NHL Player News

Christiansen (upper body) won't play Friday versus the Penguins, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Christiansen will miss a fourth straight game. Erik Gudbranson (shoulder) is getting closer to a return, so it's possible Christiansen may not have a place in the lineup to come back to once he's healthy. The Blue Jackets' next game is Monday versus the Islanders.

Struble notched an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders.

Struble has two helpers over his last four games, as well as a plus-6 rating through nine contests in March. The 23-year-old defenseman remains on the second pairing and doesn't see power-play time, but he's at little risk of losing his place in the lineup since the Canadiens aren't carrying an extra healthy defenseman. Struble is at 10 points through 42 appearances, matching his offensive output from 56 games as a rookie a year ago. He's tacked on 94 hits, 44 blocked shots, 48 PIM and 40 shots on net in 2024-25.

DeAngelo recorded two assists, including one on the power play, four shots on goal and two blocked shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Canadiens.

This was DeAngelo's second multi-assist game in his last three outings. The 29-year-old has earned six points over his last seven contests, including a pair of power-play assists, as he continues to stay involved with the man advantage. He's now at 12 points in 21 appearances with the Islanders, one point better than the 11 he put up over 31 contests with the Hurricanes in 2023-24. DeAngelo has added 41 shots on net, 30 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating in 2024-25.

Dobson provided two assists, tallied two shots on goal and blocked six shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Canadiens.

Dobson played a large role in building the Islanders' lead by assisting their second and third goals of the game. The 25-year-old blueliner is up to 24 assists, 32 points, 171 shots on net and 108 blocks in 57 appearances this season. The Islanders' top defenseman is on a three-game point streak with two goals and three helpers in that stretch. While he won't reach the 70-point mark that he achieved a season ago, Dobson still has a chance to reach the 40-point threshold for the fourth time in his past four seasons. He's currently skating on the second defensive pairing and on the top power-play unit, which should give him a plethora of opportunities to contribute down the stretch in fantasy.

Jiricek was reassigned to AHL Iowa on Friday.

Jiricek was called up March 1, but he didn't end up drawing into any games for Minnesota before his demotion. However, he does have a goal and three points in 12 appearances between Columbus and Minnesota on the season. Minnesota now has six healthy defensemen on its roster unless Jonas Brodin (lower body) is an option for Saturday's clash against Buffalo.

Edmundson scored an empty-net goal on four shots in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.

Edmundson has two goals and six points over his last 14 contests. While that's not a lot of offense overall, it's a better-than-usual pace for the 31-year-old shutdown defender. In his first year with the Kings, he's racked up six goals -- one off his career high -- and 17 points while adding 84 shots on net, 88 hits, 95 blocked shots and a plus-19 rating over 63 appearances. He's also averaging 20:38 of ice time, his highest in any season since 2017-18, though he's been trending down in that area since Drew Doughty has been back in action following a season-opening ankle injury.

Hughes tallied an assist in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis.

Hughes came through for the Canucks when they needed him most by helping set up the game-tying goal with four seconds left in regulation. With the helper, Hughes reached the half-century mark on the season and is up to 66 total points across 55 appearances. The 25-year-old blueliner also has a five-game point streak since his return from an undisclosed injury -- he was held off the scoresheet and went minus-6 in back-to-back outings prior to missing four consecutive contests. While injuries have stymied his overall production, Hughes should still finish well above a point-per-game and contest for the 75-point mark by the end of the regular season.

LaCombe scored a goal in Thursday's 4-1 win over Nashville.

LaCombe found the back of the net in the early stages of the second period to even things up, as Steven Stamkos had opened the scoring for the Predators in the first period. LaCombe snapped a nine-game goal drought with his marker Thursday, but he has five helpers and seven points across 11 contests in March, so he's continuing to cement himself as a reliable fantasy option on the blue line. He has 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) across 62 games this season.

Jones logged a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Thursday's 1-0 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.

Jones has earned two assists over eight contests as a Panther. He's immediately returned to his workhorse ways from his time as a Blackhawk, as the Panthers are without Aaron Ekblad (suspension) until the third game of the postseason, leaving Jones to pick up the slack. For the season, the 30-year-old defenseman has 29 points (17 on the power play), 99 shots on net, 76 hits, 95 blocked shots and a minus-22 rating over 50 appearances.

Tucker scored a goal, distributed an assist and blocked five shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks.

Tucker registered both of his points in 24 seconds. After scoring his goal just over nine minutes into the second period, he picked up a secondary assist on Dylan Holloway's goal moments later. Thursday's points were Tucker's first since he signed a two-year extension with the Blues at the end of February. He is up to six points, 51 hits and 31 blocks in 27 contests this season. The Blues have begun to showcase more trust in Tucker, who set a career high for games in a season with Thursday's appearance. With Colton Parayko out for an extended period of time with a knee injury, Tucker should remain in a third defensive pairing role.