NHL Player News

Vejmelka was the first goalie to leave the ice ahead of Friday's Game 6 clash with Vegas, indicating he'll patrol the home crease, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.

Vejmelka is coming off back-to-back losses in which he gave up a combined 10 goals on 72 shots (.861 save percentage). If the Mammoth are going to force a Game 7 on Sunday, the 29-year-old backstop will need to return to the form he displayed in the first three games of the series when he recorded a 2.36 GAA.

Oettinger stopped 16 of 19 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Wild in Game 6. The last two goals were empty-netters.

The Stars weren't able to generate much on their chances outside a pair of second-period tallies. Oettinger went 2-4 with a 2.83 GAA and an .893 save percentage over all six games in the first round. The 27-year-old will have a longer offseason than he's accustomed to, but he is under contract long term after signing an eight-year extension in October of 2024. He'll be among the top tier of goalies available in fantasy drafts in the fall.

Wallstedt stopped 21 of 23 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Stars in Game 6.

Wallstedt went 4-2 in the series with a 2.05 GAA and a .924 save percentage over six games. The Wild trailed for just 54 seconds in the decisive Game 6, and a clean third period from Wallstedt helped them secure advancement. It doesn't get any easier in the second round for the 23-year-old goalie, as he'll be tasked with stopping the Avalanche, who won the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the regular season. A start date for that second-round series has yet to be announced.

Andersen is expected to get the starting nod at home for Game 1 against the Flyers on Saturday, Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Andersen had a perfect 4-0 record in the opening round of the playoffs against the Senators, posting a 1.10 GAA, a .955 save percentage and one shutout. It would have been quite the shock to see him removed from the crease for the start of the second round. At this point, it would likely take multiple bad outings by the veteran netminder for him to lose the starting role in Carolina.

Ingram allowed four goals on 30 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Ducks in Game 6.

Ingram kept the Oilers' season alive once but couldn't do it twice, failing to get the series back to Edmonton. The Ducks jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one period, and that deficit was too much to overcome for the Oilers. Ingram went 2-3 with 19 goals allowed on 153 shots (.876 save percentage) across five outings in this series, which will see the Oilers fail to make the second round for the first time since 2021. Ingram is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer if the Oilers don't re-sign him.

Dostal stopped 25 of 27 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Oilers in Game 6.

Dostal brought his best performance of the series to close out the Oilers. This was the first time in six playoff games he avoided giving up three goals. The 25-year-old netminder is locked in as the Ducks' top goalie, and he'll have a little extra time to rest while the Golden Knights and Mammoth wrap up their first-round series to determine who the Ducks face in the second round.

Ingram is expected to start on the road against Anaheim in Game 6 on Thursday, per Patrick Present of The Hockey News.

With the Oilers one loss away from elimination, Ingram came up big Tuesday, stopping 28 of 30 shots. Edmonton will be hoping to get a similar result out of him in Game 6, but Ingram hasn't always been effective against the Ducks. He was 1-2 with a 4.70 GAA and an .849 save percentage across the opening three games of this first-round series.

Wallstedt will protect the home net versus the Stars in Game 6 on Thursday, Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News reports.

Wallstedt has gone 3-2 in the series, allowing just 12 goals on 162 shots (.926 save percentage). The 23-year-old will get the Wild through the second round, where the Avalanche await, if he can collect another win. Wallstedt's play so far in the postseason suggests he's locked in as the Wild's top goalie.

Oettinger will protect the road goal versus the Wild in Game 6 on Thursday, Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News reports.

The Stars will stick with Oettinger in an elimination game. He has gone 2-3 with 16 goals allowed on 159 shots (.899 save percentage) over the first five games of this first-round series. If Oettinger can earn the win Thursday, he's likely to get the nod again Saturday for Game 7.

Dostal will get the starting nod at home for Game 6 versus the Oilers on Thursday, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports.

Despite getting pulled in Game 5 after giving up three goals on nine shots, Dostal will be back in the crease for a chance to close out the Oilers in Game 6. In the playoffs, the Czech backstop is 3-2-0 with a 4.32 GAA and .864 save percentage after giving up at least three goals in all five appearances.