NHL Player News

Dostal (upper body) was activated off injured reserve Friday.

Dostal hasn't been between the pipes since Nov. 22 due to the injury. He's 11-5-1 with a 2.81 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 17 outings this year. Vyacheslav Buteyets was returned to ECHL Tulsa in a corresponding move. Dostal should now serve as the No. 1 goaltender. Ville Husso will shift to the No. 2 job, but once Petr Mrazek (lower body) is ready to return, he might take that spot from Husso.

Buteyets was assigned to ECHL Tulsa on Friday.

Buteyets was called up by Anaheim at the beginning of December, but he made just one appearance during his time with the NHL club. He'll head back to the minors after Lukas Dostal (upper body) was activated off injured reserve, and Buteyets should see more consistent playing time with Tulsa.

Hofer stopped six of seven shots in relief of Jordan Binnington in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Predators.

Hofer played the third period and gave up a power-play goal to Michael Bunting. Hofer has allowed seven goals on 117 shots over his last five outings, two of which have come in relief. If he keeps this up, the 25-year-old could end up taking over the starting role for the Blues, though the team's overall struggles will still keep Hofer from being much of an option in fantasy.

Hellebuyck (knee) is "getting closer" to returning to action, according to head coach Scott Arniel, who wouldn't rule out the netminder playing against Washington at home Saturday, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.

Hellebuyck appears to be well ahead of schedule, even if he isn't ready to suit up right away Saturday. Prior to getting hurt, the 32-year-old netminder was putting up pedestrian numbers by his standards, going 8-6-0 with a 2.51 GAA in 14 outings. Hellebuyck will need to seriously step up his game down the stretch if he is going to take home a third straight Vezina Trophy.

Head coach Jon Cooper said Friday that Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) could return to action Monday against the Panthers, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Vasilevskiy has missed the last five games due to his undisclosed injury, and he'll be unavailable for at least one more matchup Saturday against the Islanders. However, he practiced Friday and could be able to return from injured reserve as early as Monday. Over 19 appearances prior to his absence, he went 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA and .916 save percentage.

Vejmelka was the first goalie off during Friday's morning skate, Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Kraken.

Vejmelka has been relatively effective recently, posting a 2.33 GAA and .920 save percentage over his last six appearances, but he has a lackluster 2-3-0 record during that time. He'll have a favorable matchup Friday, as the Kraken are scoring just 2.50 goals per game this year, which is tied for the worst mark in the NHL.

Lindgren (upper body) will travel with the Capitals on their upcoming two-game road trip and could be activated off injured reserve as early as Saturday, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reports.

Lindgren has missed the last three games and could back up Logan Thompson on Saturday in Winnipeg. Lindgren is 5-3-1 with a 2.90 GAA and an .893 save percentage across 10 appearances this season. Should he be activated, look for Garin Bjorklund to be sent to AHL Hershey.

Woll (lower body) said Friday that he's feeling better but doesn't expect to play Saturday against Edmonton, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Woll is eligible to return from injured reserve for Saturday's matchup, but it appears as though he'll require at least one more game on the shelf due to his lower-body injury. Assuming he's sidelined against the Oilers, his next opportunity to suit up would be Tuesday against Chicago.

Thompson turned aside 37 shots in regulation and overtime and one of two shootout attempts in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

He was by far the busier netminder, as the Capitals got outshot 39-25 through the end of OT, and Thompson was the biggest reason Washington got a point at all. The 28-year-old netminder hasn't taken a regulation loss in seven straight starts, going 5-0-2 over that stretch with an eye-popping 1.40 GAA and .954 save percentage as he works his way into the early Vezina conversation.

Bussi stopped 23 shots in regulation and overtime and all three shootout attempts he faced in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Capitals.

The rookie netminder stymied Anthony Beauvillier, Dylan Strome and Sonny Milano in the shootout to secure his eighth straight win, and 10th of the season. Bussi hasn't lost a game since Oct. 25, and during his win streak he's posted a stellar 1.97 GAA and .909 save percentage. With neither Frederik Andersen or Pyotr Kochetkov in top form right now, Bussi is making a strong push for the top of Carolina's depth chart in net.