NHL Player News

Vladar will serve as the starting netminder for Thursday's home game against the Senators, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

Vladar recently dealt with a lower-body injury, but he was available as a backup for Tuesday's game against Boston. While he didn't enter that matchup, he'll be between the pipes for Thursday's contest. The 27-year-old has had mixed results over his last five appearances, posting a 2-2-1 record, 4.17 GAA and .837 save percentage.

Montembeault is slated to start Friday's road game against the Red Wings, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.

Montembeault has been inconsistent recently, going 4-3-0 with a 2.47 GAA and a .914 save percentage over his last seven appearances. However, he's coming off a strong start against the Sabres on Tuesday, as he turned aside 20 of 21 shots (.952 save percentage) in a 6-1 victory. He'll have another favorable matchup Friday, as the Red Wings are scoring just 2.68 goals per game this year, the eighth-worst mark in the NHL.

Varlamov (lower body) was moved to long-term injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 3, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Varlamov has been hampered by a lower-body injury since early December, and his move to LTIR shouldn't impact his return timetable much since the transaction is retroactive to Dec. 3. It's not yet clear when the 36-year-old netminder will be in the mix to return, but Ilya Sorokin should continue to see plenty of playing time while Varlamov is sidelined.

Blackwood will protect the visiting crease versus San Jose on Thursday, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.

Blackwood was dealt from San Jose to Colorado just 10 days ago, and this will be the first time he has faced his ex-teammates. Blackwood started the season with a 6-9-3 record with the Sharks, along with a 3.00 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He is 1-1-0 with the Avalanche, allowing only four goals on 63 shots (.937 save percentage). The Sharks are averaging 2.76 goals per game this season which is the ninth-worst mark in the league.

Merzlikins will defend the home crease against the Devils on Thursday, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Merzlikins has struggled in recent outings, posting a 1-4-0 record, 3.23 GAA and .861 save percentage across his last five starts. He had lost out on some playing time to Jet Greaves recently, but Merzlikins will likely be in line for more looks in the near future after Greaves was sent back to the minors Wednesday.

Commesso was reassigned to AHL Rockford on Thursday, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reports.

Commesso spent a week and a half with the NHL club since Petr Mrazek (groin) was sidelined. However, Commesso made just two appearances (one start) during his time with Chicago, posting an 0-1-0 record, 3.38 GAA and .846 save percentage. He'll head back to the minors, where he should see more consistent playing time, after Mrazek was activated from injured reserve Thursday.

Mrazek (groin) was activated from injured reserve Thursday, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reports.

The Chicago netminder missed the last five games with the injury. Mrazek is 7-11-1 with a 2.83 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 20 appearances this season. He is in line to get the start versus Seattle on Thursday. The Blackhawks sent Drew Commesso to AHL Rockford in a corresponding move.

Fleury stopped 27 of 33 shots in Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Panthers.

Fleury started for the third time across Minnesota's last six games, but he didn't look good, and the 40-year-old posted season-worst marks in goals allowed and save percentage while facing the second-most shots. Over his four appearances in December, the 40-year-old netminder has gone 1-2-0 with a 3.33 GAA and an .885 save percentage since he's stopped just 85 of the 96 shots he's faced.

Bobrovsky stopped 26 of 27 shots in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Wild.

Bobrovsky not only secured the win in spectacular fashion, but he also provided a bounce-back effort following the 6-5 win over Edmonton on Monday, where he stopped 25 of 30 shots. The 36-year-old veteran might have a few off games here and there, but he's been playing at a high level of late. He's gone 4-1-0 over his last five starts, recording a 2.36 GAA and a .902 save percentage in that stretch. He's allowed one or fewer goals in three of those wins, so he's clearly trending in the right direction after an uneven November where he posted an .888 save percentage across nine starts (6-3-0, 3.11 GAA).

DeSmith stopped all six shots he faced after replacing Jake Oettinger to begin the third period of Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.

The veteran backup hasn't gotten a start since Dec. 2, but DeSmith was sharp on the handful of chances he saw Wednesday after he entered the game with the Stars down 4-2. On the season, he's 3-4-0 in nine outings with a 2.47 GAA and .909 save percentage, and while he won't challenge Oettinger for the top job in the crease, he could see more frequent action in the short term if Stars head coach Peter DeBoer decides his No. 1 needs more rest.