Highmore spent most of the 2024 season in the AHL, where he had 31 points (9G / 22A) in 43 games. During his brief time in the NHL, he had two assists in seven games, giving him 29 points (12G / 17A) in 146 career NHL games with the Blackhawks, Canucks, Blues and Senators.
McWard was originally signed by Vancouver out of Ohio State (NCAA) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract after a successful first season with Abbotsford (AHL). The 23-year-old defensemen has appeared in six NHL games across his two seasons with Vancouver, picking up one goal and no assists. In 57 games with Abbotsford in 2023-24, he had four goals and 17 points.
New Jersey made another offseason move on Friday as they traded forward Adam Beckman for defenseman Graeme Clarke with the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old has appeared in 23 games sparsely across three seasons with Minnesota and had no goals, three assists, 14 PIMs and 26 shots on goal.
MacLean made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and has earned himself a three-year, contract extension with the New York Islanders on Wednesday. The 25-year-old spent time in 2023-24 split between the Bridgeport Islanders (43 GP) and New York (32 GP) and had four goals and nine assists with the Islanders during his inaugural NHL season.
Tsyplakov just finished his seventh season with Spartak Moskva (KHL) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New York Islanders with an AAV of $950,000. The 25-year-old undrafted free agent was a hot ticket on the free agent market this off-season after scoring 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games played with Spartak in 2023-24.
Rittich excelled in his first season in Los Angeles, finishing with his most wins (13) since 2019-20 and career highs in both SV% (.921 SV%) and GAA (2.15) and has signed a one-year, $1 million contract extension with Los Angeles. The 31-year-old is entering his ninth NHL season and has a career record of 92-57-24, 2.78 GAA and .906 SV% with five separate franchises.
Drouin missed all of Colorado's opening series win over Winnipeg due to a lower-body injury but travelled with the team to Dallas and took part in practice for the first time since his injury on Wednesday. The 29-year-old is one step closer to a return which is a great sign for Colorado after he posted career highs in points (56), and plus/minus (+12) across 79 games played during the regular season.
Hogberg will return to North American soil for the first time since 2020-2021 after signing a two-year contract with the New York Islanders. The 29-year-old just finished a successful season with Linkoping HC of the SHL, where he posted a 2.51 GAA and .914 SV%. The 2013 3rd round pick (78th overall) has appeared in 42 career NHL games, with a 9-17-9 record, 3.39 GAA and .894 SV%.
Drouin missed Colorado's entire opening series vs. Winnipeg due to a lower-body injury but will travel with the Avalanche for their upcoming two opening games in Dallas and has a chance to return. The 29-year-old had a phenomenal first season in Colorado, with 19 goals, 56 points, 127 SOG, 28 PIMs and a +12 in 79 games played while mostly occupying a top-six role.
DeAngelo suffered a wrist injury in Game 5 vs. the Islanders, but X-rays came back negative, and he's expected to play in Game 1. DeAngelo will likely remain in the lineup until Brett Pesce returns from his lower-body injury, which could happen at some point in Round 2.
Despite stopping 12 of 13 shots against (.923 SV%) in a tough 1-0 loss in Game 4, Los Angeles will turn back to David Rittich on Wednesday for Game 5 vs. Edmonton. The 31-year-old appeared in his most regular season games played since 2019-20 as he had 22 starts and a 13-6-3 record, 2.15 GAA and .921 SV%. He will look to keep Los Angeles' season alive in Edmonton on Wednesday, who led the NHL in shots on goal per game (33.8) during the regular season
Despite stopping 12 of 13 shots against (.923 SV%) in a tough 1-0 loss in Game 4, Los Angeles will turn back to David Rittich on Wednesday for Game 5 vs. Edmonton. The 31-year-old participated in his most regular season games since 2019-20 as he had 22 starts and a 13-6-3 record, 2.15 GAA and .921 SV% during those games. He will look to keep Los Angeles season alive in Edmonton on Wednesday, who led the NHL in shots on goal per game (33.8) during the regular season.
DeAngelo left Game 5 in the third period after just 14:51 TOI due to an undisclosed injury but is fine and will be good to go if needed for Round 2. The 28-year-old defenseman appeared in three games after replacing the injured Brett Pesce earlier in the round, but failed to pick up a point to go along with his eight SOG and two PIMs.
Bear was a late-season signing for the Capitals making his debut at the end of December, but did not finish the campaign after entering the NHLPA player assistance program in late March. The 26-year-old defenseman scored four points (1G / 3A) while averaging 14:54 time-on-ice in 24 games this season.
Holmstrom has not played since game two but will re-enter the Islanders lineup for game five on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. In the first two games of the series, the 22-year-old forward averaged 11:06 time-on-ice while firing one shot on goal.
Martin did not play in game four and has been ruled out for game five due to a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old Martin averaged 9:33 time-on-ice through the first three games of the playoffs, recording 16 penalty minutes and seven hits.
The Islanders staved off elimination in their last outing, a 3-2 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes, and will return to Varalmov between the crease for game five. Varlamov was tremendous in the Islanders' game-four victory, saving 42 of 44 shots (.955 SV%) and has been solid throughout the playoffs, despite only recording one win (1-2-0) while posting a solid 2.08 GAA and .930 SV%. The Islanders enter game five as +207 road underdogs.
