NHL Player News

Merilainen stopped 21 of 23 shots in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Jets.

Merilainen was beaten in the first and third periods, but the offense provided him enough support to cruise to an easy win. This was Merilainen's second straight victory, but even more importantly, he snapped a streak of seven outings in which he hadn't posted a save percentage of .900 or higher. Expect the 23-year-old to remain as the Senators' No. 1 goaltender as long as Linus Ullmark (personal) remains away from the team.

Hellebuyck stopped 23 of 27 shots in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Senators.

Hellebuyck allowed at least one goal in each period and extended his struggling stretch. He's now gone eight starts without a win, with a 0-5-3 record, a 2.91 GAA and a subpar .879 save percentage over that span. The 32-year-old has lost his past three starts in regulation. Things won't get any easier for him with games against the Golden Knights and Oilers on the horizon.

Fowler stopped 17 of 19 shots on net in Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Blues.

Fowler tended a decent game, which included a scoreless third period, but was outdueled by a Jordan Binnington shutout. With the loss, Fowler now holds a 3-2-2 record with a 2.57 GAA and a .903 save percentage through seven appearances this season. Saturday marked his fourth game allowing two goals or fewer in seven tries. The young netminder has held his own at the NHL level despite Montreal's recent inconsistencies in finding the win column. He is a solid spot start in fantasy for the time being and is trending toward taking over the lead role between the pipes. Sunday's second half of Montreal's back-to-back will likely go to Sam Montembeault, but Fowler could start Wednesday against the Flames.

Lankinen allowed three goals on 21 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Bruins.

Lankinen didn't see as much rubber as Jeremy Swayman in this contest. When it mattered most, Lankinen fell short, making a sloppy save on David Pastrnak's shot late in overtime before Fraser Minten knocked home the loose puck. Lankinen had won his previous two outings, but he was on a six-game slide prior to that. The Finnish netminder has a 6-10-4 record with a 3.37 GAA and an .884 save percentage through 20 contests this season. Thatcher Demko remains in the No. 1 role and will likely start the Canucks' next game Tuesday in Buffalo to kick off their six-game road trip.

Swayman stopped 31 of 33 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks.

Swayman won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 6-9. The 27-year-old allowed both goals in the second period but was able to limit the damage there, and a second goal from Fraser Minten at 4:41 of overtime secured the Bruins' victory. Swayman is up to 16-10-2 with a 2.80 GAA and a .906 save percentage over 29 outings this season. He's not all the way back from last year's struggles, but Swayman is handling a No. 1 workload pretty well this year with a good chance to reach the 30-win mark for the first time in his career. The Bruins wrap up this five-game road trip in Seattle on Tuesday.

Wallstedt stopped 34 of 38 shots in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Kings.

Wallstedt has lost his last two outings in the shootout. The 23-year-old made sure to keep the Wild within a goal at all times in this contest, but he's now given up 14 goals on 133 shots over his last four games. The Swede is at an 11-2-4 record with a 2.30 GAA and a .928 save percentage through 17 starts. He's still a decent fantasy play, given the strong team in front of him, but his magic from earlier in the year has worn off a bit. Should the Wild's goaltending pattern continue, Filip Gustavsson would handle Monday's road rematch versus the Kings, while Wallstedt could get a favorable road outing against the Kraken on Thursday.

Kuemper stopped 24 of 28 shots in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Wild.

Kuemper has allowed eight goals on 51 shots since he returned from an upper-body injury. The 35-year-old was unable to hold any of the four leads the Kings had in regulation, but he was good enough in the shootout to pick up his first win since Dec. 8 versus the Mammoth. Kuemper is now at 11-7-6 with a 2.33 GAA and a .911 save percentage through 25 starts. He still looks to need some time to shake off the rust from his recent absence. Kuemper will be a risky fantasy play if he starts Monday's rematch versus the Wild.

Rittich made 18 saves in a 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Rittich will also go down in the history books as the goalie who allowed two goals to Auston Matthews, who became the leading goal scorer in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Ilya Sorokin (lower body) backed Rittich up and could take control of the Islanders' crease again. Still, Rittich has performed admirably as the No. 1, going 4-2-1 with one shutout. Even though his role will likely decrease, he will remain a solid spot starter.

Wolf stopped 32 of 36 shots in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Predators.

Wolf faced more pressure than opposing goalie Juuse Saros, but the game remained close throughout. Nicolas Hague's blast from the point with 29 seconds left in the third period was the difference, snapping Wolf's three-game winning streak. The 24-year-old netminder slipped to 14-15-2 with a 2.86 GAA and a .901 save percentage through 32 appearances. The Flames wrap up their five-game homestand against the Kraken on Monday, a team Wolf defeated in Calgary on Dec. 18 with a 21-save effort in a 4-2 victory.

Woll made 21 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders on Saturday.

The Maple Leafs sat back in the third, allowing the Islanders to rally and ultimately win the contest on a goal by Matthew Schaefer. Woll has allowed four goals in each of his last two games, including a mercy pull on New Year's Day against the Jets. Since his return from injury in mid-December, Woll is 4-1-1 in seven starts, and Toronto is starting to claw its way back to a postseason position.