NHL Player News

Blackwood allowed four goals on 33 shots in Sunday's 5-4 overtime win over the Canucks.

Blackwood let three leads slip away, but the Avalanche still won with a Gavin Brindley goal in overtime. The 28-year-old Blackwood is now 1-0-1 with seven goals allowed on 56 shots over his two outings this season. The Avalanche have eased him back in, in part due to the continued success of Scott Wedgewood. This crease is likely to be a timeshare for a while longer, even with no back-to-back sets within the next week. Blackwood's a talented goalie, but he's going to have to earn the No. 1 job back after missing time due to a lower-body injury to start the season.

Comrie stopped 17 of 21 shots in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Ducks.

Beckett Sennecke scored twice at even strength and Leo Carlsson had two power-play goals to account for the damage on Comrie's line. This was Comrie's first loss and worst game in four starts this season. He still maintains a .908 save percentage despite Sunday's setback. The 30-year-old won't see much playing time as Connor Hellebuyck's backup -- look for Hellebuyck to try to get the Jets back on track when they visit the Canucks on Tuesday.

Dostal stopped 23 of 24 shots in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Jets.

Dostal's winning streak is up to six games, and the Ducks have won seven in a row overall. He limited the damage to a Kyle Connor tally in the second period while Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke each scored twice to lead the Ducks in the win. Dostal now has an 8-3-1 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage over 12 appearances. The Ducks will look to take their success on the road with a three-game trip beginning in Colorado on Tuesday.

Wallstedt posted a 36-save shutout in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Flames.

Wallstedt was kept busy but held the Flames at bay for the second shutout of his NHL career. The 22-year-old was making consecutive starts for the first time in his career, and it looks like he might be set to put some pressure on Filip Gustavsson for the starting role. Wallstedt is now 3-0-2 with a 2.51 GAA and a .909 save percentage over five starts this season. It will be interesting to see which goalie the Wild turn to for Tuesday's home game against the surging Sharks.

Cooley allowed one goal on 18 shots in Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Wild.

Cooley made his fifth appearance (third start) of the season, but he once again didn't get enough support from the Flames' offense. They've scored just four goals over his three starts this season. Cooley is 0-2-1 with a 1.75 GAA and a .935 save percentage in 2025-26, but he won't offer much of a challenge to Dustin Wolf's status as the Flames' starter. Despite the good numbers, Cooley is not a strong fantasy option, as he is unlikely to rack up many wins behind a weak offense.

Vanecek stopped 21 of 25 shots in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Senators.

Vanecek gave up four goals for the second start in a row, and he's faced just 43 shots in total during that span. That's not great play out of the backup goalie, though Karel Vejmelka has also endured some recent struggles as the Mammoth's hot start has cooled. Vanecek is now 2-3-0 with a 2.85 GAA and an .875 save percentage through five starts this season. It will likely be Vejmelka's turn in goal for Wednesday's home game against the Sabres.

Merilainen stopped 29 of 31 shots in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Mammoth.

Merilainen has now won two of his three outings at the NHL level this season. The 23-year-old has served as Linus Ullmark's backup, which hasn't led to much playing time, though Ullmark isn't exactly dominating between the pipes. Merilainen has allowed 11 goals on 85 shots, but seven of those goals against came in his season debut. He was sharp in a 12-game sample last year and can be an effective goalie in the right matchups. The Senators don't have a back-to-back ahead, so there's no telling when Merilainen's next NHL start could be.

Dostal is set to start at home against the Jets on Sunday, per Derek Lee of The Hockey News.

Dostal heads into Sunday's action on a five-game winning streak -- he's recorded a .909 save percentage and 2.57 GAA during that run of success. The 2018 third-round pick allowed five goals on 26 shots in his last start, but the Ducks provided him with plenty of offensive support in a 7-5 victory in Dallas on Thursday. The Jets have lost back-to-back contests in California following a three-game winning streak, and they're tied for 12th in the NHL with 3.29 goals per game this season.

Comrie will defend the visiting crease Sunday against the Ducks, according to Derek Lee of The Hockey News.

Comrie is a perfect 3-0-0 to start the year, posting a 2.33 GAA and .929 save percentage across three appearances. The 30-year-old will have an extremely tough task attempting to slow down a red-hot Anaheim club -- the Ducks have won six straight games, a stretch in which they have found the back of the net 29 times. The Jets have the rest advantage Sunday, as they last played Friday, while Anaheim came out with a road win versus the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Blackwood is drawing the start in Vancouver on Sunday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Blackwood surrendered three goals on 23 shots in his 2025-26 debut during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks on Nov. 1. The 28-year-old dealt with a lower-body injury to begin the season, and considering Scott Wedgewood has a 9-1-2 record, the Avalanche probably don't feel the need to thrust Blackwood into the No. 1 role at this time. It remains to be seen if Blackwood will eventually receive the bulk of the starts, but he should be a solid option for fantasy managers whenever he's in net, as Colorado currently sits atop the league's standings.