NHL Player News

Fox registered three assists, including one on the power play, in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Islanders.

He also blocked two shots and went plus-2. Fox has racked up 12 points over 13 contests since returning from an upper-body injury, so it doesn't look like he's missed a beat. He's at nine goals, 51 helpers, 127 shots on net, 104 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating over 71 appearances. It's still a good season for a defenseman, but this will end up as Fox's lowest-scoring campaign in four years, as he wasn't immune from the Rangers' struggles.

Mitchell was scratched for the third straight game in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks.

Mitchell is a pending restricted free agent this offseason, but he hasn't done much lately to make a lasting impression on the Bruins. He's on a 10-game point drought and has just one point, an assist, over 14 outings at the NHL level this season. He's added 21 blocked shots, 10 shots on goal and a minus-3 rating. The Bruins have some holes to fill on the blue line for 2025-26, but it's unclear if Mitchell will be part of that.

Rutta (lower body) will return to the lineup versus Edmonton on Friday, according to Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Rutta has missed the last 27 games after he was injured Jan. 23 versus Nashville. Rutta has two goals, six assists and 76 blocked shots across 51 games this season. Rutta will replace Mario Ferraro in the lineup as Ferraro is done for the season with a lower-body injury.

Crevier has played in just eight of 19 games since the start of March after suiting up in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Bruins.

Crevier was not papered down to the AHL at the trade deadline, so he is ineligible for Rockford's playoff roster. The 23-year-old also isn't carving out much ice time in the NHL -- his appearance Thursday ended a run of six games as a healthy scratch, but it only happened because Connor Murphy (illness) and Wyatt Kaiser (illness) were out. Crevier has had some positive moments in 2024-25, but he has just four points, 28 shots on net, 68 hits, 49 blocked shots and a minus-5 rating over 31 appearances. The Blackhawks have a good crop of young defenseman, and it's unclear where Crevier might fit in for 2025-26.

Middleton (upper body) may return to the lineup versus Calgary on Friday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Middleton will be a game-time decision as coach John Hynes stated that he will talk to him after warmups to see if Middleton is healthy enough to play. Middleton has eight goals, 12 assists, 155 blocked shots and 98 hits over 66 outings this season.

Vlasic logged a shorthanded assist, two hits and three blocked shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Bruins.

Vlasic ended a seven-game point drought with the helper. The 23-year-old defenseman has given way to other prospects like Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski for power-play time lately, which largely explains Vlasic's reduced output on offense despite his top-four role. He's at 29 points (12 on the power play, one shorthanded), 100 shots on net, 146 blocked shots, 58 hits and a minus-20 rating over 79 appearances. If Vlasic is not part of the Blackhawks' long-term plans on the power play, his fantasy outlook is that of a top-four blueliner who can chip in with blocks and depth scoring, which doesn't bring universal appeal.

Korchinski scored a goal in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Bruins.

This was Korchinski's first point in 15 NHL outings this season. The 20-year-old has needed some extra development time at AHL Rockford after posting 15 points and a minus-39 rating over 76 contests as a 19-year-old rookie last year. Korchinski has picked up 14 shots on net, 13 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating in 2024-25. He'll likely join AHL Rockford's playoff run at some point, but the Blackhawks clearly want to give him an extended look to evaluate his progress late in this campaign.

Walman (undisclosed) won't be in action against the Sharks on Friday but should be available against Winnipeg on Sunday or Los Angeles on Monday, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports.

Walman will miss his second straight contest due to his undisclosed injury. Based on head coach Kris Knoblauch's comments, it's possible that Walman only plays in one of the back-to-back contests to avoid putting too much strain on whatever is bothering him. Over nine games prior to getting hurt, the 29-year-old blueliner had generated one goal and five helpers while averaging 21:01 of ice time. Ty Emberson figures to be the odd man out once Walman returns -- though Troy Stecher could also be in danger of losing ice time.

Ekholm (undisclosed) will return to the lineup versus San Jose on Friday, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.

Ekholm has missed the last seven games and 13 of the Oilers' last 17 contests. He had one goal and five assists in the four games he managed to play between injuries, giving the 34-year-old defenseman nine goals, 24 assists, 42 hits and 95 blocked shots across 64 appearances this season.

Schmidt logged a power-play assist in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Schmidt snapped a seven-game slump with the helper on Evan Rodrigues' second-period tally. The 33-year-old Schmidt is getting time on the second power-play unit in the absence of Aaron Ekblad (suspension). For the season, Schmidt has 19 points (four on the power play), 66 shots on net, 78 hits, 62 blocked shots, 30 PIM and a plus-6 rating over 77 appearances. He spent a large part of the campaign in a third-pairing role but has been in the top four lately while the Panthers deal with some absences.