NHL Player News

The Flames announced Friday that Vladar is considered day-to-day due to a lower-body injury.

Vladar had his worst start of the season Thursday against the Lightning, letting in eight goals on 26 shots (.692 save percentage) in an 8-3 loss. His injury may have contributed to his struggles, and it's unclear whether he'll be available for Saturday's home matchup against Florida. Dustin Wolf should see increased starts if Vladar is forced to miss time, while Devin Cooley was recalled from AHL Calgary on an emergency basis Friday.

Pickard stopped 29 of 30 shots in Thursday's 7-1 win over the Wild.

The Oilers delivered one of their best offensive performances in recent memory, but even if that hadn't been the case, Pickard made sure he'd provide enough support to the offense by stopping all but one of the shots on goal he faced. Pickard is firmly entrenched in a backup role, but he's making his presence felt when his number gets called. He's won his last three starts, posting a 2.32 GAA and a .916 save percentage in that span.

Gustavsson stopped 21 of 26 shots in Thursday's 7-1 loss to the Oilers before departing the contest at the end of the second period.

Gustavsson had been on a roll in recent weeks with five consecutive wins. He suffered his first defeat since Nov. 25 on Thursday, and it was also one of his worst outings of the season. One poor performance isn't going to worry fantasy managers, especially considering the Oilers have a decent offensive unit that has averaged 3.14 goals per game this season. Still, Gustavsson needs to shake this woeful outing as soon as possible. The Wild will next take the ice Saturday against the Flyers.

Fleury stopped seven of nine shots after replacing Filip Gustavsson in Thursday's 7-1 loss to the Oilers.

Fleury stepped in to replace Gustavsson, who gave up five goals on 26 shots before departing the contest at the end of the second period. At 40 years of age, Fleury hasn't had the workload of being a regular starter, but he's been very effective as a backup. Even when factoring in this outing in which the Wild looked overmatched, the veteran netminder has gone 5-1-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .905 save percentage across eight appearances in 2024-25.

Ersson will patrol the visiting crease in Minnesota on Saturday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Ersson is 1-1-0, allowing seven goals on 43 shots, over two appearances since returning from an 11-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Ersson is 6-3-2 with a 2.85 GAA and an .893 save percentage across 13 outings this season. He will face the Wild, who are averaging 3.14 goals per game in 2024-25.

Oettinger stopped 22 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Predators, with Nashville's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

Dallas out-shot the visitors 36-25 on the night, but Stars skaters had trouble solving Justus Annunen in the other crease, while Oettinger gave up all three of his goals in a three-minute stretch during the second period. The 25-year-old netminder has dropped three of his last four decisions, but he's gone six straight starts without allowing more than three tallies, posting a 2.54 GAA and .906 save percentage over the latter stretch.

Ullmark will defend the road crease in Carolina on Friday, according to Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal.

Ullmark has been sensational of late, as he has won his last three games, giving up only three goals on 89 shots (.966 save percentage). Overall, the 31-year-old netminder is 8-7-2 with one shutout, a 2.70 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Ullmark will have a tough matchup, as the Hurricanes are third in scoring, averaging 3.71 goals per game in 2024-25.

Annunen turned aside 35 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Stars.

The 24-year-old was impressive en route to his first win since being traded to Nashville, with Lian Bichsel spoiling his shutout bid midway through the third period. Annunen was a victim of Colorado's defensive struggles earlier in the season, but in two appearances since being shipped to Nashville, he's allowed only three goals on 65 shots for a .954 save percentage while backing up Juuse Saros.

Sorokin made 26 saves in Thursday's 5-4 win over Chicago.

The Islanders seemed to have things well in hand when they took a 5-1 lead midway through the third period and chased Arvid Soderblom from the game, but the visitors caught fire late and scored the final three goals of the night, including two by Tyler Bertuzzi in the final 70 seconds. Since Semyon Varlamov (lower body) has been sidelined since late November, Sorokin has started seven straight games, going 4-2-1 with a 2.54 GAA and .911 save percentage. He could be feeling some fatigue, but it's not clear if the Islanders trust backup Marcus Hogberg enough to give Sorokin a breather.

Commesso turned aside both the shots he faced after replacing Arvid Soderblom midway through the third period of Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Islanders.

It was the first NHL action of Commesso's career, and the 22-year-old netminder nearly got rewarded with a win when Chicago almost rallied from a 5-1 deficit. Petr Mrazek (groin) isn't expected back for at least another week, and with the team playing back-to-back games this weekend, Commesso seems likely to get his first NHL start either Saturday in New Jersey or Sunday back at home in a rematch with the Isles.