NHL Player News

Ersson turned aside 26 shots in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Islanders.

The Flyers dominated the second period to take a 3-1 lead, and Ersson made sure it held up despite facing 15 shots in the final frame alone. The 25-year-old goalie has won three straight starts, and over six outings since Christmas, he's gone 5-1-0 with a stellar 1.77 GAA and .931 save percentage.

Andersen (knee) was activated from injured reserve Friday, according to Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site.

Andersen participated in the morning skate and is expected to be the backup goaltender versus Buffalo on Friday, as Pyotr Kochetkov is slated to start. Andersen is 3-1-0 with a 1.49 GAA and a .941 save percentage across four appearances this season. The Hurricanes sent Dustin Tokarski to AHL Chicago in a corresponding move.

Tokarski was reassigned to AHL Chicago on Friday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Tokarski will head back to the minors now that Frederik Andersen (knee) has been activated off injured reserve. During his NHL stint, the 35-year-old Tokarski went 4-2-0 with a 2.18 GAA, .902 save percentage and one shutout. At this point, Tokarski figures to spend the rest of the campaign with the Wolves but will be brought back up should an injury need arise.

Merzlikins made 18 saves in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Sharks.

The 30-year-old netminder took a shutout into the third period, but Tyler Toffoli was able to bang home the rebound on a Macklin Celebrini shot to spoil it. Merzlikins has won four straight starts for the surging Blue Jackets, and he has only one regulation loss over his last nine outings, going 7-1-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .898 save percentage during that span.

Georgiev stopped 30 of 33 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets, with Columbus' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The Jackets scored twice in the first period due to a few defensive breakdowns by the Sharks, and the offense wasn't able to dig out of the early hole. Georgiev has started four of the last five games, going 1-3-0 with a 2.80 GAA and .914 save percentage, and San Jose may be showcasing the 28-year-old -- he becomes a free agent this summer, and Yaroslav Askarov is the team's goalie of the future -- ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.

Knight stopped all four shots he faced in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Red Wings.

Knight wasn't tested much in 22:02 of ice time. The Red Wings scored an empty-netter while Knight was pulled for an extra attacker. For the season, Knight is 8-6-1 with a 2.60 GAA and an .897 save percentage through 17 appearances. He hasn't had much of a chance to steal playing time, but Bobrovsky has a poor 1-4-1 record over six outings in January, so this could be Knight's best chance to claim a larger share of the crease.

Demko allowed five goals on 21 shots in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Kings.

The Kings' top line was relentless over the first 10 minutes, and Demko never had much of a chance to recover. The Canucks have taken things cautiously, giving Demko just two starts over five games since he recovered from back spasms. The 29-year-old dropped to 2-3-3 with a 3.39 GAA and an .872 save percentage over nine contests. Demko has had trouble shaking off the rust from missing the first two months of the season due to a knee injury. The Canucks' next game is Saturday at home versus the Oilers.

Kuemper stopped 20 of 21 shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.

Kuemper has allowed one goal or less in five straight games, and he's unlucky to be 4-1-0 in that span. The Kings' offense also scored more than three goals for the first time in six games. Kuemper has been excellent lately and is now 13-3-5 with a 2.06 GAA and a .922 save percentage over 22 contests. As long as he keeps playing well, he'll have no trouble maintaining the No. 1 job over David Rittich. The Kings' five-game road trip comes to a close in Seattle on Saturday.

Blackwood stopped 23 of 27 shots in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Oilers.

Considering the Avalanche had a 3-0 lead just over halfway through the first period, this was an unimpressive performance. This was Blackwood's first bad outing for Colorado -- he had not allowed more than two goals in any of his prior 12 appearances. He's now 15-12-4 with a 2.54 GAA and a .918 save percentage across 32 games between the Avalanche and the Sharks. Colorado's next game is Saturday versus the Stars.

Bobrovsky was pulled after giving up four goals on 15 shots in a 5-2 loss to Detroit.

Despite Thursday's early departure and recent slump, Bobrovsky will likely be fine in the long run. However, this is the third consecutive game that he's given up four goals, and he's gone 1-4-1 with a 3.06 GAA and .894 save percentage over his last six appearances. It's unclear whether fatigue is playing into his struggles, but after his strong season last year, Bobrovksy's GAA has ballooned up to 2.86, and his save percentage has dropped to .896.