NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy stopped 23 of 25 shots in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Sharks.

It wasn't a bad performance, but it was a bad result as the Lightning's offense came up flat against one of the worst teams in the league. Vasilevskiy has given up no more than three goals in nine straight outings, going 6-3-0 in those contests. For the season, he's at a 16-11-1 record with a 2.38 GAA and a .913 save percentage through 28 appearances. The Lightning have a back-to-back up next with stops in Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday. Look for Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson to split those games, and likely in that order if head coach Jon Cooper wants to match his top goalie against the tougher opponent.

Askarov stopped 24 of 25 shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Lightning.

Askarov wasn't tested too much, but he still pulled off quite the feat in quieting one of the league's best offenses. This was Askarov's first win since he was called up to cover the absence of Vitek Vanecek (face). For the season, Askarov is 2-2-2 with a 2.35 GAA and a .921 save percentage over six outings. The 22-year-old should continue to push Alexandar Georgiev for playing time, though another tough matchup awaits in Saturday's matinee home game versus the Devils.

Grubauer allowed three goals on 22 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Canucks.

Grubauer had won his last two starts, but he came up just short Thursday. The Kraken pulled off another multi-goal comeback to earn a standings point, but Grubauer allowed the only shootout tally to J.T. Miller to take the loss. Grubauer slipped to 5-10-1 with a 3.50 GAA and an .877 save percentage over 16 starts this season. He's actually struggled under lighter workloads -- he's 2-6-1 when facing fewer than 30 shots compared to 3-4-0 when facing 30 or more shots, though his ratios are similar in those splits.

Lankinen stopped 13 of 15 shots he faced in relief of Thatcher Demko (back) in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the Kraken.

Lankinen squandered a two-goal lead in the third period, but he stepped up in overtime and turned aside all three Seattle attempts in the shootout. The 29-year-old entered the game just before the midway mark in the second period after Demko's back started to give him trouble. It's probable Lankinen will start Friday versus his former team, the Predators. If the Canucks have to call up a goalie from AHL Abbotsford, likely Arturs Silovs, it would require a trip from Laval, Quebec, where the minor-league team is scheduled for road games Friday and Saturday. Lankinen is now 15-6-4 with a 2.60 GAA and a .907 save percentage through 25 appearances this season, his most games played in three years.

Kolosov stopped 22 of 26 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Kolosov has gone 0-3-0 with 16 goals allowed on 86 shots (.814 save percentage) over his last five appearances, which includes three starts. The 22-year-old netminder is filling in as the Flyers' top goalie while Samuel Ersson (lower body) is out. Kolosov has a 4-8-1 record with a 3.45 GAA and an .870 save percentage through 15 outings this season. Even if he's seeing an increased workload, he's not a reliable fantasy option, especially with the Flyers facing the Maple Leafs twice and the Stars once over their next three games.

Lindgren allowed three goals on 33 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to Minnesota.

Lindgren allowed two goals at even strength and one shorthanded. The shorthanded tally by Minnesota was a result of Lindgren misplaying the puck behind the net -- Yakov Trenin was able to capitalize on Lindgren's mistake to give the Wild a 2-1 lead late in the first period. The 31-year-old Lindgren is mired in his toughest stretch of the season, as he's 0-2-1 across his last three starts while allowing 10 goals in that span. Through 19 appearances in 2024-25, Lindgren has a 10-8-1 record, 2.70 GAA and .900 save percentage.

Merilainen made 21 saves in a 4-2 loss to Dallas on Thursday.

It was a tough night for Merilainen, who had won both of his starts so far this season. However, his teammates mustered just 13 shots on Jake Oettinger at the other end of the ice, and few goalies can win with that little effort from his teammates. Anton Forsberg, who hadn't dressed for six games due to a lower-body injury, returned as his backup and will likely get the team's next start.

Fleury made 28 saves on 31 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the Capitals.

Minnesota was trailing 3-2 in the final frame before Marco Rossi tied the game at 11:19. Fleury stood tall in the extra frame and stopped all three shots that he faced in the shootout. This was just Fleury's second win in his last six starts, and he'll try to turn the page in the new calendar year after posting a 1-3-0 record, 3.05 GAA and .886 save percentage over five appearances in December. Overall, the 40-year-old netminder is sporting a 7-3-1 record, 2.81 GAA and .898 save percentage through 12 appearances this season.

Samsonov allowed two goals on 25 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Flyers.

Samsonov has now won his last five starts, allowing a total of seven goals on 121 shots (.942 save percentage) in that span. The 27-year-old's current streak accounts for half of his victories this season -- he's 10-3-1 with a 2.69 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 14 outings this season. Samsonov has started half of Vegas' last eight games and may be working his way into a 50-50 timeshare with Adin Hill. The Golden Knights' next game is Saturday versus the Sabres.

Demko left Thursday's game versus the Kraken due to back spasms, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports.

While it's not an encouraging update, it's far from a worst-case scenario, which would be a recurrence of his knee injury. Demko can be considered day-to-day for now and likely won't start versus the Predators on Friday, though it's unclear if he'll be healthy enough to back up in that contest.