NHL Player News

Kuemper stopped 30 of 34 shots in Thursday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Predators.

Kuemper gave up the first three goals of the game, but he stayed in and steadied things from there. The Kings rewarded him with a comeback to force overtime, and Kuemper kept rolling until Luke Evangelista's tally in the eighth round of the shootout. That's a tough loss for the Kings to take, especially against a team right in the thick of the playoff race alongside them. Kuemper has gone 1-1-3 over his last five outings, and he's now at an 18-14-14 record with a 2.69 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 48 appearances. Kuemper should get the opportunity to regain confidence if he gets the start Saturday versus the Maple Leafs, who were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the Sharks on Thursday.

Saros stopped 29 of 33 shots in Thursday's 5-4 shootout win over the Kings.

Saros squandered a three-goal lead at one point, allowing the game to get to a shootout. He stopped all eight attempts by the Kings to make up for his earlier struggles with a key win in the playoff race. Saros has won four of his last five outings, though he hasn't played more than two games in a row in that stretch. He's up to 27-20-7 with a 3.14 GAA and an .894 save percentage through 55 outings on the year. The Predators' road trip continues Saturday in San Jose in another pivotal contest against the surging Sharks.

Skinner made 27 saves in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Lightning. He allowed five goals.

The Bolts were all over the Pens, so Skinner had be especially sharp to keep his mates as close as they were. He continues to scuffle since the Olympic break. Skinner is 3-4-4 in 11 starts since the Olympic break. He has allowed four or more goals in five games in that span. Skinner is hard to trust -- his skills haven't translated in black and gold.

Wolf stopped 28 of 34 shots in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Golden Knights.

The game was tied at 3-3 through two periods, but Wolf let in three goals over the final eight minutes to take the loss. The 24-year-old has allowed 10 goals on 50 shots over his last two outings as the Flames deal with a brutal road trip late in the season. Wolf is down to 22-27-3 with a 3.09 GAA and an .895 save percentage over a career-high 54 appearances this season. He'll be a goalie to avoid even if he gets the nod Saturday in Anaheim.

Vasilevskiy made 21 saves in a 6-3 win over the Penguins on Thursday.

The beast of the east picked up his league-leading 36th victory. Vasilevskiy might have the Vezina Trophy sewn up, but he's focused on Lord Stanley's chalice. He's 6-1-1 in his last eight starts, and he has allowed exactly two goals in five of those starts. Vasilevsky is the best. Bar none.

Hart stopped 19 of 22 shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Flames.

Hart missed the last 33 games while dealing with a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old goalie wasn't great in his return, but the Golden Knights surged in the third period to get him the win. Hart is 6-3-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .870 save percentage over 13 starts this season. Now that he's healthy, Hart could have the chance to take over the No. 1 job heading into the playoffs, as Adin Hill has struggled and Akira Schmid hasn't been trusted with much playing time. The Golden Knights have a big test up next when they visit the Oilers on Saturday.

Daccord allowed six goals on 31 shots in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Mammoth.

The Kraken jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Mammoth got one goal back in that frame, then scored twice in the second and thrice in the third to run away with the game. This was a tough loss for Daccord and the Kraken, as it makes their path to the playoffs all that much harder. He's allowed 16 goals while going 0-3-1 over his last four outings, and he's down to 19-19-6 with a 3.00 GAA and an .897 save percentage over 44 appearances this season. Philipp Grubauer is likely to get the nod Saturday versus the Blackhawks after Daccord's poor showing Thursday.

Vejmelka allowed two goals on 27 shots in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Kraken.

Vejmelka allowed the first two goals of the game, but he was able to settle in well after that. The Mammoth helped him bounce back, scoring six unanswered tallies to secure the win. Vejmelka has won four of his last six outings, giving up just 11 goals on 138 shots (.920 save percentage) in that span. For the season, he improved to 34-19-3 with a with a 2.68 GAA and an .898 save percentage over 58 appearances. The Mammoth are leading the Western Conference's wild-card race, but Vejmelka should still see plenty of playing time until their playoff spot is secured. He would have a favorable matchup if he starts Saturday in Vancouver to close out this three-game road trip.

Merzlikins made 16 saves in a 5-1 loss to Carolina on Thursday.

It was Merzlikins' second consecutive loss, and he's now 3-3-2 in nine appearances since the Olympic break. He has allowed five goals twice in that span and four goals in another game. The 31-year-old has occasionally entered a timeshare with Jet Greaves in the crease this year, but Merzlikins has been the clear No. 2 netminder in recent weeks and has been difficult to rely on for fantasy purposes.

Stolarz stopped 21 of 24 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Sharks. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Stolarz's three-game winning streak came to an end after the Maple Leafs' offense came up quiet in this contest. He was able to keep Macklin Celebrini and the top line quiet, but the Sharks got contributions from all of their other forward trios. Stolarz dropped to 10-10-3 with a 3.29 GAA and an .892 save percentage over 25 appearances this season. The Maple Leafs could opt to alternate Stolarz and Joseph Woll after being officially eliminated from playoff contention with Thursday's loss. The team's next game is Saturday in Los Angeles.