NHL Player News

Sorokin (illness) returned to practice Monday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin was unavailable for Saturday's game against Utah due to his illness, but he appears to have moved past the ailment. Whether he'll serve as the starting goaltender for Tuesday's home game against Ottawa remains to be seen, but it appears as though he'll at least be available in a backup capacity since Jakub Skarek was returned to AHL Bridgeport on Monday.

Ersson will patrol the home crease versus Florida on Monday, according to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Ersson is coming off a 22-save performance in Saturday's 6-0 shutout win over Anaheim. He has a 10-7-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.86 GAA and an .888 save percentage through 21 appearances this season. Florida ranks ninth in the league with 3.26 goals per game in 2024-25.

Skarek was returned to AHL Bridgeport on Monday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Skarek suited up against Utah on Saturday, serving as the No. 2 option behind Marcus Hogberg while Ilya Sorokin (illness) was unavailable. The decision to return Skarek to the minors should be an indication that Sorokin will at least be healthy enough to fill the backup role when the Islanders face off with the Senators on Tuesday.

Gustavsson stopped 33 of 37 shots in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Gustavsson has not risen to the occasion in his last two starts, allowing a total of 10 goals on 64 shots to the Avalanche and Golden Knights. The 26-year-old netminder has seen a starter's workload when healthy this season, so it's possible he may just need a little extra rest to get on track, and that could happen with Marc-Andre Fleury playing well lately. Gustavsson is down to 18-8-3 with a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage through 30 starts. The Wild have another tough matchup next on the schedule, as they host the Oilers on Wednesday.

Hill gave up one goal on 16 shots in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Wild.

Hill has won five of his last seven starts, and he's given up exactly one goal in four of those victories. The 28-year-old limited the damage to a Ryan Hartman tally in the first period of Sunday's contest. Hill is now 18-7-2 with a 2.54 GAA and a .904 save percentage over 27 starts this season. He continues to alternate starts with Ilya Samsonov, so Hill would be lined up to make his next start Friday on the road versus the Hurricanes in the first half of a back-to-back.

Jarry gave up three goals on 17 shots in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Lightning. The last two goals were empty-netters.

Jarry was awful in a tough matchup, as the Lightning ended up being opportunistic with limited chances. This was Jarry's fourth straight defeat (0-3-1), and he's allowed a total of 13 goals over five appearances in that span. For the season, the 29-year-old goalie dropped to 8-7-4 with a 3.32 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 21 appearances. Neither Jarry nor Alex Nedeljkovic has been good lately, so it's unclear who might get the start at home Tuesday versus the Kraken.

Johansson stopped 31 of 33 shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Penguins.

Johansson had lost his previous two outings, allowing seven goals on 61 shots across those games. He got back on track in the second half of a back-to-back, putting in a good effort while receiving plenty of support in this contest. For the season, Johansson improved to 5-3-1 with a 3.18 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 10 appearances. Johansson doesn't tend to have good ratios, but he's worth streaming to chase wins as he plays on a strong team. Look for Andrei Vasilevskiy to be back in goal Tuesday in Boston.

DeSmith allowed three goals on 28 shots in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Senators.

Ottawa scored twice in a span of 39 seconds in the second period and had no trouble protecting the lead from that point on. This loss ended DeSmith's run of winning four straight decisions, as well as his five-game streak of allowing two or fewer goals. The 33-year-old netminder is down to 6-5-0 with a 2.32 GAA and a .914 save percentage over 13 outings this season. Jake Oettinger will likely be back between the pipes for Tuesday's road-trip finale in Toronto. The Stars have a back-to-back next weekend -- at Colorado on Saturday and at home versus the Red Wings on Sunday -- so DeSmith shouldn't have to wait long for his next start.

Merilainen stopped 24 of 26 shots in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Stars.

Merilainen started both halves of a back-to-back this weekend and won both games. It's telling that the Senators trusted a 22-year-old goalie, making just his eighth career appearance, more than Anton Forsberg despite the crowded part of the schedule. Merilainen has delivered when called upon this season, going 4-2-0 with a 2.34 GAA and a .913 save percentage while often facing moderately tough opponents. This was also his first home outing in 2024-25. The Senators have not revealed their goaltending plans for Tuesday's road game versus the Islanders at this time.

Grubauer conceded three goals on four shots before being replaced by Joey Daccord in the first period of Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Red Wings.

Grubauer was blitzed for three goals, one on the power play, in the opening 6:16 of Sunday's defeat. Daccord saw game action for a second straight day as a result. The 33-year-old Grubauer closed out December with back-to-back victories, but he's winless in January, posting an 0-3-1 record, .861 save percentage and 3.91 GAA across four outings. The German netminder has just five wins through 20 appearances to go along with an .870 save percentage and 3.76 GAA this campaign.