NHL Player News

Shea scored a goal and blocked two shots in Saturday's 9-4 win over the Panthers.

Shea has two goals and an assist over his last four games, a span in which the Penguins have erupted for 25 tallies. The 29-year-old defenseman has been a strong part of the blue line this season, racking up six goals, 25 assists, a plus-23 rating, 69 shots on net and 91 blocked shots over 76 appearances. Shea continues to see bottom-four minutes, but he has moved up and down the pairings for much of the season.

Spurgeon recorded an assist in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Senators.

Spurgeon recently missed a game due to an upper-body injury, but he's been back in a bottom-four role for the first two games in April. The 36-year-old defenseman is a prime candidate for rest prior to the playoffs, so fantasy managers should approach with caution. He's at 20 points, 85 shots on net, 79 hits, 130 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over 75 appearances this season, his most games played in three years with time left to pass the 79 regular-season outings he had in 2022-23.

Middleton scored a goal, blocked two shots and added 10 PIM in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Senators.

Middleton had gone 16 games without a point prior to that third-period insurance tally. The 30-year-old continues to see steady bottom-four minutes, providing physicality rather than offense for a Wild blue line that has plenty of the latter from other players. Middleton is at 15 points, 58 shots on net, 82 hits, 74 PIM and 105 blocked shots across 69 appearances this season.

Brodin scored a goal on two shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Senators.

Brodin ended a 30-game goal drought with his first-period tally. He missed 18 contests due to two lower-body injuries during that stretch. The defenseman has four goals, 17 points, 69 shots on net, 117 blocked shots and a plus-14 rating over 57 appearances, serving as a shutdown blueliner in the Wild's top four.

Kulikov (nose) will return to the lineup against Pittsburgh on Sunday, per Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site.

Following a two-game absence due to a broken nose, Kulikov will replace Mikulas Hovorka in Sunday's lineup against the Penguins. The 35-year-old Kulikov hasn't posted a point in 17 appearances this season while contributing 12 shots on net, 13 blocked shots and 18 hits.

Faulk (lower body) isn't in the lineup Sunday against the Wild, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Faulk left Thursday's game against the Flyers with an injury and now will be held out for both ends of the weekend back-to-back for the Red Wings. Sunday will mark just the third game that the 34-year-old has missed this season. He has had a quiet tenure with his new team since being acquired from the Blues, recording three points (one goal, two assists) in 12 games.

Bogosian (lower body) won't play Sunday against the Red Wings, the Wild announced.

He is officially day-to-day with the injury sustained Saturday against the Senators. The 35-year-old has two goals and four assists in 41 games on the season. In his absence, Jeff Petry will draw into the lineup and play on the third pair with Jake Middleton. Bogosian's next chance for a return will be Tuesday against the Kraken.

Bogosian (undisclosed) left Saturday's game against the Senators early and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Red Wings, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports.

Bogosian was presumably injured Saturday while going into the boards awkwardly after missing a hit. The 35-year-old didn't finish the game as a result. He has six points (two goals, four assists) in 41 games this season. If he can't go Sunday against the Red Wings, expect Jeff Petry or Daemon Hunt to draw into the lineup.

Karlsson scored a power-play goal and added three assists, two with the man advantage, in Saturday's 9-4 rout of the Panthers.

The veteran defenseman has delivered at least three points in three of his last six games, although he was held off the scoresheet completely in the other three. Since the beginning of March, Karlsson has been on fire, producing 10 goals and 28 points in 19 games to help put the Penguins on the verge of locking up a playoff spot.

Stecher was held off the scoresheet for an eighth straight game in Saturday's 7-6 overtime loss to the Kings.

Stecher's playing time should stabilize while Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower body) is out. The part-time role likely isn't helping Stecher get his offense on track. The 31-year-old blueliner has earned 13 points over 54 outings this season, but only three of those points have come in his last 18 games. He's added 58 shots on net, 75 blocked shots, 25 hits and a minus-7 rating while mainly working in a bottom-four role.