NHL Player News

Merrill played in his sixth straight game in Tuesday's 2-1 shootout win over the Avalanche.

Merrill has gone minus-3 in that span, and his overall point drought is up to 21 games. Still, the Wild appear to trust him to fill in on the third pairing while Jonas Brodin (lower body) is out rather than moving a different blueliner to their off side to get David Jiricek in action. Merrill has just four points, 37 shots on net, 71 blocked shots, 31 hits and a minus-5 rating over 54 appearances this season.

Moser was held off the scoresheet for the ninth straight game in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes.

Since his 27-game absence due to a lower-body injury, Moser has been quiet all around. He's picked up nine shots on net, eight hits, nine blocked shots and a minus-1 rating since rejoining the lineup Feb. 23 versus the Kraken. The 25-year-old blueliner is still seeing a shutdown role in the top four, so his offense should eventually come around a bit thanks to his significant ice time. He's at 10 points, 37 shots on net, 48 blocked shots, 27 hits and a plus-12 rating while averaging 19:39 of ice time over 36 appearances.

Walker scored a goal on four shots, blocked three shots and went plus-3 in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Lightning.

Walker ended an 11-game point drought with the goal, which was his first tally since Nov. 29 versus the Panthers. The defenseman has been a fixture in the Hurricanes' lineup this season, but he has struggled on offense. He has just 12 points with 108 shots on net, 74 blocked shots, 71 hits, 36 PIM and a plus-1 rating over 65 appearances. Last year's 29 points over 81 games between the Flyers and Avalanche will likely be considered an anomaly in Walker's career, but regression has hit him harder than expected in 2024-25, especially considering the strength of the Hurricanes' roster.

York recorded an assist and a minus-2 rating in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

York was scratched Saturday versus the Kraken, and it appears to have fired him up a bit. He ended a seven-game point drought with his helper Tuesday, and he has four hits over two games since he sat out. The 24-year-old blueliner has had a mediocre season with 14 points, 57 shots on net, 99 blocked shots, 41 hits and a minus-6 rating over 51 appearances. Head coach John Tortorella is known to make young players sit if their level of performance dips below his expected standard, so York will need to tighten up his game to avoid future trips to the press box.

Kleven scored a goal on three shots, added seven hits and blocked two shots in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Flyers.

The goal snapped a 17-game point drought for Kleven. The 23-year-old defenseman rarely makes much of an impact on offense while playing in a third-pairing role. For the season, he has three goals, two assists, 58 shots on net, 80 hits, 80 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating over 61 appearances.

Pelech notched an assist, two hits and two PIM in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Kings.

Pelech has a helper in two of his last three games. The 30-year-old defenseman helped out on an Anders Lee tally in the second period. For the season, Pelech has racked up 17 assists, 87 shots on net, 68 hits, 61 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over 44 appearances. He appears to be safe in the lineup, especially after Adam Boqvist (undisclosed) left Tuesday's game early.

Spence recorded an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Islanders.

Spence snapped a five-game point drought with the helper. He was scratched versus the Blues on March 5, and his ice time has been cut significantly since he got back into the lineup as the Kings lean on their veteran defensemen to shoulder the heaviest loads. The 24-year-old Spence has had a fine season with 21 points, 65 shots on net, 67 blocked shots, 62 hits and a plus-13 rating over 61 appearances, but he's not a safe fantasy option until his ice time gets back up to a more acceptable level.

Gavrikov scored a goal on two shots, added two PIM, logged two hits and went plus-4 in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Islanders.

Gavrikov has three points over his last four outings, though this was his first goal since Feb. 5 versus the Canadiens. The shutdown defenseman is up to four goals and 23 points in 63 appearances, matching his 77-game point total from the previous regular season. He's also recorded 84 shots on net, 118 blocked shots, 38 hits and a plus-12 rating in 2024-25. The 30-point mark is likely too far out of reach, but Gavrikov's defensive excellence has made him an option in deeper fantasy formats.

Doughty scored a shorthanded empty-net goal on two shots, blocked three shots and added two PIM in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Islanders.

The Kings took their eighth penalty late, but Doughty was able to bury a goal to prevent the Islanders from making a comeback. With three points over his last seven contests, Doughty is making a decent contribution on offense. The blueliner is up to two goals, seven points, 23 shots on net, 29 blocked shots, 14 hits and an even plus-minus rating across 15 appearances this season.

Blankenburg notched a power-play assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Sharks.

Blankenburg is starting to see a larger role with the power play, and he's earned a helper in that situation in each of the last two games. He's up to 10 points (two on the power play), 57 shots on net, 45 blocked shots, 41 hits and a plus-10 rating over 42 appearances this season. It's not his most productive campaign -- that would be his 14-point effort over 36 outings in 2022-23 -- but Blankenburg is emerging as a key part of the Predators' defense as he works toward securing an NHL job for next season.