NHL Player News

Talbot will start Sunday's home game against the Capitals, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports.

After Logan Thompson and John Gibson started Saturday's game, both teams will be switching goaltenders for the second game of the back-to-back, home-and-home set between Detroit and Washington. The 38-year-old Talbot has lost six straight starts, allowing three goals or more in all but one of those contests. Despite the dry spell, he still carries a 9-6-2 record into the game but with a 3.07 GAA and an .883 save percentage.

Lindgren will start Sunday's game against the Red Wings, Mike Vogel of the Capitals' official site reports.

Lindgren will play the second leg of a back-to-back against Detroit after Logan Thompson allowed four goals in Saturday's 5-2 home loss to the Red Wings. The 32-year-old Lindgren will be making just his third start of the month, bringing a 5-4-1 record, a 3.10 GAA and an .887 save percentage into Sunday's road rematch.

Montembeault (not injury related) will join the Canadiens ahead of their Dec. 28 game against the Lightning, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports Sunday.

Montembeault was loaned to AHL Laval for a conditioning stint. He has played only twice in the month of December so far, so the conditioning move will allow him to sharpen his skill set at the AHL level. He'll have a couple more practices with Laval before joining the Canadiens on the trip in Tampa next Sunday. In the meantime, Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes will continue to handle goaltending duties.

Quick will defend the road net against Nashville on Sunday, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.

Quick will get the second half of the Rangers' back-to-back after Igor Shesterkin played in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over Philadelphia. The 39-year-old Quick has gone 0-3-1 in his last four outings despite allowing only 10 goals on 120 shots. Nashville ranks 24th in the league this season with 2.82 goals per game.

Allen will start in net for Sunday's game against the Sabres, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Allen has been excellent in his past two starts, allowing one goal each in victories over the Golden Knights and Ducks. The 35-year-old's next chance will come Sunday against the red-hot Sabres, who have won five consecutive games. He'll be playing behind a Devils lineup that is getting a big boost with the returns of Jack Hughes (hand) and Arseny Gritsyuk (upper body).

Oettinger will get the start Sunday against the Maple Leafs, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports.

Oettinger is tied for the league lead with 15 wins, sharing that distinction with four other netminders. The 27-year-old made 34 saves to snap his personal two-game losing streak in a 5-3 win over the Sharks on Thursday. He brings a 15-6-2 record, 2.56 GAA and .907 save percentage into battle with the Maple Leafs, who have lost four of their last five games.

Merilainen made 20 saves in Saturday's 6-4 win over Chicago.

The 23-year-old netminder gave up three goals on 13 shots in the second period to level the game at 3-3, but Ottawa roared back with three of its own in the third. The win was Merilainen's first since Nov. 13, snapping a four-start losing streak, and on the season he's managed a 4-5-0 record in nine outings with a shaky 3.40 GAA and .872 save percentage.

Lyon stopped 32 of 34 shots on goal and registered a power-play assist in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders.

After Lyon allowed the game-tying goal with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, he bounced back quickly and made two crucial saves near the end of the shootout to help the Sabres secure the win. He also recorded a rare goalie helper on a power play for his first assist of the season. With the win, the 33-year-old goaltender now has an 8-6-3 record with a 2.92 GAA and a .906 save percentage through 19 outings this season. With Saturday's win, Lyon extended his win streak to five consecutive games and has completely flipped a switch during that run. Before the win streak, he had a sub-.900 save percentage and a 3.23 GAA. Over the last six games, he has a 2.17 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Lyon's proven ability to bounce back has been on full display as of late, making him a top waiver-wire pickup to stream in most two-goalie formats.

Soderblom stopped 34 shots in Saturday's 6-4 loss to Ottawa.

The game was tied 3-3 going into the third period, but the Chicago defense collapsed over the final 20 minutes, with Soderblom giving up three goals on a whopping 18 shots. The 26-year-old netminder hasn't gotten into the win column since Nov. 18, going 0-5-0 over his last five starts with a brutal 5.87 GAA and .835 save percentage as Spencer Knight's backup.

Rittich turned aside 30 of 32 shots in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres.

After allowing two goals before the halfway point of regulation, Rittich shut the door from there to force a shootout, in which he ultimately fell 2-1. The 33-year-old netminder now has a 7-3-2 record with a 2.53 GAA and a .908 save percentage across 12 appearances this season. He continues to perform as one of the league's top backup goalies and currently has GAA and save percentage numbers that rank inside the top 20 among netminders with double-digit appearances this season. He also hasn't allowed more than three goals in a game since Nov. 7. Ilya Sorokin should continue to see the bulk of the workload for the Isles moving forward, but when Rittich is slated to play, the veteran backup is a strong spot-start option in nearly all two-goalie fantasy formats.