NHL Player News

Lankinen allowed four goals on 38 shots in Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.

The Canucks took a 3-2 lead with a Conor Garland power-play goal early in the second period, but Lankinen couldn't make it stand. The 30-year-old Lankinen is now 1-2-2 with 17 goals allowed over his last five games. Overall, he has a 3-5-2 record with a 3.58 GAA and an .886 save percentage over 10 appearances. With Thatcher Demko (lower body) set to miss another couple of weeks at a minimum, playing time is likely to remain steady for Lankinen, but fantasy managers may want to avoid him in tough matchups. The Canucks will wrap up this road trip with a back-to-back, as they visit the Lightning on Sunday and the Panthers on Monday.

Kochetkov allowed three goals on 17 shots in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over the Canucks.

Kochetkov remains undefeated on the year, but this was not a great performance for the 26-year-old. He allowed two goals in the first period and one more early in the second before the Hurricanes' possession game smothered the Canucks' offense. Through four appearances (three starts), Kochetkov has given up six goals on 65 shots. He should continue to see steady playing time while Frederik Andersen (concussion) is on the mend, but it could be Brandon Bussi's turn in goal Saturday versus the Oilers if Andersen isn't cleared to play.

Saros stopped 16 of 17 shots in Friday's 2-1 overtime win over the Penguins.

Saros was beaten by Evgeni Malkin in the second period, but he was excellent the rest of the way. The 30-year-old snapped a three-game losing skid with this win, and it was also the first time he has conceded just one goal since a 2-1 win over the Canucks on Oct. 23. Saros will aim to win back-to-back games for the first time since late October in his next start, which could presumably come in a rematch against the Penguins in Sweden on Sunday.

Silovs stopped 28 of 30 shots in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Predators.

Silovs has suffered overtime losses in his last two starts, as he was also between the posts in the 2-1 OT defeat against the Devils on Nov. 8. The lack of offensive support has been a factor conspiring against Silovs of late, as the Penguins have scored two or fewer goals in four of his last five starts, a span in which Silovs has gone 1-1-3 while allowing 12 goals on 151 shots faced.

Vejmelka will protect the home goal versus the Islanders on Friday, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Vejmelka has gone 2-2-0 with 12 goals allowed on 85 shots over four games in November. The Islanders have been decent at filling the net, scoring 20 times over their last six games while going 4-1-1 in that span, which could make this a tough matchup for Vejmelka and the Mammoth.

Binnington will protect the home goal versus the Flyers on Friday, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Binnington has won two of his last three starts, allowing eight goals on 81 shots. The 32-year-old netminder has a favorable matchup Friday, as the Flyers have scored just 13 goals over their last six games.

Andersen (concussion) will not suit up for Friday's game versus the Canucks, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

Andersen was injured late in Tuesday's contest versus the Capitals and will be held out for at least one full game. The 36-year-old netminder's lengthy injury history will force the Hurricanes to be cautious with Andersen's recovery. Pyotr Kochetkov will start Friday and will likely see most of the playing time in Andersen's absence, while Brandon Bussi will fill the backup role.

Kochetkov will start at home versus the Canucks on Friday, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

Kochetkov's last outing was a brief relief appearance versus the Capitals on Tuesday, in which he didn't face a shot. Frederik Andersen (concussion) exited that contest, so Kochetkov could get an increase in playing time as long as Andersen is out. For Friday's game, Kochetkov will catch a bit of a break, as the Canucks will be without Quinn Hughes (undisclosed).

Demko (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Friday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Demko sustained a lower-body injury during Tuesday's game against the Jets, and the issue is expected to sideline him for approximately 2-3 weeks, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli. Kevin Lankinen will presumably serve as the Canucks' primary netminder in Demko's absence.

Gibson (upper body) was cleared and will be active Saturday versus Buffalo, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports Friday.

Head coach Todd McLellan did not name a starter for Saturday at his Friday press conference, but did say that Gibson is good to go. Gibson, who left Thursday's game after two periods with the injury, is 4-5-0 with a 3.14 GAA and an .882 save percentage across 10 starts this season.