NHL Player News

Saros stopped 20 of 23 shots in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Flames.

The Predators had the better of the play in this close game, and Saros made sure the Flames didn't get too opportunistic. His effort was rewarded when Nicolas Hague scored the decisive goal with 29 seconds left in the third period. Saros has alternated wins and losses over his last five games and is up to 16-13-3 with a 2.93 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 32 starts this season. The Predators' seven-game road trip ends with a tough matchup versus the Oilers on Tuesday.

Andersen stopped 30 of 34 shots in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Avalanche. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Andersen and the Hurricanes were ahead 3-1 after two periods, but that lead was gone less than two minutes into the final frame. The Avalanche kept going, with a second Brock Nelson power-play tally deciding the game at 7:30 of the third period. This was Andersen's ninth loss in a row. He's allowed at least three goals in all of them, and he's lost his last six starts in regulation time. He drops to 5-10-2 with a 3.43 GAA and an .867 save percentage over 17 starts this season. Andersen will share the crease with Brandon Bussi, though both goalies have struggled with the Hurricanes' third-period lapses lately. The team won't have much time to dwell on this loss, as the Hurricanes visit the Devils on Sunday.

Nedeljkovic stopped 12 of 16 shots in relief Saturday in a 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

The Sharks weren't ready to play at puck drop, and Yaroslav Askarov yielded three goals on 10 shots before being pulled at 6:46 of the first period. Nedeljkovic is 5-8-2 with a 3.14 GAA and an .890 save percentage through 18 appearances. He's 1-3-0 with 16 goals allowed in his last five appearances. Nedeljkovic hasn't started since Dec. 18 against Dallas, and he will continue to play second fiddle to Askarov.

Askarov allowed three goals on 10 shots before being replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic early in the first period of Saturday's 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

The bottom line was simple -- the Sharks were not ready to play at puck drop, and that left Askarov completely alone on most plays. The southpaw had won three straight games with an .891 save percentage. Overall, Askarov is 15-10-1, but his 3.46 GAA and .895 save percentage are both below league average. It's not really a surprise -- the young Sharks are fun to watch and score a lot of goals, but they are as porous as a sieve in their own zone.

Wedgewood stopped 25 of 28 shots in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Hurricanes.

Wedgewood won his fifth outing in a row. This one was a bit of a struggle early on, as the Avalanche trailed 3-1 after two periods. They rattled off four goals in the third, as the Avalanche took advantage of the Hurricanes' poor play in the final frame to pull off the comeback. Wedgewood is up to 18-1-4 with a 2.17 GAA and a .918 save percentage through 25 starts this season. The 33-year-old is set to handle the starting duties while Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) is on injured reserve at least through this three-game road trip. It's unclear if Wedgewood will start consecutive days -- if not, Trent Miner would be tasked with Sunday's tough matchup versus the Panthers.

Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in a 7-3 win over the Sharks on Saturday.

The game was never in doubt -- the Bolts were up 3-0 by the 6:46 mark of the first period. Pavol Regenda was Vasilevskiy's kryptonite, though -- the 26-year-old journeyman winger with 23 career NHL games scored all of the San Jose goals. It was his first career hattie. The talented netminder is on a 5-0-0 run, and he is on a personal 16-4-0 run since Oct. 26. Vasilevskiy has been excellent since he got his skates under him following his 0-3-2 run with 17 goals allowed to start the season. Overall, Vasy's 2.36 GAA and .912 save percentage are both sixth among NHL netminders with at least 16 appearances.

Halverson posted a 17-save shutout in AHL Syracuse's 6-0 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Crunch leapt out to a 5-0 lead after one period, and Halverson was barely tested in his third AHL shutout of the season. He's now at 11-4-2 with a 2.43 GAA and an .899 save percentage. He saw some time in the NHL in December, but he didn't face a shot during a brief relief appearance versus the Islanders on Dec. 13. Halverson is the Lightning's No. 3 goalie in the organization.

Gibson made 27 saves on 29 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Penguins on Saturday. The final two goals were empty-netters.

He was exceptional as the Penguins swarmed the offensive zone and carried the play for most of the contest. Gibson has gone 1-2-0 after an eight-game winning streak. He is 13-9-1 with two shutouts, a 2.93 GAA and an .895 save percentage through 24 starts this season.

Pickard turned aside 24 of 28 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Flyers, with Philadelphia's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The veteran netminder got very little defensive help as the visitors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, and the Oilers' offense wasn't able to close the gap. Pickard has started three of seven games since Tristan Jarry (lower body) landed on IR, going 1-2-0 and allowing nine goals on 106 shots (.915 save percentage) while splitting duties in the crease with Connor Ingram.

Skinner made 11 saves in a 4-1 win over Detroit on Saturday.

The game was closer than the score indicates, as the Penguins notched two empty-netters. Skinner was well-protected by his teammates -- the Red Wings actually had more shot attempts blocked (14) and ones that missed the net (16) than on the Pittsburgh netminder. He struggled in his first three games in black and gold, allowing 12 goals and posting an .831 save percentage, but he has won two consecutive starts with just one goal against in each outing.