NHL Player News

Vejmelka will patrol the home crease against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Vejmelka's six-game winning streak ended in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Edmonton. He surrendered six goals on 23 shots in the defeat, with the final tally being an empty-netter. Vejmelka has a 6-2-0 record this season while stopping 180 of the 202 shots he has faced. Tampa Bay ranks 21st in the league with 2.82 goals per game this campaign.

Merzlikins will be the starting goaltender for Sunday's game against the Islanders, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

It will be the 250th game of Merzlikins' career Sunday night. The 31-year-old is 98-101-35 with a 3.19 GAA and a .902 save percentage in his career. This season, he is outpacing those marks with a 4-1-0 record, 2.97 GAA and .915 save percentage. He next faces an Islanders team that's bringing up the rear in the Metropolitan Division standings.

Johansson will guard the road goal against Utah on Sunday, per Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley.

Johansson is coming off a 37-save performance in a 4-3 win over Anaheim on Oct. 25. He has a 2-1-0 record this season while permitting only nine goals on 104 shots. Utah is tied for fourth in the league with 3.64 goals per game this campaign.

Talbot will defend the road net against the Sharks on Sunday, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports.

Talbot is coming off a 35-save performance in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the Kings. He has a 4-1-0 record through six appearances this season while allowing 16 goals on 157 shots. San Jose is tied with Detroit for 14th in the league with 3.33 goals per game this campaign.

Wolf will get the start for Sunday's game against the Flyers, Derek Wills of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

It was an ugly start for Wolf his last time out; he allowed three goals in the first period on 11 shots before getting the hook in a 4-2 loss to the Devils. That outing was emblematic of the season that the Flames' young netminder has had. The 24-year-old has a 2-8-1 record, a 3.62 GAA and an .881 save percentage. He'll look to rebound against a Flyers team ranked 24th in the league with 2.77 goals per game.

Shepard was assigned to AHL Belleville on Sunday.

The Senators recalled Leevi Merilainen from the minors in a corresponding move. Shepard has appeared in two games this season as Ottawa's backup goalie, including Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal, but he hasn't had any NHL action yet.

Merilainen has been recalled to the NHL by the Senators, the team announced Sunday.

Merilainen began the season in the NHL with very mixed results, and he was sent down to AHL Belleville. Following his second consecutive victory for Belleville, the 23-year-old is back up with Ottawa again; Hunter Shepard is moving down in the corresponding move. Merilainen will assume backup goaltender duties behind Linus Ullmark once again.

Montembeault stopped 14 of 17 shots in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.

The 29-year-old netminder returned to the lineup after a two-game absence, as he's been losing some playing time of late, and this outing won't help him recover the regular starting role he held to begin the season. Montembeault has a 3-3-0 record in six outings in 2025-26, but he's posted a 3.67 GAA and an .839 save percentage. That latter figure is the worst mark among his five seasons with the Canadiens.

Ullmark stopped 23 of 27 shots in Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal.

Ullmark has been tagged with the loss in regulation in only one of his last six appearances, but his fantasy output hasn't turned heads. He's posted a save percentage below the .900 mark in each of his previous three games. Over that six-game stretch, Ullmark has gone 3-1-2 with a 2.94 GAA and an .873 save percentage.

Hofer stopped 32 of 35 shots in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jackets.

Hofer was beaten once in each period en route to his third straight defeat, and that doesn't include the Oct. 23 matchup against Utah when he allowed three goals on six shots. Hofer hasn't won since his Oct. 11 season debut against the Flames, posting a 0-3-0 record with a 6.26 GAA and a .795 save percentage in his last four contests.