NHL Player News

Askarov allowed four goals on 24 shots in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Canucks.

Askarov took his first regulation loss in four games this season. He was done in by an awful finish to the second period -- he allowed three goals in a span of 1:10, and that was too much for the Sharks to come back from. The 22-year-old goalie is 1-1-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .909 save percentage so far. He'll share the goaltending duties with Alexandar Georgiev, at least until Vitek Vanecek (upper body) is cleared to return.

Demko stopped 26 of 29 shots in Monday's 4-3 win over the Sharks.

Demko earned his second win of the season in this contest. He had a 4-1 lead to protect after two periods, and while the Sharks scored twice in the final frame, they didn't have enough time to even the score. The 29-year-old goalie improved to 2-1-2 with a 3.14 GAA and an .889 save percentage over five games. Demko will get a little time to rest before Saturday's matinee home matchup against the Kraken.

Vejmelka stopped 26 of 29 shots in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Stars.

Vejmelka had won his previous four starts, but that run was snapped by a strong opponent. The 28-year-old has given up three or more goals in just three of his eight appearances in December, so he continues to put in good efforts as Utah's top goalie. He's at an 8-8-2 record with a 2.33 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 20 outings (18 starts) this season. Utah's schedule resumes Friday at home versus the Avalanche -- a team Vejmelka has gone 1-1-0 against with six goals allowed on 50 shots over two meetings this season.

DeSmith saved 24 of 26 shots in Monday's 3-2 win over Utah.

DeSmith has allowed just three goals on 69 shots over three appearances in December. The 33-year-old's workload remains light as backup to an elite netminder in Jake Oettinger, but DeSmith has put a shaky November behind him. For the year, he's 4-4-0 with a 2.41 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 10 appearances (eight starts). The Stars don't have any back-to-backs over the next week, so DeSmith may have to wait a while for his next outing.

Jarry made 24 saves on 27 shots in a 7-3 win over the Flyers on Monday.

Jarry's team was strong out of the block, and he was solid throughout. His numbers overall have been queasy, but he's actually 7-2-1 in his last 10 starts. Still, Jarry remains a risk for fantasy managers because he allows far too many goals -- he allowed 30 goals in those 10 games, including four games with four or more goals. Your categories and settings will dictate how much risk you can absorb.

Montembeault allowed five goals on 32 shots in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets.

The Canadiens overcame a pair of two-goal deficits and went up 4-3 early in the third period, but Columbus tallied two more times to stop Montembeault's win streak at three games. Despite inconsistency, Montembeault is locked in as the No. 1 goalie for Montreal, which does not have an attractive alternative. This was his 10th consecutive start, and he's third in the league with 27 starts behind only Connor Hellebuyck and Juuse Saros, who each have 28 starts. Montembeault will get four days off for the NHL's Christmas break before Montreal returns to action Saturday at Florida, the second of a six-game road trip.

Soderblom stopped 23 of 26 shots in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Wild. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Soderblom technically didn't give up the decisive goal -- Marcus Foligno's empty-netter -- but he'll take the loss as the only Chicago goalie to appear in the contest. This wasn't a great performance for Soderblom, who saw his three-game winning streak snapped. He's allowed at least three goals in five of his eight outings in December so far, though he's 4-4-0 for the month. Overall, the Swede is 5-8-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .911 save percentage over 14 appearances. The Blackhawks could turn to alternating Soderblom and Petr Mrazek's starts now that both are healthy, though the veteran Mrazek saw a heavy workload prior to a groin injury early in December.

Kolosov appeared in relief Monday and stopped six of seven shots in a 7-3 loss to the Penguins.

He relieved Samuel Ersson. Kolosov actually played well in the third -- Sidney Crosby put in an empty-net goal while the Flyers were attempting a comeback before the Pens scored a last-minute power-play goal. Kolosov could get the next start given Ersson's struggles, but the Flyers had zero fight in them Monday, and that means no goalie is safe behind them.

Ersson was pulled after allowing five goals on 14 shots in the first two periods of Monday's 7-3 loss to the Penguins.

He was replaced by Aleksei Kolosov, who stopped six of seven shots in relief. The Flyers showed no fight Monday, and Ersson was left to fend off the flightless birds on his own. The Pens scored four times in the first period, including two with the man advantage. The Flyers have struggled with discipline, and their penalty kill hasn't been good enough. They are 3-6-1 over their last 10 games, and they have a minus-22 goal differential. Put simply, Ersson is a risk in your fantasy net.

Gibson (upper body) won't return to Monday's game against the Golden Knights.

Gibson exited the contest in the first period after taking a stick to the face and was subsequently replaced in goal by Lukas Dostal. Gibson turned aside all 11 shots that he faced before departing. The 31-year-old should be considered day-to-day ahead of Saturday's home matchup against Philadelphia.