NHL Player News

Askarov allowed six goals on 30 shots in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Ducks.

Askarov gave up the first hat trick of John Carlson's career in this contest. This was a second straight loss for Askarov, who has allowed 11 goals on 63 shots over those two appearances. The 23-year-old's goaltending simply hasn't been good enough lately to keep the Sharks competitive in the playoff race -- they're now four points back of the Kings for the second wild-card spot, with two teams in between. Askarov is now down to 21-19-3 with a 3.62 GAA and an .883 save percentage across 45 starts. The Sharks will be in must-win mode versus the Canucks on Saturday, and that makes it unclear if Askarov will be the one trusted to take care of the favorable matchup.

Dostal allowed one goal on 19 shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Sharks.

The Ducks held their ground in the race for the top spot in the Pacific Division while making their in-state rivals' path to the playoffs a lot harder. This performance ended Dostal's four-game losing streak, a span in which he surrendered 18 goals on 108 shots. Through 54 appearances this season, Dostal is up to 30-19-3 with a 3.09 GAA and an .890 save percentage. This is the first time he's reached the 30-win mark, though he has the worst ratios of his career as his quality of play has faded for a couple of extended stretches. The Ducks have a favorable matchup ahead when they host the Canucks on Sunday for the last home game in Anaheim in the regular season.

Wolf stopped 38 of 40 shots in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Avalanche. The third goal was an empty-netter.

The Flames' current road trip started in Colorado, and Wolf was blitzed for four goals on 16 shots in just over half a period in that contest. He put forth a better showing despite another loss in this contest, which was his third straight defeat. He's allowed 12 goals on 90 shots in that span. Wolf is down to 22-28-3 with a 3.07 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 55 appearances. The Flames have four games left this season, including a back-to-back with a road game in Seattle on Saturday followed by Sunday's home contest versus the Mammoth. Look for Wolf and Devin Cooley to split the next two starts.

Greaves made 19 saves in a 5-0 loss to the Sabres on Thursday. He allowed four goals.

Greaves is doing everything he can behind a Blue Jackets squad that has lost seven of their past eight games. The Blue Jackets are two points behind the third-place Flyers, who also lost Thursday. Greaves does his part -- he has a 2.61 GAA and .908 save percentage in 52 games played, and there's no reason to expect that to change the rest of the way.

Blackwood stopped 28 of 29 shots in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Flames.

Blackwood ended a three-game winless stretch. He nearly had a shutout but was denied that feat when Tyson Gross scored his first NHL goal at 17:08 of the third period. Blackwood still improved to 22-10-1 with a 2.54 GAA and a .901 save percentage over 36 appearances this season. His effort helped the Avalanche secure the Presidents' Trophy, guaranteeing them home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. With the league's top spot secured, expect Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood to evenly split the Avalanche's last four games of the regular season.

Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in a 2-1 loss to Montreal on Thursday.

It was a playoff-style game, and it could be a preview of a Round One match-up come the postseason. Vasilevskiy is no longer in sole possession of the win title for NHL goalies -- Karel Vejmelka of Utah sits in a tie with Vasy with 37 wins. He may get a rest before season's end so he's ready for the playoffs, but the win title probably isn't his biggest worry. Vasilevskiy's overall stats sit no worse than third overall in any big category.

Dobes made 17 saves in a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Dobes was super sharp Thursday in a game that both coaches characterized as a playoff-style contest. He has won his last seven games, and he has allowed just 12 goals in that span. Dobes has the Habs in second spot in the Atlantic, two points ahead of the Bolts, and they're two points behind the Sabres.

Sorokin made 13 saves Thursday in a 5-3 win over Toronto.

The win -- his first under new coach Pete DeBoer -- snapped a four-game losing streak. Sorokin is one win from his third 30-win season. He is 29-22-2 with seven shutouts, 2.66 GAA and .908 save percentage. Sorokin is tied with Jet Greaves for 12th overall in save percentage and with Scott Wedgewood and John Gibson in wins. He will need to be near perfect going forward as the Isles attempt a playoff miracle -- with the win, the Isles moved within one point of the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. There are three games remaining for each team.

Gibson left Thursday's game versus the Flyers due to neck stiffness after a collision in his crease, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Head coach Todd McLellan added that Gibson is not in concussion protocol, which is a big positive. Gibson is expected to be fine but will be monitored in the coming days to see how he recovers. It's unclear if he'll be able to play Saturday versus the Devils, but if he's healthy, expect him to be in uniform since the Red Wings are still battling for a playoff spot.

Lankinen (upper body) is not suiting up Thursday versus the Kings, per the NHL media site.

Lankinen will be out for a third straight game -- one due to an illness and the last two due to injury. Nikita Tolopilo continues to fill the starting role while Jiri Patera serves as backup. It's unclear if the Canucks will push Lankinen to get back on the ice over the final week of the season.