NHL Player News

Knight made 11 saves in a 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Knight sat back in the third and watched his teammates roar back from a 4-1 deficit with three goals in 4:33 to force OT. The winner came on a 2-on-1 just 1:31 into the extra frame. Knight will be the guy in the blue paint while Sergei Bobrovsky (personal) is away from the team because of the birth of his child. Unfortunately, he's 1-3-1, including a shutout, over his last five starts. He allowed 12 goals in the other four games. Knight may not be your best option right now, but don't count him out either -- the kid's elite talent will keep him in games and help you win.

Thompson made 29 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Sharks on Tuesday.

The Caps were strong in the first and then let their game slide in the second and third frames, leaving Thompson to fend off the better-than-expected Sharks. After the Caps tied the game in the second, the Sharks outshot them 18-6 for the remainder of the game, including 13-4 in the third alone. Thompson, who is 10-1-2 with a 2.52 GAA and a .913 save percentage, has been the strong side of a platoon with Charlie Lindgren (7-5-0, 2.95 GAA and .893 save percentage) and a revelation this season. Expect the two men to continue to split starts going forward, though -- the team will need both men sharp down the stretch to maintain its strong play.

Vladar posted a 16-save shutout in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets.

Vladar bounced back from his worst start of the season, a six-goal meltdown in Pittsburgh on Saturday, to earn his second shutout of the campaign. The 27-year-old netminder has done a decent job in a timeshare role this season. He's at 5-5-3 with a 2.65 GAA and a .904 save percentage through 13 appearances. Vladar's outing Tuesday marked just the second time he's started consecutive games all season, though he may get a third straight nod given the win. The Flames host the Blues on Thursday.

Blackwood made 27 saves Tuesday in s 2-1 win over Washington.

Blacky made some great saves in the first period and then locked the net down after Nic Dowd's goal at 13:02 of the second. Otherwise, he flat-out stifled the Caps offense Tuesday, especially as San Jose had to kill off three penalties. Blackwood has won two straight games, and he has a .909 save percentage in 19 appearances this season.

Merzlikins stopped 19 of 21 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Flames. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Merzlikins played well in a close game, but the Flames got two power-play goals from defensemen. This was enough to hand Merzlikins his first regulation loss in eight outings. The 30-year-old netminder is down to 8-6-2 with a 3.00 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 16 starts. He'll likely split the Blue Jackets' upcoming back-to-back with Daniil Tarasov. That pair of games features tricky matchups against the Oilers on Thursday and the Canucks on Friday.

Hellebuyck stopped 28 of 31 shots in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Blues. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Hellebuyck's losing streak is now at three games, though he's allowed just eight goals on 93 shots in that span. The Jets have given him exactly one goal of support in each of those losses -- of Hellebuyck's five defeats this year, he's received multiple goals of support just once. He's down to 15-5-0 with a 2.16 GAA and a .927 save percentage over 20 starts. Given he's played fairly well during the skid, the Jets have little reason to rest their starter -- expect him to be in goal Thursday against the Sabres.

Hofer allowed one goal on 23 shots in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Jets.

Hofer picked up his second win in a row to bounce back from a three-game losing streak. The 24-year-old has run a little streaky in the backup role for the Blues this year -- he won his first three starts of the season. He's now 5-3-0 with a 2.93 GAA and a .904 save percentage over eight appearances. Hofer has played once every three or four games for the most part, so it's unclear when he might start again since the Blues don't have a back-to-back on their road trip through western Canada. Their next stop is Thursday in Calgary.

Montembeault stopped 30 of 31 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win over the Islanders.

Montembeault got the better of Ilya Sorokin in a goalie battle at Bell Centre. The win put an end to a three-game losing streak for the goalie, who's been largely inconsistent through 19 outings (18 starts). He brings a 2.99 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage into Thursday's home game against Nashville.

Sorokin allowed two goals on 27 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to Montreal.

Sorokin, who was coming off his first shutout of the season, had another strong game, but Montreal's Sam Montembeault was his equal. Both showed up for the battle of goaltenders. Aside from a five-goal stinker against the Bruins last Wednesday, Sorokin's had four quality outings in the last five starts. He lowered his goals-against average to 2.48 and raised his save percentage to .916 heading into Thursday's home game against the Kraken.

Lankinen will defend the road net versus Minnesota on Tuesday, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports.

Lankinen has won his last four outings, stopping 117 of 127 shots. He has a 12-3-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.65 GAA and a .907 save percentage through 17 appearances this season. Minnesota sits 11th in the league with 3.21 goals per game in 2024-25.