NHL Player News

Balinskis posted two assists in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Balinskis ended a 15-game point drought with a helper on Mackie Samoskevich's second-period goal. Later in the frame, Balinskis set up a Brad Marchand tally as well. It's been an interesting second season for Balinskis, who has mostly been a third-pairing defenseman for the Panthers. He's managed 17 points, 88 shots on net, 79 hits, 52 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating. He's not currently part of the power-play mix but has averaged 59 seconds per game with the man advantage in 2024-25 after getting a couple of looks in that role earlier.

Forsling notched two assists and four shots on goal in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.

Forsling has two goals and six helpers over his last 11 contests. The defenseman had a hand in second-period tallies by Evan Rodrigues (on the power play) and Mackie Samoskevich. That power-play helper was Forsling's first contribution with the man advantage all season, though he's averaged just 16 seconds of ice time per game in that situation. Overall, the blueliner has 30 points, a mark he's reached in four straight seasons, while adding 193 shots on net, 86 blocked shots, 81 hits and a plus-33 rating over 78 appearances.

McCabe (undisclosed) is expected to be sidelined for the Leafs' next two outings, David Alter of The Hockey News reports Friday.

McCabe is still expected to return during the regular season, but will have just two games to do so after missing the upcoming two outings. Prior to his absence, the 31-year-old blueliner was contributing offensively with six assists in his last seven outings. Due to Oliver Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed) also being unavailable, the Leafs are expected to roll with five blueliners versus the Habs on Saturday.

Ekman-Larsson (undisclosed) will not be available Saturday versus Montreal, Joshua Kloke of The Athletic reports.

Ekman-Larsson's loss will leave the Maple Leafs with only five healthy defensemen as Jake McCabe will also sit with an undisclosed injury. Ekman-Larsson has four goals, 25 assists, 108 hits and 83 blocked shots across 77 games this season.

Christiansen (upper body) has been ruled out for Saturday's home game against the Capitals, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

The 25-year-old suffered an upper-body injury during Thursday's win over Buffalo, and while head coach Dean Evason doesn't yet have a timetable for Christiansen's return, he'll be unavailable for at least one game. The Blue Jackets have just three regular-season games remaining after Saturday's matchup, and it's not yet clear whether Christiansen will be able to suit up in any of those contests.

Ahcan was recalled by the Avalanche on Friday.

Ahcan has spent 2024-25 in the minors after passing through waivers ahead of the regular season. Over 67 appearances with AHL Colorado this year, he's recorded five goals, 36 assists and 20 PIM.

Del Mastro was loaned to AHL Rockford on Friday, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.

Del Mastro will get in added experience as the IceHogs are playoff-bound in the AHL. Del Mastro had two goals, four assists, 40 hits and 21 blocked shots over 24 appearances with Chicago in 2024-25. The 22-year-old spent 42 games with AHL Rockford, accumulating eight assists before his recall.

Dahlin produced a goal and an assist in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jackets.

Both points came in the first period as the Sabres jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the game slowly slipped away from them after that. Dahlin is having a strong finish to the campaign, racking up four goals and 12 points over his last 10 appearances with a plus-12 rating, and he needs three blocked shots and six hits over Buffalo's last four games to reach triple digits in each category for the third straight season.

Anderson recorded two assists and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Ducks.

Anderson's fourth multi-point effort of the season was enough to give him a career high. He's up to 22 points (six goals, 16 assists), surpassing the 20 he had in 2022-23. The 25-year-old defenseman has been asked to do more than ever this year during Drew Doughty's lengthy absence due to a broken ankle. Anderson has added 83 shots on net, 121 blocked shots, 114 hits and a plus-18 rating while averaging 22:42 of ice time over 74 appearances.

Spence scored a goal on two shots and blocked two shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Ducks.

Spence has contributed six points and a plus-9 rating over his last 15 outings. The 24-year-old has played regularly this season, and he's seen a slightly larger role over the last few games while the Kings are without Drew Doughty (ankle) and Joel Edmundson (upper body). Spence has career highs in goals (four), points (26), blocked shots (75), hits (72) and plus-minus rating (plus-20) through 75 appearances.