NHL Player News

Askarov will patrol the visiting crease in New Jersey on Friday, Max Miller of NHL.com reports.

Askarov needs a good performance as he has allowed 17 goals on 105 shots (.838 save percentage) across three starts this year. The 23-year-old came into the season as the Sharks' No. 1 goaltender, but another poor outing could get him sent to AHL San Jose. Askarov will face the Devils, who are tied for second in NHL scoring, averaging 4.00 goals.

Vladar stopped 31 shots in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Senators.

Making his third straight start, Vladar delivered another strong effort in the Philly crease, but the Flyers' offense couldn't solve Linus Ullmark after Tyson Foerster scored on Philadelphia's first shot of the night. Vladar appears to have moved ahead of Samuel Ersson for the No. 1 job, at least for now, and Vladar's earned the assignment by allowing two goals or fewer in each of his first five outings with Philadelphia, en route to a 3-2-0 record, 1.81 GAA and .932 save percentage.

Binnington stopped 15 of 18 shots in Thursday's 7-4 loss to the Mammoth.

Binnington entered the contest eight minutes into the first period due to Joel Hofer surrendering three goals on six shots. Unfortunately for Binnington, the Mammoth offense also scored three goals on him, which led to his second straight loss. The 32-year-old goaltender has a 2-2-1 record, a 2.75 GAA and an .885 save percentage through six appearances this year. The starting job is safely in Binnington's hands for now, with Hofer coming off back-to-back rough performances. Binnington's playing time and track record make him a strong option to have rostered in the majority of fantasy formats. His next chance to take the ice is Saturday in a road matchup with the Detroit Red Wings.

Hofer made three saves on six shots before being pulled from Thursday's 7-4 loss against Utah.

Hofer struggled early in the contest, allowing a goal to Ian Cole just past the three-minute mark before surrendering two goals to Logan Cooley minutes later. Luckily for Hofer, he wasn't credited with the loss as netminder Jordan Binnington also allowed three goals and surrendered the game-winning tally to Clayton Keller. Overall, the 25-year-old Hofer has struggled with a 1-1-0 record, a 6.21 GAA and a .789 save percentage across three appearances. Proceed with caution when streaming him in fantasy, as his path to success will likely be matchup dependent for the time being. Regardless, Binnington will likely see the bulk of time between the pipes for St. Louis moving forward, leaving plenty of stronger options available in fantasy than Hofer.

Shesterkin made 18 saves in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Sharks.

The Rangers' defense was simply awful, consistently struggling to clear the zone or put a body on San Jose skaters camped out in front of the crease, and Shesterkin had little chance at any of the pucks that got past him. It was the first time this season the 29-year-old netminder had given up more than two goals in a start, and even after Thursday's disaster, he still carries a 1.86 GAA and a .930 save percentage in seven outings -- numbers that are badly out of sync with his 2-3-2 record.

Greaves will start Friday's home game against the Capitals, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

The early-season timeshare between Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins will continue in the first half of a back-to-back set Friday. Over Greaves' first three starts of the year, he's gone 1-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA and a .928 save percentage. It wouldn't be surprising to see Merzlikins take over in net for Saturday's road matchup against Pittsburgh.

Nedeljkovic turned aside 22 shots in Thursday's 6-5 overtime win over the Rangers.

The Sharks struck early and often and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission, but Nedeljkovic did his best to squander that lead, only for Will Smith to bail him out in OT. It was Nedeljkovic's first win of the season as he splits starts with Yaroslav Askarov in the early going, but the 29-year-old Nedeljkovic isn't doing much to earn that timeshare, going 1-2-1 with a 4.00 GAA and an .874 save percentage.

Korpisalo stopped 23 of the 29 shots he faced in Thursday's 7-5 loss to Anaheim, with the Ducks' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

It was a tough night for the veteran netminder, starting with a first-period tally by Drew Helleson midway through the first period that deflected in off Charlie McAvoy's skate, but Korpisalo would probably like another crack at a couple of second-period softies by Cutter Gauthier and Jacob Trouba. Korpisalo has started four games to Jeremy Swayman's five to begin the season, and while neither goalie has been getting much help from their defense, Korpisalo's 4.03 GAA and .845 save percentage can't simply be chalked up to bad play in front of him.

Daccord posted a 32-save shutout in Thursday's 3-0 win over Winnipeg.

Daccord earned his fourth win of the season Thursday with an impressive performance between the pipes, as the 32 saves were his second-best output of the season and highest since the season opener. Perhaps even more importantly, Daccord managed to bounce back from his subpar effort against the Flyers on Oct. 20, when he allowed five goals on 21 shots. Through six starts, Daccord has gone 4-1-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a solid .911 save percentage.

Hellebuyck stopped 25 of 26 shots in Thursday's 3-0 loss to Seattle. The other two goals were empty-netters late in the third period.

Hellebuyck allowed five goals in the season-opening loss to the Stars, but he's been outstanding since then. He's allowed no more than one goal in each of his past three games, and he's surrendered no more than two markers in each of his last five starts. Through that prolific five-game stretch, the star netminder has gone 4-1-0 with a 1.40 GAA and a pristine .950 save percentage. The Jets are playing on the second leg of a back-to-back Friday, so Hellebuyck is expected to get some much-needed rest against the Flames. If that's the case, his next chance to suit up would come against Utah on Sunday.