NHL News
Nathan MacKinnon Dishes Out Three Helpers During Friday's Victory
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon tallied three assists during their victory over the Utah Hockey Club on Friday evening. MacKinnon tallied the primary assist on Artturi Lehkonen's opening goal in the second period. Later in the third, MacKinnon would tally the secondary assist on Lehkonen's second strike of game, which would eventually serve as the game-winner. MacKinnon would then complete his three-point night by adding the primary assist on Mikko Rantanen's empty-netter to clinch the victory. In this game, MacKinnon also added four shots on goal, five penalty minutes and a +3 rating. The 29-year-old is now riding a four-game multi-point streak. Over his past eight games, he has only been held off the scoresheet once and has tallied an impressive 19 points over this stretch. MacKinnon remains a high-end forward in all formats and a safe lineup anchor in DFS.
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Robert Thomas Strikes Twice On Friday Evening
St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas scored two goals during their victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday evening. Thomas opened the scoring on an unassisted wrist shot goal in the opening minute which beat netminder Juuse Saros. Thomas would not get back on the scoresheet until later in the final frame where he scored a power-play goal to increase their lead. Thomas has now posted multi-point performances in back-to-back outings. Since the start of December (13 games) Thomas has only been held off the scoresheet on one occasion and has posted six multi-point outings over this span. Fantasy managers should continue to expect the 25-year-old to continue to provide solid offensive production playing on the top unit in St. Louis.
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Dmitri Voronkov Scores Twice, Tallies Assist On Friday
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov scored two goals and added an assist during Friday's victory over the Boston Bruins. Voronkov tallied his helper on Adam Fantilli's goal in the second frame. Later in the period Voronkov would strike twice, both times on the power-play. His first PPG came on a backhand shot while the other on a wrist shot to beat netminder Joonas Korpisalo. Voronkov also tallied five shots on goal and finished with a +2 rating in this game. The 24-year-old has now scored two goals in each of his past two contests and is riding six-game point streak. Prior to this hot stretch, he tallied just two points (two goals) over the first eight games of the month. Voronkov will look to stay hot facing Boston once again on Saturday evening.
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Jacob Markstrom Stands Tall On Friday
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced en route to defeating the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday evening. The Devils were outshot in this game, but the 34-year-old was able to lead them to a victory. Markstrom's lone mistakes came on an Eric Robinson rebound goal in the opening frame and Brent Burns wrist shot in the second. Both goals occurred during 5-on-5 play. The veteran netminder has now won six-straight starts. Over this span, he has held a stellar .953% SV with a 0.83 GAA. He has posted two shutouts over this stretch and this game on Friday was the first time he allowed more than one goal. Overall, Markstrom sits with a strong 19-6-3 record with a .914% SV and a 2.11 GAA and remains a must-start goaltender in all formats.
1 hour ago
Alex Tuch Leads Buffalo With Hat Trick Performance
Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch scored a hat trick in their victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday evening. Tuch scored his first goal of the evening on a tip-in in the first period. Tuch would then score his other two goals in the final frame. He first scored on a wrist shot in the opening minutes of the third period, and then capped off his evening with a snap shot goal. This performance snapped a four-game scoring drought. Leading up to this game, Tuch only scored one goal earlier this month across an 11-game stretch. Overall, the 28-year-old has tallied 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) across 28 total games this season. Tuch should continue to produce near point-per-game production playing alongside Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker on the top line.
1 hour ago
William Eklund Will Not Play On Friday
San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (undisclosed) will drop out of the lineup on Friday versus Vegas. He was injured in Monday's matchup against Vancouver and needs more time to recover. The 22-year-old is considered day-to-day. Eklund has been San Jose's second-highest scorer this season, registering 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in 36 outings. With his absence on Friday, Barclay Goodrow will get a look on the first line. Goodrow is having a difficult campaign with the Sharks, sporting only three points (two goals, one assist) through 32 appearances with a minus-17 rating.
14 hours ago
Linus Ullmark Misses Road Trip
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (back) will not feature in this weekend's back-to-back against Winnipeg and Minnesota and looks set to miss some additional time as well. Ottawa starts a five-game road trip, and Ullmark will not travel with the team after getting hurt last Sunday versus Edmonton. The Swedish netminder has been in immense form lately, taking his record to 12-7-2 with a seven-game winning streak. He boasts three shutouts and has allowed 2.38 goals with a .915 save percentage during his first year with the Senators. Anton Forsberg (undisclosed) is also nursing an injury, so Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard have joined the big club.
14 hours ago
Elvis Merzlikins Starts On Friday
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (undisclosed) has been named the starter for Friday's matchup against Boston. The Latvian netminder sat out Columbus' final game ahead of the holiday break, as he has reportedly been banged up. However, Merzlikins appears to have shaken off whatever bothered him and is ready for action on Friday. It's been another wild ride for Merzlikins in 2024-25, with him going 10-9-3. He put together a four-game winning streak last month but has celebrated just three victories in eight December starts. The 30-year-old has allowed 3.13 goals for the campaign with a .889 save percentage and one shutout. Friday's matchup puts Merzlikins in a challenging spot, as the Bruins have heated up with an 8-2-1 run.
14 hours ago
Mackenzie Blackwood Lands Five-Year Extension
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has signed a five-year extension. The 28-year-old has featured just four times for the Avalanche since he was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks, but the team has apparently seen enough to ink him to a fairly lengthy extension. The deal is worth $26.25 million and will give Blackwood a $5.25 million cap hit starting next season. He's currently finishing off a two-year contract that counts $2.35 million against the cap. Blackwood has gone 3-1-0 with Colorado, allowing 2.03 goals with a .931 save percentage. He carries an 84-92-25 career record. Blackwood's move to Denver has given a big boost to his fantasy stock, and it looks like the Avalanche see him as their No. 1 for the foreseeable future.
15 hours ago
Kirill Kaprizov Out On Friday, Considered Day-To-Day
Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) will not play on Friday against Dallas and is considered day-to-day. He'll be out for the second time this year. Kaprizov has been a scoring machine throughout the campaign, posting 23 goals and 50 points in 34 appearances. As a result of Kaprizov's injury, we should see Matt Boldy join the first line. The 23-year-old will look to break out of an offensive slump on Friday, having gone scoreless in four of the past five games. Marcus Foligno is also poised to move up in the lineup, linking up with Marcus Johansson and Frederick Gaudreau on the second line.
15 hours ago
Auston Matthews Ruled Out For At Least Two More Games
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (upper body) will not rejoin the lineup this week as the team gets ready to face Detroit on Friday and Washington on Saturday. The Maple Leafs captain recently re-aggravated an upper-body injury and will sit out a third consecutive contest on Friday. Matthews' next chance to return comes on Tuesday versus the Islanders. With him out, John Tavares will continue to skate as the first-line center. Pontus Holmberg is projected to center the second line in Friday's matchup.
15 hours ago
David Pastrnak Available On Friday
Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (upper body) will be in the lineup on Friday against Columbus. The star winger suffered an upper-body injury against Washington on Monday, exiting the contest after logging only nine minutes of action, but Pastrnak will not miss additional time. Pastrnak has had a hot month with 13 points. However, it's been a down year for him overall, as the prolific forward has settled for 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 36 appearances. Pastrnak last averaged fewer than a point per game in 2017-18.
15 hours ago
Adin Hill Sharp In Monday's Victory
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced en route to defeating the Anaheim Ducks on Monday evening. Hill's lone blemish came in the third period on a snap shot from Mason McTavish which tied the game at the time. Tomas Hertl was able to break the stalemate later in the frame. Hill has now won six of his past seven starts and seven of his past nine. Over his past seven games, Hill has held a strong .925% SV with a 2.14 GAA. During this span, he has only allowed more than three goals on one occasion and allowed two or less in five. Overall, the 28-year-old sits with an impressive 15-5-2 record this season with two shutouts, and a 2.61 GAA and a .905% SV. He will look to extend his win streak on Friday evening against the San Jose Sharks.
4 days ago
Jiri Kulich Posts First Three-Point Outing Of The Season
Buffalo Sabres center Jiri Kulich posted his first three-point game of his season on Monday evening during their demanding 7-1 victory over the New York Islanders. Kulich would score the second goal of the game in the opening frame which would eventually serve as the game-winner. Kulich beat Ilya Sorokin on a wrist shot. In the second, Kulich would tack on his lone helper on a secondary assist on Zach Benson's strike. Kulich would tally his second goal of the night in the final frame to put the game out of reach. The former 28th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft has not contributed much offensively playing primarily on the third line but this breakout showing could build some confidence. Through 25 games, he has tallied eight points. Kulich should only be rostered in dynasty formats given his lack of consistent production.
4 days ago
Jonas Johansson Stops 36 Shots In Victory
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson led the way against the defending Stanley Cup Champions on Monday evening. Johansson stopped all 36 shots he faced. The Lightning were heavily outshot in this contest but the No.2 netminder was able to lead them to a victory. The Lightning were able to strike three times in the opening frame which was able to Johansson a nice cushion early on. This was only his seventh appearance of the campaign as Andrei Vasilevskiy continues to see a heavy workload in the crease. Across these seven outings, the No.2 option has held a 4-1-1 record with a 3.25 GAA and a .902% SV. Johansson should only be left for deeper formats as he has very limited opportunities to draw a start.
4 days ago
Dylan Holloway Scores First Career Hat Trick
St. Louis Blues left wing Dylan Holloway scored his first career hat trick during their victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday evening. Holloway scored his first goal of the game on a slap shot in the opening frame which beat Detroit netminder Cam Talbot. In the second frame, Holloway would find the back of the net for the second time, this time on a snap shot which further extended their lead. Holloway would cap off his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal in the final minutes. This was a much-needed breakout performance for the 23-year-old as he carried a six-game point drought into this game. Before this drought he was riding a seven-game point streak. Holloway will look to kickstart another point streak on Friday evening, against the Nashville Predators.
4 days ago
Jack Hughes Scores Twice In Monday's Victory
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes scored twice and added a helper during their 5-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon. Hughes opened the scoring and tallied the eventual game-winner in the opening minutes. Hughes would score on a wrist shot which beat Jonathan Quick. In the second frame, Hughes would strike again, this time on the power-play. Hughes would tally his third point of the game on a primary assist in the final frame on Dawson Mercer's power-play goal. Over his past six games, Hughes has tallied ten total points (four goals, six helpers) while averaging over 4.0 shots per game with a +7 rating. Hughes remains a must-start option in all formats as he will look to stay hot on Friday evening against the Carolina Hurricanes.
4 days ago
Sidney Crosby Ties Team Record With Four-Point Showing
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby led the way on Monday evening during their victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Crosby tallied three helpers and a goal. These three assists tied him with Mario Lemieux's 1,033 total assists with the Penguins. Crosby tallied the primary assist on Bryan Rust's opening goal. Later in the first, Crosby would tack on two more helpers, both times on the power-play. He tallied his first on Michael Bunting's goal and the other on Philip Tomasino's strike. Then, in the final minutes, Crosby would score the empty-netter to put the game out of reach to cap off his four-point night. This was Crosby's second four-point outing over his past three games and third time he tallied at least three points in a single game over his past six contests. Crosby has the chance to make history Saturday evening in Belmont against the Islanders.
4 days ago
Jake Neighbours Good To Go Versus Red Wings
St. Louis Blues winger Jake Neighbours (undisclosed) will be in the lineup on Monday against Detroit. He didn't finish Friday's matchup against Florida after absorbing a heavy hit, but Neighbours won't have to miss additional time. The 22-year-old is tied for the second-most goals on the team with 10 and has amassed 17 points across 35 contests. Neighbours is expected to work as a third-liner on Monday, but he should also see action with the first power-play unit. It's a juicy matchup for St. Louis' power play on Monday, as the Red Wings have the league's second-worst penalty kill.
4 days ago
Filip Gustavsson Returns To Work Monday
Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (lower body) will be back between the pipes on Monday versus Chicago. He's been out of the lineup for four games due to a lower-body injury. His last outing ended in a heavy 7-1 defeat against Edmonton, but Gustavsson has had a fantastic campaign as Minnesota's No. 1 option in the cease, posting a 14-5-3 record. He has allowed 2.24 goals with a .922 save percentage and two shutouts. Gustavsson's losses include a 2-1 overtime defeat against the Blackhawks on Nov. 10, but it's a great matchup for him. Chicago has won only five of 19 road games and averages the fourth-fewest goals in the league (2.56).
4 days ago
Nathan MacKinnon
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Avalanche
