NHL Player News

Hart is set to start on the road against St. Louis on Friday, per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Hart is 4-2-3 with a 3.18 GAA and an .883 save percentage in nine appearances this season. He's allowed five goals in each of his past two appearances. St. Louis ranks 32nd in goals per game with 2.46 and has lost its past two games while being outscored 10-3.

Dostal will patrol the home crease versus Minnesota on Friday, per Derek Lee of The Hockey News.

Dostal has had his challenges the last three games, giving up 14 goals on 68 shots (.794 save percentage). Overall, the 25-year-old netminder is 13-9-2 with a 3.15 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 25 appearances. The Wild are tied for 16th in NHL scoring, generating 3.07 goals per game this season.

Hofer will guard the cage at home against the Golden Knights on Friday, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Hofer took the bulk of the workload for the Blues in December, featuring in 10 of 15 games while posting a 5-3-0 record and 2.20 GAA. The 25-year-old netminder will get the first start of 2026, though Jordan Binnington figures to get the nod for the second half of the back-to-back versus Montreal on Saturday. At this point, Hofer should probably be considered the No. 1 option in St. Louis, though his hold on that spot is tenuous at best.

Lankinen will tend the twine at home versus the Bruins on Saturday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Lankinen has played in just two of the Canucks' last nine contests, posting a 2-0-0 record and 2.77 GAA. Both of those appearances, and Saturday's upcoming outing, have come in back-to-backs, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect to see Lankinen stealing starts away from Thatcher Demko.

Demko will defend the home goal versus Seattle on Friday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Demko will attempt to snap a three-game losing streak during which he has allowed 13 goals on 105 shots. Demko is 8-8-0 with a 2.72 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 17 games this season. Seattle is 29th in NHL scoring, averaging 2.61 goals per game.

Rittich will be between the home pipes versus Toronto on Saturday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Rittich will make his seventh straight start but will have Ilya Sorokin (lower body) as his backup for the first time since Sorokin got hurt. Rittich is 10-5-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.46 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 17 outings this season. The Maple Leafs are tied for fourth in NHL scoring, generating 3.35 goals per game.

Sorokin (lower body) was activated off injured reserve Friday and will back up David Rittich Saturday against the Maple Leafs, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin has sat out the last six games with the injury and is slated to return to the crease Tuesday versus New Jersey. Sorokin is 12-10-2 with a 2.55 GAA and a .910 save percentage across 24 appearances this season.

Silovs stopped 24 of 27 shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Red Wings.

Silovs has won each of his last three starts, but he's allowed three goals in each of those contests while posting a save percentage below the .900 mark. In fact, Silovs has gone eight straight games without posting a save percentage of .900 or higher, as he hasn't been above that threshold since a loss in Nashville on Nov. 14. Since then, Silovs has gone 3-3-2 with a 4.30 GAA and an abysmal .834 save percentage. He's not a reliable fantasy option in any format given his struggles.

Talbot stopped 27 of 31 shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins.

Talbot couldn't win a third straight game, and his struggles have been well documented by now, to the point that he's not a reliable option outside the deepest fantasy formats. The 38-year-old veteran has dropped seven of his last 10 starts, going 3-4-3 with a 3.34 GAA and a subpar .879 save percentage over that stretch.

Bussi stopped 16 of 22 shots in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Canadiens. The seventh goal was an empty-netter with 2:00 left in the third period.

Bussi had posted a save percentage of .900 or higher in 11 of his previous 16 appearances this season, but his season-long averages will take a hit after this woeful performance. There's a strong chance this was a one-off game, though, as the 27-year-old has been excellent this season. He'll aim to bounce back in his next start, which will come against Colorado on Saturday or New Jersey on Sunday.