NHL Player News

Kuemper will start in goal on the road versus the Jets on Friday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Kuemper hasn't played since Saturday because the Kings' game against Calgary was postponed Wednesday due to the Los Angeles wildfires. The 34-year-old Kuemper gets the first half of a back-to-back Friday, and he comes into the game on a three-game winning streak in which he has allowed just four goals. The Jets are a tough opponent, but they've won just three of their last six games while scoring 19 times in that span.

Tokarski is slated to guard the home goal against Vancouver on Friday, per Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer.

Tokarski has a 3-1-0 record, 2.39 GAA and .894 save percentage in four outings in 2024-25. He stopped 16 of 19 shots en route to a 4-3 overtime victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Canucks are in a three-way tie for 16th in goals per game with 3.00.

Demko is expected to be in goal on the road versus Carolina on Friday, per Patrick Johnston of The Providence.

Demko will make his first start since Jan. 2 against the Kraken, having missed the last three games with back spasms. Injuries have limited the 29-year-old netminder to just seven appearances this season in which he posted a 2-1-3 record, 3.33 GAA and .881 save percentage -- ratios that would mark career-worst numbers if they hold the rest of the way.

Askarov will patrol the home crease versus Minnesota on Saturday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Askarov has been outstanding in limited action this season, going 3-2-2 with a 2.30 GAA and a .923 save percentage for the lowly Sharks. Askarov has spent most of the season at the AHL level, where he was 9-4-1 with a 2.00 GAA and a .938 save percentage in 14 appearances. The Wild are scoring 3.00 goals per game this season.

Georgiev will be between the visiting pipes in Utah on Friday, according to Max Miller of NHL.com.

Georgiev won his first start with San Jose after his trade from Colorado in December and promptly lost his next five games. The 28-year-old netminder has ceded his spot as the No. 1 goaltender to Yaroslav Askarov with the Sharks. Georgiev is 9-12-0 in 24 appearances split between Colorado and Utah, allowing 76 goals on 615 shots (.876 save percentage). Utah is tallying 2.85 goals per game in 2024-25.

Vejmelka was the first goalie to leave the ice Friday, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports, indicating he'll tend the twine at home versus San Jose.

Vejmelka has given up three or more goals in four of his last six outings. Unsurprisingly, the netminder is sporting a 1-4-1 record over that stretch. Still, the 28-year-old backstop continues to see the bulk of the workload for Utah -- though Connor Ingram (upper body) is back from his conditioning assignment with AHL Tucson and could challenge Vejmelka for minutes.

Comrie was the first goalie off and is slated to guard the cage at home against the Kings on Friday, John Lu of TSN reports.

While Connor Hellebuyck normally takes the first game of a back-to-back, it seems the coaching staff wants to save him for Saturday's matchup with the division-rival Avalanche. As such, it figures to be Comrie's crease heading into Friday's contest. The 29-year-old Edmonton native is mired in a six-game losing streak during which he posted a 3.25 GAA and an .898 save percentage. Given his struggles, fantasy players probably shouldn't expect to see Comrie in the crease outside of back-to-backs.

Hellebuyck, who went through his usual starting routine, won't be in goal against the Kings on Friday, though he figures to start Saturday's matchup with Colorado instead, John Lu of TSN reports.

Hellebuyck rarely takes the second of a back-to-back, but the coaching staff must want to deploy him against Central Division rivals Colorado. Since the calendar turned to 2025, the 31-year-old backstop has been relatively inconsistent, going 1-1-1 with a 2.98 GAA in his last three appearances, compared to December when Hellebuyck went 9-2-1 with a 1.82 GAA. Still, he remains one of the top netminders in the NHL and should be in contention for the Vezina Trophy once again.

Thompson will patrol the visiting crease in Nashville on Saturday, according to Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.

Thompson has been outstanding this season as he has been splitting the net with Charlie Lindgren. Thompson -- who is on a five-game winning streak -- is 17-2-2 with a 2.31 GAA and a .919 save percentage. The Predators are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging only 2.44 goals in 2024-25.

Ersson turned aside 19 of 22 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Stars, with Dallas' final tally getting scored into an empty net.

Making his return from a lower-body injury that had sidelined Ersson for the prior three games, the 25-year-old goalie was left to fend for himself by the Philly defense -- two of Dallas' tallies came on deflections from players parked right outside his crease, while the third was scored on a 3-on-1 rush in the second period. Ersson has looked good since Christmas despite the struggles of the team in front of him, allowing four goals on 70 shots (.943 save percentage) over his last three outings, but he'd stumbled to a 4.26 GAA and .810 save percentage in the six appearances before that. Ersson is still holding on to the No. 1 job in the Flyers' crease over Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov, but his grip isn't a firm one.