NHL Player News

Balinskis scored a goal Monday in a 5-3 loss to the Sabres.

Balinskis scored just 37 seconds when a lucky bounce rebound arrived on his stick in the left circle, and he buried a snap shot over Alex Lyon's glove while on a power play. Balinskis played a team-high 24:57 and fired three shots. He has four goals, eight assists and 51 shots through 46 outings this season.

Reinhart dished two assists Monday in a 5-3 loss to Buffalo.

Reinhart is all but dragging the Panthers this season, and now he's the last man standing with Sam Bennett leaving with an upper-body injury Monday. The kitties are already without Aleksander Barkov (knee), Brad Marchand (undisclosed) and Anton Lundell (upper body). Reinhart has still managed 54 points (27 goals, 27 helpers) and 144 shots in 55 games this season. There's no rest for the weary, either, as Reinhart heads to Milano Cortina later this week to play for Canada at the Olympics.

McLeod delivered two helpers in Monday's 5-3 win over Florida.

McLeod had his four-game scoring streak snapped by Montreal on Saturday, but he's right back at it this week. He has eight assists in his last six games, and 39 points, including 28 helpers, in 55 games this season. McLeod still doesn't shoot much -- he has just 65 shots this season -- but his plus-19 rating is a bonus for formats that count that stat.

Hagens scored twice and added an assist in Boston College's 5-1 win over Harvard University on Monday.

Hagens took the early scoring lead in the Beanpot with his three-point effort. The Bruins prospect is up to 14 goals and 14 assists over 22 NCAA appearances this season. Hagens and BC will take on Boston University, which defeated Northeastern University in a 3-2 shootout, next Monday for the Beanpot title.

Thompson scored his 29th goal of the season in Monday's 5-3 win over Florida.

Thompson has gone full beast mode since the December break. He has 25 points, including 11 goals, and 67 shots in 19 games, and he's been held off the scoresheet just four times in that span. Thompson has just one power-play goal (five PPA) on that run.

Dahlin put up two assists in a 5-3 win over the Panthers on Monday.

Dahlin's personal scoring streak sits at five games and 10 points (four goals, six assists). The defender has 18 shots, a plus-8 rating, four PIM, six hits and four blocks in that span. Dahlin is now seventh in the NHL in points by a defenseman (46 in 51 games), and he's in a two-way tie for seventh in assists (35).

Doan had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over the Panthers on Monday. He also had three hits.

The son of Shane has really skated into his skillset this season. Doan has 17 goals, 21 assists and 119 shots in 55 games this season, and that explosive growth earned him a big seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension two weeks ago. The workload this season may be catching up to him -- he has just four points (two goals, two assists) in his last nine games. Interestingly enough, Doan's seven hits in his last two games match the total he put up in his previous 12 games. The Olympic break will bring the right kind of rest to his game.

Krebs had a goal and two assists in Monday's 5-3 win over the Panthers. He also had seven hits.

Krebs' overall production (seven goals, 18 assists; 55 games) this season hasn't stood out, but he's recently picked up the pace with eight points (three goals, five assists), seven shots, 14 PIM, 16 hits and a plus-6 rating in his last seven outings. Krebs is on the Sabres' third line, so that lowers his fantasy ceiling.

Benson is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after leaving Monday's 5-3 win over the Panthers in the third period, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News.

According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Benson crashed into the end boards following a breakaway attempt and was favoring his left shoulder as he left the ice. Head coach Lindy Ruff said the team will see where Benson is at Tuesday ahead of the second half of Buffalo's back-to-back in Tampa Bay. The left-shot winger scored his seventh goal of the season and went plus-1 in 14:10 of ice time in Monday's victory.

Lyon made 38 saves in a 5-3 win over Florida on Monday.

It his 11th win in his past 12 starts. Lyon continues to explore uncharted territory this season. The 33-year-old netminder has never achieved the kind of success he has seen this year. Lyon is 14-7-3 with a dazzling 2.66 GAA, .914 save percentage and two shutouts in 24 starts (26 appearances). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) hit the IR on Monday, and the extent of his injury is unknown. UPL is supposed to pull on a Finnish jersey at the Olympics, but that remains to be seen; so does his recovery arc. Lyon King's success will keep him in the blue paint a lot post-Olympics anyway -- the Sabres will play whomever will take them to the Stanley Cup promised land.