumped right back into a top-four role, adding five shots on net, five hits and two blocked shots over his two games since returning. Overall, he has 38 points, 121 shots on net, 114 hits, 99 blocked shots and a plus-20 rating over 68 appearances, though it looks like the time lost will cost him a chance at reaching the 40-point mark for the second time in his career.

De Haan was scratched for the 18th game in a row in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

De Haan played in three games right after he was traded from the Avalanche at the start of March, but he hasn't made the lineup since. Braden Schneider (upper body) was ruled out for the Rangers' final two games, but prospect Matthew Robertson will jump over both Zac Jones and de Haan to fill the opening in the lineup. Assuming de Haan ends the season as a healthy scratch, he will finish with eight assists, 51 shots on net, 71 hits, 63 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating across 47 appearances in 2024-25.

Fox scored a goal on three shots and added three hits in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

Fox has five points over his last three contests. The 27-year-old defenseman is up to 10 goals, 51 helpers, 130 shots on net, 104 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 72 appearances. He's one of nine defensemen to earn at least 60 points this season through Saturday's action. With the Rangers eliminated from playoff contention due to Saturday's loss, Fox could opt to play in the IIHF World Championship, where he would be one of Team USA's top blueliners if he chooses to participate.

Orlov logged an assist and went plus-2 in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Rangers.

The lopsided nature of the game gave Orlov a chance to play extra minutes -- he led the team with 22:25 of ice time. The blueliner has just two goals and an assist over 11 contests since he returned from an upper-body injury that cost him five games. He should be in line for top-four minutes in the postseason. Orlov's at 27 points, 114 shots on net, 97 hits, 56 blocked shots and a plus-16 rating through 73 appearances.

Chatfield scored a goal and went plus-3 in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Rangers.

Chatfield ended an eight-game point drought with the opening tally Saturday. He was also rested for a game in that stretch, as the Hurricanes have taken a proactive approach to rotate their blueliners out since they clinched a playoff spot. The 28-year-old has been steady in a bottom-four role this year with 18 points, 113 shots on net, 64 hits, 64 blocked shots, 54 PIM and a plus-22 rating across 78 appearances.