NHL Player News
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Connor Ingram G | EDM
Oilers' Connor Ingram: Takes loss versus Lightning
Ingram allowed four goals on 26 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Lightning. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
The Lightning's top players continued their march through the Pacific Division, and Ingram was no match to stop them. He has the distinction of giving up the first shorthanded goal of Nikita Kucherov's career. Ingram has allowed four goals in each of his last two games, both losses, and he's down to 11-8-2 with a 2.83 GAA and an .890 save percentage over 24 appearances. The Oilers' next game is in Utah on Tuesday.
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Andrei Vasilevskiy G | TB
Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Defeats Oilers
Vasilevskiy stopped 25 of 27 shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Oilers.
Vasilevskiy gave up a goal to Connor McDavid late in the first period, but the Lightning bounced back with a three-goal middle frame. Vasilevskiy had no trouble making that lead stand, winning his third straight game and fourth in his last five outings. He's up to 33-12-3 with a 2.29 GAA and a .913 save percentage over 48 appearances this season. Jonas Johansson will likely get the nod for Sunday's game in Calgary, but expect Vasilevskiy to be between the pipes Tuesday at home versus the Wild.
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John Gibson G | DET
Red Wings' John Gibson: Takes loss versus Bruins
Gibson allowed three goals on 26 shots in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Bruins. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.
Gibson had won his last two starts. He's now 1-4-0 with 13 goals allowed over his last five games versus Atlantic Division rivals. The 32-year-old dropped to 26-16-3 on the year with a 2.54 GAA and a .907 save percentage across 47 appearances. The Red Wings' next game is Tuesday versus the Senators, and Gibson can be expected to get the nod again for that one, as head coach Todd McLellan has been relying on the netminder significantly since the Olympic break.
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Jeremy Swayman G | BOS
Bruins' Jeremy Swayman: Excellent showing in win
Swayman allowed two goals on 43 shots in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Red Wings.
Swayman faced some heavy traffic, but he got the job done with a big performance for his sixth win over eight outings in March. He's limited opponents to two goals or less in each of those victories. Swayman is up to 28-14-4 with a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 47 appearances this season, putting him well on the way to his first 30-win campaign. The Bruins' next game is at home Tuesday versus the Maple Leafs, followed by a road game in Buffalo on Wednesday. It's the first of two back-to-back sets over the next week for Boston.
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David Rittich G | NYI
Islanders' David Rittich: Yields one goal in relief outing
Rittich allowed a goal on four shots in relief of Ilya Sorokin in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.
Rittich played 8:11 during the third period, taking over after Sorokin gave up six goals. Rittich was responsible for the third goal of Cole Caufield's hat trick, but the 33-year-old netminder will avoid any damage on his record. For the season, Rittich is 14-9-3 with a 2.69 GAA and an .898 save percentage over 27 appearances. The Islanders host the Blue Jackets on Sunday, and it's not yet clear if head coach Patrick Roy will go back to Sorokin or give Rittich a chance in that contest.
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Ilya Sorokin G | NYI
Islanders' Ilya Sorokin: Fades before pull in third period
Sorokin allowed six goals on 32 shots in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.
Sorokin was pulled midway through the third period after giving up three of the goals in that frame. This was his fourth loss in his last seven outings, and he's given up at least three goals in five of those games. For the season, Sorokin is down to 25-17-2 with a 2.59 GAA and a .911 save percentage over 45 appearances. The Islanders are back home against the Blue Jackets on Sunday, so Sorokin may have been pulled to let him get a few minutes of rest in preparation for another start.
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Jacob Fowler G | MON
Canadiens' Jacob Fowler: Gets plenty of help in win
Fowler stopped 19 of 22 shots in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Islanders.
Fowler wasn't at his best, but he got more than enough help thanks to a strong game from the Canadiens' top line. He has won two of three outings since returning to the Canadiens after a two-month stint in the AHL. Fowler is up to 6-5-2 with a 2.72 GAA and an .899 save percentage over 13 starts this season. Montreal's crease work has been split between Fowler and Jakub Dobes for the last two weeks after Sam Montembeault took a tough shootout loss March 6 versus the Ducks.
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Elvis Merzlikins G | CLB
Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins: Cruises to win Saturday
Merzlikins stopped 15 of 17 shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Kraken.
Merzlikins was beaten late in the first period by Vince Dunn and midway through the second by Kaapo Kakko, but he cruised the rest of the way and didn't have a lot of work overall. The 31-year-old Merzlikins made his first appearance since March 12 and has won two of his last three starts. He remains the No. 2 option behind Jet Greaves, but Merzlikins has allowed only two in each of his last three appearances and could offer solid value down the stretch.
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Joey Daccord G | SEA
Kraken's Joey Daccord: Beaten four times in loss
Daccord stopped 23 of 27 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Daccord has been struggling lately and has dropped five of his last six outings. He has gone 3-6-0 since the Olympic break, but he has surrendered four or more goals just three times in those contests. On the season, the 29-year-old owns a 2.90 GAA and a .901 save percentage across 42 appearances. He's done a solid job and seems to have reclaimed the No. 1 goaltender role for the Krakne.
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Anthony Stolarz G | TOR
Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz: Released from hospital
Stolarz (throat) received his release from the hospital, and he will travel back to Toronto with his teammates, according to Zoe Pierce of NHL.com on Saturday.
Head coach Craig Berube did not have an update on Stolarz's condition. Stolarz was slated to start Saturday's game in Ottawa, but took a puck to the throat during the pregame warmups. He went to the hospital for precautionary imaging. If Stolarz is unavailable for Tuesday's road game against Boston, the Maple Leafs will probably recall Dennis Hildeby or Artur Akhtyamov from the AHL Toronto.