NHL Player News

Vikman has been re-assigned to AHL Henderson by the Golden Knights, the team announced Sunday.

Vikman was called up for one game to serve as the backup goaltender to Akira Schmid. The fact that he's being sent down already seems to be a good sign for the health of Carter Hart (lower body), who is day-to-day. The 23-year-old Vikman will return to the AHL, where he's 4-4-0 with a 3.40 GAA and an .871 save percentage.

Kochetkov (lower body) will protect the home net against San Jose on Sunday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Kochetkov will return to the crease after missing the last eight games. In five appearances this season, he has earned a 4-0-0 record while surrendering only seven goals on 95 shots. San Jose sits 25th in the league with 2.79 goals per game this year.

Tarasov will get the start Sunday against the Islanders, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

It will be a rare start for Tarasov, who has appeared in just eight games this season while serving as the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky. The 26-year-old Tarasov has solid numbers, sporting a 2-4-1 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .907 save percentage. With his team on the second of a back-to-back, he'll lead the charge against the Islanders, who have won three straight games.

Wedgewood (back) won't be in the lineup for Sunday's road matchup against Philadelphia.

Wedgewood will miss his third straight game, and it's unclear when he will be ready to return to the lineup. He has posted a 13-1-3 record with a 2.07 GAA and a .920 save percentage across 19 appearances this season. Mackenzie Blackwood will make his third consecutive start in Sunday's game versus the Flyers.

Ersson led the Flyers out for warmups and will get the start Sunday against the Avalanche, Adam Kimelman of NHL.com reports.

Ersson will reach double-digit appearances with Sunday's start. Through his first nine appearances, the 26-year-old is 5-2-2 with a 2.97 GAA and an .869 save percentage. He has won two straight starts, stopping 55 of 60 shots on goal in those outings. It will be difficult to extend that winning streak against the first-place Avalanche, who lead the NHL with 4.00 goals per game.

Blackwood will defend the road net against Philadelphia on Sunday, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports.

Blackwood will play for the second time in two days after stopping 24 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers. He has a 7-1-1 record this season while allowing only 19 goals on 238 shots. Philadelphia ranks 23rd in the league this year with 2.85 goals per game.

Bussi made 19 saves in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Predators.

Carolina took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission and the outcome was never really in doubt, but Bussi's final numbers were a little disappointing after he took a shutout into the third period. The 27-year-old netminder has started three of the last four games while Pyotr Kochetkov (lower body) is on the shelf, and Bussi hasn't lost a start since Oct. 30, going 6-0-0 over that stretch with a 2.15 GAA and .898 save percentage.

Nedeljkovic will get the start Sunday against the Hurricanes, Max Miller of NHL.com reports.

Nedeljkovic has served as more of a backup lately with the impressive run that Yaroslav Askarov has been on, but the former will get a chance to start Sunday. The 29-year-old Nedeljkovic is seeking his first win since Nov. 7, as he has lost his last three starts. He carries a 3-5-2 record, 3.19 GAA and .894 save percentage into this game against the Hurricanes, who are fifth in the NHL with 3.41 goals per game.

Annunen stopped the only two shots he faced after replacing Juuse Saros midway through the third period of Saturday's 6-3 loss to Carolina.

Saros getting the hook had far more to do with the Predators' lackadaisical defensive effort than it did his own performance, and Nashville was down 6-1 when Annunen took the crease. The 25-year-old backup netminder has just one win in his nine appearances this season, going 1-4-1 with a rough 3.83 GAA and .846 save percentage.

Saros stopped 32 of 38 shots before being replaced by Justus Annunen midway through the third period of Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes.

Shoddy defensive effort in the first 8:12 of the final frame led to the final two goals against Saros and a 6-1 deficit for the Predators, forcing coach Andrew Brunette to make a desperation switch in the crease. The six goals allowed were a season worst for Saros, snapping a three-start win streak in which he'd given up a total of five goals on 86 shots. On the season, the veteran netminder is 9-10-3 in 22 outings with a 3.04 GAA and .893 save percentage.