NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots in Monday's 4-1 win over the Blues.

Justin Faulk got a puck past him early in the second period, but otherwise Vasilevskiy wasn't too troubled as he cruised to his 13th win of the season. In three starts since returning from an undisclosed injury, the perennial Vezina contender has gone 2-1-0 while allowing seven goals on 66 shots.

Binnington made 13 saves in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.

The Blues were thoroughly outplayed at both ends of the ice, and Binnington had little chance on any of the pucks that got past him -- two of which came on Tampa Bay power plays, and two on deflected point shots. The veteran netminder has only one win in December, going 1-4-1 in six starts with a ghastly 4.51 GAA and .832 save percentage.

Forsberg will be between the home pipes against Columbus on Monday, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Forsberg snapped his three-game losing streak in Tampa Bay on Thursday, turning aside 31 of 32 shots (.969 save percentage) in a 2-1 win. The Kings have been off since that contest, while Monday's matchup will conclude a brief two-game road trip for the Blue Jackets, who were shut out by a 4-0 score in Anaheim on Saturday. Columbus will be without Zach Werenski (lower body) in Los Angeles, which should play into Forsberg's favor, as Werenski (40 points) ranks second to only Cale Makar (43 points) in scoring among blueliners across the NHL this season. Furthermore, the Blue Jackets have dropped two straight games and seven of their last eight.

Grubauer was the first goalie to exit the ice ahead of Monday's road game versus the Ducks, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports, indicating he'll be in goal.

Grubuer is mired in a three-game losing streak, during which he's allowed nine goals on 96 shots (.906 save percentage). With the 34-year-old netminder getting the nod Monday, fantasy managers can expect Joey Daccord to take the second game of the back-to-back on the road versus the Kings on Tuesday.

Greaves will defend the cage on the road against Los Angeles on Monday, Dave Maetzold of FanDuel Sports Network reports.

Greaves has managed just one victory in his last nine outings, posting a 1-5-3 record despite a 2.85 GAA. Given his solid ratios, the 24-year-old backstop should continue to see the majority of the starts for Columbus, though the club may try to showcase Elvis Merzlikins in the hopes of securing a trade.

Dostal will guard the cage at home versus the Kraken on Monday, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports.

Dostal has logged four appearances since returning from a nine-game absence due to an upper-body injury, posting a 2-2-0 record and .864 save percentage along the way. Despite his recent numbers being somewhat underwhelming, the 25-year-old backstop should continue to see the bulk of the workload moving forward, even with Petr Mrazek (lower body) also back in the fold.

Vasilevskiy is expected to get the starting nod at home versus St. Louis on Monday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Vasilevskiy will be making his third straight appearance in the crease following his seven-game stint on the shelf due to his undisclosed injury. The veteran backstop is 1-1-0 with six goals allowed on 42 shots over his last two games and will come up against a Blues squad that is scoring just 2.54 goals per game, third-worst in the NHL this year.

Annunen stopped 16 of 17 shots on net in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Rangers.

Annunen was 37 seconds away from his first shutout of the season before he surrendered New York's lone goal of the night to Jonny Brodzinski. With the win, Annunen is up to a 2-5-1 record with a 3.43 GAA and an .866 save percentage through 11 appearances this season. His performance Sunday was one of his best this season, showcasing a flash of the skill he displayed early on last season. While he sits firmly behind Juuse Saros on the depth chart, Annunen has played better as of late, with his two wins this season coming in his last four starts. He could be in for a few extra starts if his decent run of play continues, but it is currently best to look elsewhere for a goaltender in fantasy. While Saros will likely start the next two games for the Predators, Annunen could see work early next week with the team set to play three games in four days between Dec. 29 and Jan. 1.

Quick turned aside 30 of 31 shots on net in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Predators. The second goal was an empty-netter.

Quick displayed a fantastic effort Sunday, as he allowed just one even-strength goal before the Predators scored an empty-netter. With the loss, he now has a 3-5-1 record with a 1.78 GAA and a .937 save percentage across nine appearances this season. When he's been called upon to start so Igor Shesterkin can rest, Quick has turned back the clock and played at an elite level. Among goalies with nine appearances or more, he has the best save percentage and GAA. What could be considered even more impressive, however, is the fact that he's lost each of his last five starts and his stats have continued to triumph. The 39-year-old netminder is one of the best spot-start options in fantasy and can still provide value in his 19th NHL season.

Rittich will protect the home net against New Jersey on Tuesday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Rittich is coming off a 30-save effort in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to Buffalo. He has a 7-3-2 record with one shutout, a 2.53 GAA and a .908 save percentage through 12 appearances this season. After being recalled from AHL Bridgeport on Monday under emergency conditions, Marcus Hogberg will serve as Rittich's backup to give Ilya Sorokin (undisclosed) some time to rest a nagging injury.