Ian Cole Has Two Assists On Thursday

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole finished Thursday's 5-3 win over New Jersey with two assists and a plus-two rating. He also recorded two blocked shots and two penalty minutes in the game. The Avs are currently getting goals from all over the place which helps even the depth forwards and defensemen to pick up points. […]

Will Butcher Healthy Enough To Play On Thursday

New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher, who left Tuesday's 3-0 win over Dallas early with an undisclosed injury, will be in the lineup against Colorado on Thursday. It's a special matchup for him of course after the Avs drafted the young d-man in 2013 only to find out a few years later that Butcher wasn't […]

Michael Stone Produces Two Helpers On Wednesday

Calgary Flames defenseman Michael Stone put up two assists during a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. The 28-year-old rearguard has three assists, eight hits, and six blocks through six games this season. Stone only managed 10 points in 82 games last season, which was far lower than his career average. Regardless, […]

Neal Pionk Grabs Three Assists On Wednesday

New York Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk tallied his first three points of the season (all assists) in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Washington Capitals. The 23-year-old blueliner has never been much of a point producer at any level, although he did see 1:49 of PP TOI during the game. Pionk puts up middling peripherals […]

Matt Niskanen Buries OT Winner On Wednesday

Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen scored the overtime winner to down the New York Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night. It was the first goal of the season for the 31-year-old rearguard. Niskanen has some value in banger leagues as he has put up 12 hits and eight blocks through six games. With that in mind, […]

John Carlson Puts Up Three-Point Night

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson scored a goal and added two assists during a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers. The rearguard played 26:02 in the contest and put up five shots. Carlson blossomed into an elite offensive defenseman last season when he led all blueliners with 68 points. The 28-year-old has three […]

Dustin Byfuglien To Return On Thursday

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will return to action against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The 33-year-old missed two games due to an upper-body injury suffered in practice last week. Byfuglien will step back onto the team's first defensive pairing with Ben Chariot and will look to get into the mix offensively after registering just […]

Vince Dunn Gets His Second Goal Of The Season

St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn netted the team's first goal on a power play in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Montreal with Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko providing the assists. It's Dunn's second marker of the season and he managed it with three shots on goal. He now has ten shots, three blocks and one […]

Mike Reilly Opens His Habs Account

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Reilly scored his first goal for the team on Wednesday, netting the second goal on a power play in a 3-2 win over St. Louis. Charles Hudon and Jonathan Drouin had the assists. Reilly played 19 games for the Habs last season and had eight points with no goals, but he's […]

Keith Yandle Nabs Two Assists In Tuesday's Loss

Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle had an assist at even strength and one on the power play during a 6-5 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Yandle now has four assists, 15 shots, and seven blocks in four games this season. The 32-year-old has been a model of consistency from the backend over the past […]

Darnell Nurse Scores First Goal Of The Season On Tuesday

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse scored the game-winning goal in overtime in order to earn a full two points for his team against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. The 23-year-old is off to fine start to the 2018-2019 season having now registered three points (one goal, two assists), 14 shots and seven hits in his […]

Ryan Suter Keeps Hot Start Going

Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter bagged another point on Tuesday, making it five points in six games for the season. He and Jason Zucker helped set up Eric Staal for a 2-1 game-winner against the Coyotes. Suter matched a career-high with 51 points last season and he's off to a great start in 2018-19 as […]

Kevin Shattenkirk Makes Impression In Win

New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk posted two assists with a plus-one rating and a blocked shot in 20:19 of ice time in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout victory against the Colorado Avalanche. He also had the game-winning tally in the shootout. It was his second game back after being benched last a week ago, although head […]

Dustin Byfuglien To Miss Second Consecutive Game On Tuesday

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will miss his second straight game due to an upper-body injury on Tuesday night. Byfuglien suffered the injury in Saturday's practice when he crashed into the boards during a drill. The 33-year-old skated on his own on Monday but was not spotted at the Jets' optional pregame skate on Tuesday […]

Zach Bogosian Making Season Debut On Tuesday

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian will be making his first appearance of 2018-19 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. Bogosian had missed the start of the season with a groin injury. He will skate on the third pairing with Nathan Beaulieu. The rugged rearguard will make more of a real-life impact than a […]

P.K. Subban Busy In Monday's Home Victory

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban picked up a power-play assist in the first period of Monday's 4-2 win against the Minnesota Wild and he added an assist on Miikka Salomaki's empty-net tally to close out the scoring as he snapped a personal three-game point drought. The All-Star rearguard also chipped in with a plus-1 rating, […]

Matt Dumba Breaks Through On Man Advantage

Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba notched a power-play goal while matching a team high with five shots on net in Monday's 4-2 setback on the road against the Nashville Predators. He also posted three blocked shots with four hits in his 25:19 of ice time. Dumba has posted at least one point in three of […]

Mark Borowiecki Doles Out Five Hits In Home Win

Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki was scoreless in Monday's 4-1 victory against the Dallas Stars, but he was good for a plus-one rating, two blocked shots, a minor penalty and five hits. He isn't a rearguard who will give you many points, but fantasy owners in pools with advanced scoring systems and those who play […]

John Klingberg Scores, Matches Franchise Record

Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg picked up a goal with three shots on goal and a blocked shot in 27:54 of ice time in Monday's 4-1 loss against the Ottawa Senators. Klingberg has matched the franchise record (Stars/North Stars) for longest season-opening point streak by a defenseman (five games), matching Darryl Sydor who accomplished the […]

Jake Gardiner Grabs Two Assists In Monday's Win

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner picked up two assists in the first period of Monday's 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. While Morgan Rielly has been exceptional to start the season, Gardiner can still help a fantasy team. The 28-year-old had five goals and 42 assists in 2017-18, and although he lost his […]

Mike Matheson Suspended For Two Games

Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson will be suspended for two games following his hit on Vancouver's Elias Pettersson in Saturday's 3-2 loss. Matheson slammed the rookie phenom hard into the boards from behind at the start of the final period, forcing the young Swede to exit the game, with him looking visibly dazed. Pettersson has […]

Dennis Cholowski Good To Go For Monday's Game

Detroit Red Wings rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski (upper body) will be back in the lineup on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens. He had missed the last two games. The 20-year-old has been the Red Wings' best defenseman during the early portion of the season. He has a goal and two assists through the first three […]

Top 75 Forwards: Weekly Fantasy Hockey Rankings (Week 2)

Over the course of the 2018-2019 NHL season, RotoBaller will be breaking down our fantasy hockey player rankings by position looking at the rest-of-season values for each player. These positional rankings will be updated and posted on a weekly basis, starting with forwards every Sunday, defensemen on Monday, and goaltenders each Tuesday. Note: Rankings are […]

Hampus Lindholm Collects Multiple Assists In Ducks Win

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm logged his second consecutive game with multiple assists on Sunday, collecting two of them in a 3-2 road win at St. Louis. He also registered three blocks and one hit in the game with 22:16 of ice time. Lindholm now has points in four straight games and he sits on […]

Robert Bortuzzo Leaves Sunday's Game

St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo exited Sunday's game against the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old rearguard scored a career-high 13 points last season. Bortuzzo is a third-pairing defenseman that does not see any time on the power play. He should not be on any fantasy radars.

Erik Karlsson Gets Nothing With Six Shots

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson recorded a new season high with six shots on goal on Sunday but failed to register any points in a 3-2 loss to the Devils. He's still waiting for his first goal as a Shark, having failed to score with 18 shots. The two-time Norris Trophy winner is currently […]

Brent Burns Extends Point Streak In Sunday's Loss

San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns helped Joe Pavelski open the scoring on Sunday against New Jersey and didn't do a thing wrong during the whole game, although the team ended up suffering another loss. Burns was on the ice for both of the team's goals and finished with four shots and a plus-two rating […]

Sami Vatanen Has Six Shots And An Assist On Sunday

New Jersey Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen was hungry for a goal on Sunday, firing six shots on the net in a 3-2 win over San Jose. He failed to get anything past Martin Jones but didn't leave the game empty-handed as he recorded a power-play assist on the team's first goal. Vatanen has picked up […]

Rasmus Dahlin Scores First Career Goal

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin scored the first goal of the game and the first goal of his career on Saturday night. The eventual game winner came late in the first period on a feed from Jeff Skinner. Dahlin now has two points in five games but has only managed six shots. Dahlin and the […]

Jake Gardiner Picks Up Two Helpers In Saturday's Win

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner had two assists during Saturday's 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Fellow rearguard Morgan Rielly has become the top fantasy option on the Maple Leafs' backend, but Gardiner is still capable of putting up points. The 28-year-old put up 52 points in 82 games last season and has four […]