Malinski scored a goal on four shots and blocked two shots in Monday's 2-1 shootout win over the Oilers.
Malinski tallied the opening goal at 9:05 of the second period. He has five goals, five assists and a plus-6 rating over his last 11 games, which has helped the Avalanche remain strong even in the absence of Cale Makar (upper body). Through 80 appearances this season, Malinski has eight goals, 39 points, 158 shots on net, 92 blocked shots and a plus-42 rating. With no healthy extras on the roster, the 27-year-old appears poised to play in all 82 games unless the Avalanche call up reinforcements for one or both of the final two regular-season contests.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Unlikely standout on offense
Rotowire
Malinski scored twice and added an assist in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Canucks.
Malinski had two of the four goals as the Avalanche rallied from a 6-2 deficit, with his second tally tying the game. That lasted for just 23 seconds before Marcus Pettersson restored a lead for the Canucks. Still, it was a big performance for Malinski, who looks set to benefit in the absence of Cale Makar (upper body), though that will likely be a short-term scenario. For the season, Malinski has seven goals, 37 points, 142 shots on net, 83 blocked shots and a plus-42 rating over 74 appearances. Malinski is worth a look as a streaming and DFS option as long as Makar remains out.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: One of each Monday
Rotowire
Malinski scored a goal on four shots, added an assist, blocked four shots and went plus-2 in Monday's 9-2 win over the Flames.
Malinski has five points, a plus-5 rating and seven blocks over his last four contests. The 27-year-old defenseman rarely steals the spotlight, but he's been excellent this year with 34 points, 140 shots on net, 82 blocks and a plus-41 rating through 73 appearances, more than double his 15-point output from the 2024-25 regular season. If Cale Makar (upper body) misses time, Malinski could carve out a larger power-play role in the short term.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Puts up helper Thursday
Rotowire
Malinski notched an assist, four shots on goal and two PIM in Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.
Malinski signed a four-year contract extension Tuesday. That deal came as he's proven himself in a top-four role alongside Cale Makar in the absence of Devon Toews (upper body). Malinski has posted just four helpers with 40 shots on net and 18 blocked shots over his last 15 outings since a three-assist game in Vegas on Dec. 27. Overall, the 27-year-old blueliner has 25 points, 104 shots on net, 57 blocked shots, 25 hits and a plus-27 rating through 52 appearances, numbers worthy of a look in deeper fantasy formats.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Nets goal in 100th career game
Rotowire
Malinski scored a goal in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Kings.
Malinski skated in his 100th career game Tuesday, all of which have come with the Avalanche. The 27-year-old defenseman is facing a new challenge this season, playing on his off side as a right-shot blueliner on the left. He'll eventually be challenged by Ilya Solovyov for playing time once Solovyov's visa situation is resolved. Malinski had just 13:13 of ice time Tuesday and may be sheltered for a while as he adjusts to his new role. He had 15 points in 76 regular-season outings in 2024-25.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Earns assist in playoff debut
Rotowire
Malinski notched an assist in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Stars in Game 3.
This was Malinski's playoff debut after he sat out the first two games of the series in Dallas. He was still limited to 12:23 of ice time, but he was able to help out on a Valeri Nichushkin tally in the first period. Malinski had 15 points over 76 regular-season contests, but he earned three of those points over his last five outings of the campaign, so he may be able to build a little momentum if he stays in the lineup over Erik Johnson and Keaton Middleton.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Puts home late goal
Rotowire
Malinski scored a goal and went plus-2 in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Blues.
Malinski ended a six-game point drought when he scored at 19:51 of the third period. The 26-year-old defenseman hasn't been consistent on offense this season, but he's getting an extended run in the lineup while Josh Manson (upper body) is out of action. Malinski has four goals, 13 points, 103 shots on net, 103 blocked shots, 56 hits and a plus-11 rating over 72 appearances in his first full NHL campaign.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Springs breakaway
Rotowire
Malinski notched an assist, two hits, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Flames.
Malinski ended a 15-game point drought with the helper. The 26-year-old went minus-2 with 13 shots on net, 20 hits and 17 blocked shots in that span. He's struggled to put together steady performances for large portions of 2024-25. The blueliner has just six points to go with 71 shots on net, 42 hits, 76 blocks and a plus-1 rating over 53 appearances. Malinski has a little short-term security in the lineup as long as Josh Manson (lower body) is out, but he'll be competing with Oliver Kylington, Keaton Middleton and Calvin de Haan once the Avalanche's defense corps is back to full health.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Snaps slump with assist
Rotowire
Malinski registered an assist in Friday's 4-1 win over Utah.
Malinski sparked the play leading to Artturi Lehkonen's opening goal at 11:52 of the second period. The helper ended a 21-game slump for Malinski, who has maintained a bottom-four role despite the lack of offense in that span. For the season, he's at five points, 57 shots on net, 55 blocked shots, 20 hits and a plus-1 rating over 37 appearances. The return of Josh Manson (upper body) will likely cost Malinski minutes, but John Ludvig doesn't appear to be much of a threat to his spot in the lineup.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Stuck in drought
Rotowire
Malinski was held off the scoresheet for the 17th game in a row Saturday in a 5-2 win over the Predators.
Malinski has moved up the depth chart in that time due to the injury absences of Josh Manson (upper body) and Oliver Kylington (upper body). Still, the larger role isn't leading to more offense. Malinski has four points, 45 shots on net, 50 blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating through 32 appearances, down from the 10 points he put up over 23 regular-season outings last year.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Scores in Saturday's win
Rotowire
Malinski scored a goal, blocked two shots and added two PIM in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Hurricanes.
Malinski snapped a four-game point drought with his first goal of the campaign. The 26-year-old defenseman has held onto a third-pairing role all season, and the Avalanche's lone change on the blue line Saturday was to bring in John Ludvig for Calvin de Haan, which suggests Malinski has some job security. Overall, Malinski has four points, 19 shots on net, 16 blocked shots, eight hits and a minus-2 rating over 15 appearances.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Adds assist in loss
Rotowire
Malinski notched an assist and two shots on goal in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
This was Malinski's third helper in the last four games, which is all of his offense this season. The 26-year-old is doing well to maintain a spot on the third pairing, though it's come with only sporadic power-play time and limited minutes overall. Malinski is averaging 15:26 of ice time while supplying 13 shots on net, 11 blocked shots, six hits and a plus-1 rating across 10 appearances.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Generates assist Tuesday
Rotowire
Malinski logged an assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Kraken.
The helper was Malinski's first point of the season, but it's been his steady play on the third pairing that's kept him in the lineup. The Avalanche have often rotated Calvin de Haan, Oliver Kylington or John Ludvig out of the lineup, while Malinski has played in all seven games. Malinski has 10 shots on net, six blocked shots, three hits and a minus-1 rating while averaging 15:44 of ice time per contest.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Recalled Monday
Rotowire
Malinski was promoted from AHL Colorado on Monday, per CapFriendly.
Malinski scored 10 points in 23 games with the Avalanche this season but hasn't made an NHL appearance since Feb. 6. He'll provide the team with some extra depth this postseason.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Reassigned to minors
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Malinski was demoted to AHL Colorado on Friday.
Malinski has 10 points through 22 NHL games this season, including three over his last four appearances. He was demoted to make room for Zach Parise, who signed with the Avalanche on Friday.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Scores on power play
Rotowire
Malinski scored a power-play goal and had an even-strength assist in Tuesday's 7-4 win over Ottawa. He added two shots, one block and one hit to his line over 17:17 of ice time.
Malinski set up Colorado's second goal with a stretch pass that resulted in Jason Polin's first NHL tally. Malinski then potted the game-winner one second before the Avalanche's man-advantage ended. His wrist shot eluded Mads Sogaard, who lost his stick on the play. The two-point effort was Malinski's second and gave the 25-year-old blueliner eight points through 19 games. He should stick around until Bowen Byram (lower body) is ready to play. Byram was given a seven-to-14 day timeline back on Jan 7.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Lights lamp Monday
Rotowire
Malinski scored a goal and blocked two shots in Monday's 4-3 shootout win over the Bruins.
Malinski was called up with Josh Manson (undisclosed) questionable going into the game, and the former got into the lineup when the latter couldn't play. The goal was Malinski's second of the season, snapping a four-game point drought from before he was sent down at the end of December. The 25-year-old has added four assists, 16 shots on net, 17 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating through 15 appearances. He'll likely continue to bounce between levels, but he's clearly the Avalanche's top call-up option when they need blue-line help.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Generates helper
Rotowire
Malinski logged a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks.
Malinski helped out on Valeri Nichushkin's second goal of the game. With Cale Makar (lower body) sidelined by a lingering lower-body issue, Malinski has worked his way into a role on the second power-play unit. The 25-year-old is up to five points, 11 shots on net, 15 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating through 10 contests overall, so it appears Malinski could stick in the NHL for a bit.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Picks up second helper
Rotowire
Malinski recorded an assist in Monday's 6-5 win over the Flames.
Malinski posted his second helper over the last three games. The 25-year-old has seemingly leaped over Caleb Jones on the depth chart, though Malinski has seen less than 15 minutes of ice time in each of his last three outings. He's added six shots on net, seven blocked shots and a plus-1 rating through six appearances this season.
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Avalanche's Sam Malinski: Sent back down
Rotowire
Malinski was reassigned to AHL Colorado on Wednesday.
Samuel Girard (undisclosed) is good to go for Wednesday's game versus the Ducks, so Malinski was no longer needed on the active roster. Malinski made his NHL debut Monday versus the Kraken, posting one shot on goal, one hit and a plus-1 rating in 12:02 of ice time.
