NHL Player News

Blackwood gave up five goals on 28 shots in Friday's 7-3 loss to the Predators. The last two goals were empty-netters.

Blackwood's return from a lower-body injury didn't go as planned, as he instead had his worst outing of the season. Prior to the injury, he had rattled off seven straight wins, allowing a total of 13 goals in that span. The 29-year-old netminder is likely set to resume sharing the crease with Scott Wedgewood moving forward, though the Avalanche's recent shaky play could open the door for one goalie or the other to claim more of a starting role with a hot streak. Blackwood is 13-2-1 with a 2.26 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 16 appearances. The Avalanche are set to host the Capitals on Monday.

Saros stopped 39 of 42 shots in Friday's 7-3 win over the Avalanche.

Saros sent the Avalanche to their first home regulation loss of the campaign. He's won two of his three outings against the league's top team this year, though he certainly had to stay sharp in this game, which was just the fourth time all season he's faced 40-plus shots. Saros is 3-1-0 in those games despite allowing 16 goals. Overall, he's at a 19-15-3 record with a 2.93 GAA and an .898 save percentage through 37 starts. He's one win shy of matching his total from 58 appearances in 2024-25. Justus Annunen is likely to get the nod Saturday in Vegas, but expect Saros between the pipes again versus the surging Sabres on Tuesday in Nashville.

Vasilevskiy stopped 19 of 21 shots in Friday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Blues.

Vasilevskiy was between the pipes for eight of the 11 wins during the Lightning's streak, which was snapped Friday. The 31-year-old netminder still hasn't allowed more than three goals since Dec. 20 versus the Hurricanes, a strong stretch of play that is what fantasy managers have come to expect from him. Vasilevskiy is at a 19-7-3 record with a 2.26 GAA and a .914 save percentage over 29 starts this season. The Lightning close out this five-game road trip in Dallas on Sunday.

Hofer stopped 34 of 36 shots in Friday's 3-2 shootout win over the Lightning.

Hofer had a tall task, but he was up to the challenge even after surrendering a two-goal lead in the second period. The 25-year-old netminder gave up a pair of power-play goals in a span of 62 seconds, but he was perfect the rest of the way and through the shootout to snap the Lightning's 11-game winning streak. Hofer is up to 11-9-2 with a 2.76 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 26 appearances this season. He's won five of his last seven outings and is starting to take on a majority of the playing time over Jordan Binnington. The Blues open a three-game road trip when they visit the Oilers on Sunday.

Clang posted a 19-save shutout in AHL San Diego's 1-0 win over Abbotsford on Friday.

Clang has two shutouts in his last five games. He's up to 7-2-3 with a 2.19 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 13 appearances this season. He's still fourth on the Ducks' organizational depth chart in goal, but Petr Mrazek's (lower body) absence has opened the door for Clang to see regular time with the Gulls over the last few weeks.

Saros will guard the road goal versus the Avalanche on Friday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Saros has gone 5-4-0 with a 2.88 GAA and an .897 save percentage over his last nine games. The 30-year-old goalie will have a tough task against the Avalanche, who are a relatively modest 3-2-1 over their last six games with 23 goals scored in that span. Saros is 1-1-0 against the Avalanche this season, stopping 62 of 66 shots, though both of those games were in Nashville.

Vasilevskiy will be in goal on the road against St. Louis on Friday, per NHL.com.

Vasilevskiy enters Friday's matchup riding an eight-game winning streak during which he has registered a 2.22 GAA and .911 save percentage. Despite an injury costing the veteran netminder some starts in early December, he is still sitting tied for second in the league in wins (19), just three behind Utah's Karel Vejmelka (22) for the NHL lead.

Askarov will defend the road crease against Detroit on Friday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic have alternated starts over the past week and a half, and that trend will continue in Friday's matchup. Askarov struggled during his home start against the Golden Knights on Sunday, allowing six goals on 31 shots (.806 save percentage) in a 7-2 loss.

Bussi will patrol the crease at home against Florida on Friday, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reports.

Bussi has logged seven games for the Canes since the Christmas break, going 5-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA. The 27-year-old netminder will take the first game of Carolina's back-to-back, which means fantasy managers can expect to see Frederik Andersen in goal for Saturday's road clash with New Jersey.

Vladar (undisclosed) isn't expected to play at home Saturday versus the Rangers, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Vladar also missed Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh because of the injury. He has a 16-7-4 record, 2.46 GAA and .905 save percentage in 28 appearances this season. Vladar is still regarded as day-to-day, so he might be an option Monday in Vegas. Until Vladar is ready to return, Samuel Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov will compete for starts.