NHL Player News

Gaucher scored three goals in AHL Lehigh Valley's 7-3 win over Bridgeport on Saturday.

Gaucher is knocking on the door of a second straight 20-goal season for the Phantoms. He has 19 tallies, 35 points, 95 shots on net and a minus-9 rating over 65 appearances. He had gone five contests without a point prior to Saturday.

Wallstedt made 20 saves in a 2-1 loss to Nashville on Saturday.

Wallstedt was sharp behind a team with Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon all scratched for rest-related reasons to get ready for the postseason. The loss snapped a personal three-game winning streak for the netminder. Wallstedt hasn't allowed more than two goals in a game since mid-March (3-2-0; five starts). Overall, he's an impressive 17-9-6 with four shutouts, 2.63 GAA and .915 save percentage.

Manson (upper body) won't return to Saturday's game versus the Golden Knights.

Manson's absence leaves the Avalanche with just five healthy defensemen on the roster. The 34-year-old could be held out for some or all of the team's last three games of the regular season, as the Avalanche don't need to rush him back. If Manson and Cale Makar (upper body) can't play Monday in Edmonton, expect a call-up from AHL Colorado.

McCarron scored a goal Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Nashville.

It was his first goal in 17 games. McCarron got his own rebound after tipping a point shot and went blocker side on Justus Annunen in the third. It was his first game against the team that traded him to Minnesota on March 3. McCarron is a bottom-six role player who has just four points (two goals, two assists) in 18 games with his new team. Overall, he has 16 points, including seven goals, in 77 games this season.

Wood scored a goal Saturday in a 2-1 win over Minnesota.

Wood's second-period goal stood as the winner. He scored on a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle off a sweet feed from Steven Stamkos. It was Wood's first goal in nine games and 17th overall this season. He sits in a three-way tie with Ben Kindel of the Penguins and Fraser Minten of the Bruins on the rookie sniper list.

Annunen made 21 saves in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Wild.

Annunen took a shutout into the third when former teammate, Michael McCarron, who was traded to the Wild on March 3, beat him at 6:54. The netminder has been sharp lately, stopping 64 of 65 shots over his last two starts. With this performance, Annunen improved his stat line this season to 10-11-3 with a 2.70 GAA, .907 save percentage and one shutout.

Stamkos scored a goal and added an assist Saturday in a 2-1 win over Minnesota.

The goal was his 40th of the season (63 points). It's the eighth time in his 18 NHL seasons that Stamkos has scored 40 regular-season goals. He is third on the all-time active goal scorer's list (622), and he's the fourth active NHLer to score 40 or more goals with two franchises. The others? Alex DeBrincat (Chicago and Detroit), Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay) and Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary and Florida).

Ingram made 19 saves Saturday in a 1-0 loss to the Kings.

The game had a distinct playoff feel, and Ingram played really well. The only King to best him was Artemi Panarin, who beat him glove side on a breakaway after stealing the puck from Evan Bouchard in the Kings' zone. Ingram is 1-2-0 in his last three games, and the Oilers are 1-2-1 in their last four, but they managed to secure a playoff spot later Saturday when the Flyers beat the Jets. We're not sure how the Oilers will deploy Ingram in the final two games. Will they play him to ensure he maintains a rhythm heading into the playoffs? Or will they sit Ingram, as wins would secure a first-round matchup against wild-card Utah, which has a plus-31 goal differential? These questions make year-end fantasy decisions so difficult.

Panarin scored the game's only goal in a 1-0 victory over Edmonton on Saturday.

Panarin stole the puck from Evan Bouchard at the blue line in his own zone and took off on a breakaway. Panarin slung a wrist shot that beat Connor Ingram glove side. Panarin has 26 points, including nine goals, in 23 games since arriving in Los Angeles in a Feb. 4 trade. He has 28 goals, 55 assists and 221 shots in 75 games this season. The Kings have three games remaining and are looking to secure the second wild card in the Western Conference. They are one point up on Nashville as of Saturday and have one game in hand. However, Panarin will lead the push for the Kings, as they need to finish ahead of the Preds, which holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker (28-21).

Postava was reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids on Saturday.

Postava was elevated from Grand Rapids on Friday as insurance for John Gibson (neck), but Gibson was fine to play Saturday versus the Devils. Postava will likely close out the season with the Griffins, who have been one of the best teams in the AHL all season. He'll compete with Sebastian Cossa for playing time in the AHL.