NHL Player News

Pickard stopped 15 of 17 shots in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Kraken.

Pickard earned his fifth win in his last six starts. He didn't have much to do in this contest, though the Kraken were a little opportunistic to cut the deficit to one goal before Leon Draisaitl's empty-netter sealed the Oilers' win. For the season, Pickard is 9-4-0 with a 2.48 GAA and an .898 save percentage over 14 appearances. He's seeing roughly one-third of the starts, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Pickard start one of the three road games the Oilers have next week -- they visit Boston on Tuesday, Pittsburgh on Thursday and Chicago on Saturday.

Reimer gave up three goals on 33 shots in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Reimer got his first action since Dec. 21, but he wasn't able to snap his skid. He's gone 0-3-1 over his last six outings. The 36-year-old netminder is down to 1-5-1 with a 3.05 GAA and an .891 save percentage through nine appearances between the Sabres and the Ducks this year. Reimer will cede the crease back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Monday's game against the Capitals.

Swayman made 23 saves in a 6-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. He allowed four goals.

The game was tighter than the score would indicate and had a real playoff feel. Swayman played a strong game, but the Leafs' reunited top line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies put up 13 points (five goals, eight assists) on the night. Ultimately, there were too many defensive lapses in front of Swayman, and the net result was a loss. He and the Bruins have lost three straight games, and his overall stat line (13-13-3, 2.91 GAA and .891 save percentage) still hasn't recovered from his contract holdout during training camp. Swayman is a must-play, but fantasy managers may need to hold their breath every few games as he continues to work himself into elite form.

Hill allowed one goal on 24 shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Sabres.

A Jason Zucker power-play tally late in the third period broke up Hill's shutout bid. This was still Hill's eighth win in his last 10 outings, and it's the fourth time in that span he's allowed one goal or fewer. The 28-year-old netminder improved to 17-6-2 with a 2.58 GAA and a .904 save percentage over 25 appearances. The Golden Knights have alternated goalies despite having no back-to-backs since the holiday break, so it's possible Ilya Samsonov will start Tuesday in San Jose rather than Hill.

Woll made 27 saves Saturday in a 6-4 win over Boston.

Woll was good when he had to be early, but he was swimming a bit in the third in a game that felt like a playoff contest. The top line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies gave him a lot of work with given their 13-point explosion (five goals, eight assists). Woll, who has four straight wins, will clean up his game and be ready for his next time in the blue paint.

Blackwood allowed one goal on 23 shots in Saturday's 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal.

Blackwood saw an end to a four-start winning streak. He held the Avalanche's 1-0 lead for 44 minutes before the Canadiens got to him for the game-tying goal late in the third period. Montreal then beat him twice in the shootout. With Scott Wedgewood (lower body) placed on injured reserve Saturday, Blackwood is expected to see a lot of action going forward. He carries a 1.78 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage over eight outings with Colorado heading into Monday's home game against Florida.

Vasilevskiy stopped 19 of 21 shots in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Kings.

Vasilevskiy put in a decent effort, but the Lightning converted just one of their 35 shots against opposing netminder Darcy Kuemper. This was Vasilevskiy's second loss in a row in California, but he's given up a reasonable four goals on 46 shots in those outings. The 30-year-old goalie is 16-12-1 with a 2.37 GAA and a .913 save percentage through 29 appearances. Jonas Johansson is likely to start Sunday's road-trip finale in Anaheim.

Kuemper stopped 34 of 35 shots in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Lightning.

Kuemper has won three straight outings, allowing just four goals in that span against some intimidating offenses (Edmonton, New Jersey and Tampa Bay). He allowed an early goal to Victor Hedman at 1:09 of the first period but kept the net secure after that. Kuemper improved to 11-2-5 with a 2.22 GAA and a .918 save percentage over 19 appearances. The Kings wrap up their five-game homestand when the Flames come to town Wednesday.

Hofer made 33 saves in a 6-4 loss to Columbus on Saturday.

He allowed five goals, a couple of which were as soft as toffee. It was a bad game for Hofer, who is 1-1-1 with 11 goals allowed in his last three games. His season has been up and down like a yo-yo, and that makes him a tough fantasy play. Hofer started the year with three straight wins followed by three consecutive losses. He then rang up four wins in a row before this recent stretch. Hofer is a fantasy risk, so look elsewhere until his game stabilizes.

Dobes stopped 22 of 23 shots in Saturday's 2-1 shootout win over the Avalanche.

After shutting out Florida in his NHL debut a week ago, Dobes was nearly perfect against Colorado, limiting the Avalanche to a first-period power-play goal to earn his second win in as many NHL starts. He's given up just one goal on 57 shots while taking down a couple of legit NHL powerhouses; the Avs entered the contest having won six straight and were 11-3-0 since Dec. 1. The Canadiens discovered themselves on a six-game road trip, during which it went 4-2-0, beating Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Colorado. If the head coach doesn't stick with Dobes' hot hand for Monday's game against Vancouver, then his next start will likely come during a back-to-back set next weekend, either Friday at Washington or Saturday at home against Dallas.