NHL Player News

Blackwood made 17 saves in a 7-4 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Since his arrival in Mile High, Blackwood is 18-7-2 with a 2.22 GAA and a .917 save percentage. However, a game of shinny broke out Saturday, and nothing was easy for him or Anthony Stolarz. Blackwood has won four straight games, and with the deadline deals to amp up the team's offense, the netminder may have an easy ride the rest of the way.

Hofer stopped 21 of 23 shots in Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Kings.

Hofer was pulled from his previous start last Sunday versus the Stars after giving up three goals on nine shots. This was a much better performance, but he came up short when Quinton Byfield ripped home the game-winning goal 27 seconds into overtime. Hofer slipped to 3-4-2 over 11 appearances since the start of January, and he's now 11-7-3 with a 2.89 GAA and an .899 save percentage over 24 appearances this season. The Blues play three games in four days for the next fantasy week, including a back-to-back next weekend, so look for Hofer to get another start in that span.

Kuemper stopped 19 of 20 shots in Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over the Blues.

Kuemper avenged his shootout loss from Wednesday, holding the fort and limiting the Blues to just a Nick Leddy tally in the third period of Saturday's game. This performance ended a three-game slide for Kuemper, who was 0-2-1 with 12 goals allowed on 79 shots in that span. It's a rare poor stretch for the 34-year-old netminder, who improved to 19-8-7 with a 2.32 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 35 outings this season. He'll likely cede the crease to David Rittich for Sunday's game in Vegas, but look for Kuemper to be back between the pipes Tuesday on home ice versus the Islanders.

Soderblom stopped 38 of 41 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Predators.

The game was closer than it should have been, thanks to an excellent game from Soderblom, as the Blackhawks were outshot 41-19. However, the 25-year-old netminder had no answer for Steven Stamkos, who scored three times on seven shots and could have had another goal had it not been played by a high stick. Soderblom has at least kept the Blackhawks competitive despite going 1-3-4 over his last eight outings. He's now at an 8-15-7 record for the season while managing a 3.05 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 31 appearances. He's expected to share the goaltending duties with Spencer Knight the rest of the way, and so far, it's shaking out as a true goalie rotation. That would line up Knight for Monday's game in Colorado, while Soderblom gets a more favorable matchup Thursday in San Jose.

Annunen stopped 17 of 19 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Blackhawks.

Annunen finally got some goal support -- he'd been shutout in his previous two starts, though he also allowed nine goals on 70 shots in those contests. In Saturday's game, Steven Stamkos had his first hat trick for Nashville, giving Annunen just enough to work with for the win. Annunen is up to 14-9-0 with a 3.15 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 25 appearances between the Predators and the Avalanche this season. Juuse Saros is likely to be back between the pipes for two of three games next week as the Predators go on a road trip through California, which begins Tuesday in San Jose.

Ullmark stopped 20 shots in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Rangers.

Ottawa outshot the visitors 37-23 but stared at a 3-1 deficit midway through the third period. The Senators broke through with a couple of greasy goals past Igor Shesterkin. Ottawa rewarded Ullmark with a win when Brady Tkachuk scored his second tally of the contest in OT. Ullmark hasn't taken a regulation loss in his last four starts, going 3-0-1 while allowing 13 goals on 121 shots, and Saturday's victory was his 15th of the season.

Hogberg (upper body) is considered day-to-day, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports Saturday.

Jakub Skarek has filled in as backup to Ilya Sorokin during Hogberg's absence, which dates back to Jan. 25 when he sustained an injury in a game against the Hurricanes. It looks like Hogberg will be able to return before the end of the season, which is better than the situation with Semyon Varlamov (lower body), who is likely done for the year.

Varlamov (lower body) is unlikely to return this season, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Varlamov has been out since Nov. 29, and at this point, it doesn't look like he will return to action. At 36 years old, an absence of this length is moderately concerning, but there's been no indication the injury is career-threatening. He is under contract for two more seasons.

Shesterkin made 33 saves in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Senators.

The Rangers were outshot 37-23 but still held a 3-1 lead midway through the third period. Shesterkin couldn't make it hold up. He didn't find loose pucks in his crease on two occasions and witnessed as they were swatted home by an Ottawa player in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Brady Tkachuk took advantage of a brutal Rangers' giveaway early in OT to end the contest. Shesterkin has just one regulation loss in his last six starts, going 3-1-2 over that stretch with a .921 save percentage.

Vasilevskiy made 21 saves in a 4-0 loss to Boston on Saturday. He allowed three goals.

Saturday's defeat was a tough one for Vasilevskiy. The first Boston goal came after Lightning forward Oliver Bjorkstrand tried to clear the puck from the crease and banked it off his goaltender's pad and into the net. The second was a high-slot deflection by Tampa Bay defender Darren Raddysh on a clear-in from outside the blue line that caught the netminder out of the net. The third was an empty netter, and the fourth was on a two-on-one rush. Vasilevskiy is 10-2-1 in his last 13 starts dating back to the end of January.