NHL Player News

Vanecek stopped 21 of 25 shots in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Senators.

Vanecek gave up four goals for the second start in a row, and he's faced just 43 shots in total during that span. That's not great play out of the backup goalie, though Karel Vejmelka has also endured some recent struggles as the Mammoth's hot start has cooled. Vanecek is now 2-3-0 with a 2.85 GAA and an .875 save percentage through five starts this season. It will likely be Vejmelka's turn in goal for Wednesday's home game against the Sabres.

Merilainen stopped 29 of 31 shots in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Mammoth.

Merilainen has now won two of his three outings at the NHL level this season. The 23-year-old has served as Linus Ullmark's backup, which hasn't led to much playing time, though Ullmark isn't exactly dominating between the pipes. Merilainen has allowed 11 goals on 85 shots, but seven of those goals against came in his season debut. He was sharp in a 12-game sample last year and can be an effective goalie in the right matchups. The Senators don't have a back-to-back ahead, so there's no telling when Merilainen's next NHL start could be.

Dostal is set to start at home against the Jets on Sunday, per Derek Lee of The Hockey News.

Dostal heads into Sunday's action on a five-game winning streak -- he's recorded a .909 save percentage and 2.57 GAA during that run of success. The 2018 third-round pick allowed five goals on 26 shots in his last start, but the Ducks provided him with plenty of offensive support in a 7-5 victory in Dallas on Thursday. The Jets have lost back-to-back contests in California following a three-game winning streak, and they're tied for 12th in the NHL with 3.29 goals per game this season.

Comrie will defend the visiting crease Sunday against the Ducks, according to Derek Lee of The Hockey News.

Comrie is a perfect 3-0-0 to start the year, posting a 2.33 GAA and .929 save percentage across three appearances. The 30-year-old will have an extremely tough task attempting to slow down a red-hot Anaheim club -- the Ducks have won six straight games, a stretch in which they have found the back of the net 29 times. The Jets have the rest advantage Sunday, as they last played Friday, while Anaheim came out with a road win versus the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Blackwood is drawing the start in Vancouver on Sunday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Blackwood surrendered three goals on 23 shots in his 2025-26 debut during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks on Nov. 1. The 28-year-old dealt with a lower-body injury to begin the season, and considering Scott Wedgewood has a 9-1-2 record, the Avalanche probably don't feel the need to thrust Blackwood into the No. 1 role at this time. It remains to be seen if Blackwood will eventually receive the bulk of the starts, but he should be a solid option for fantasy managers whenever he's in net, as Colorado currently sits atop the league's standings.

Demko (undisclosed) won't be an option for Sunday's home matchup versus the Avalanche, according to Ben Kuzma of Postmedia.

Although Demko will remain sidelined Sunday, he will potentially be available for Tuesday's home game against the Jets, per Kuzma. Kevin Lankinen is set to start again Sunday after picking up a win over Columbus on Saturday, while Jiri Patera will be the backup against Colorado. Demko last played Monday, stopping 25 of 29 shots during a 5-4 win in Nashville.

Lankinen will be between the home pipes Sunday against Colorado, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports.

Lankinen was in goal for Saturday's 4-3 win over Columbus, but he'll start again Sunday as a result of Thatcher Demko dealing with an undisclosed injury. Lankinen will look to win two straight games for the first time this year, but that will be a challenge against a Colorado squad that is rolling -- the Avs are 4-0-1 in their last five games and scored nine goals during Saturday's win in Edmonton. The 30-year-old netminder has allowed fewer than three goals in just one of his seven appearances this season, so he'll be hard to trust Sunday.

Murray will patrol the blue paint Sunday in Dallas, per the NHL media site.

Murray will draw the start in the second half of Seattle's back-to-back set after Philipp Grubauer was in net during Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over St. Louis. The 31-year-old Murray has made two appearances this season, stopping a combined 32 of 36 shots, but he has yet to find the win column. The Stars also played Saturday, picking up a 5-4 win in Nashville. Dallas has generated 3.00 goals per game in 2025-26, which ranks 18th in the NHL.

Vanecek will tend the road twine Sunday versus the Senators, according to Catherine Bogart of Utah's official site.

After starting the year 2-1-0 while allowing just two goals in each of his first three appearances, Vanecek stumbled in his last start, conceding four goals on 18 shots in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Toronto. The Mammoth and Senators both played Saturday -- Utah lost 6-2 to Montreal, while Ottawa defeated Philadelphia in overtime by a score of 3-2. Vanecek is 1-1-0 with an .878 save percentage and a 3.18 GAA over three career outings against the Sens.

DeSmith will protect the home net against Seattle on Sunday, Sam Nestler of DLLS Stars reports.

DeSmith will get the second half of Dallas' back-to-back after Jake Oettinger played in Saturday's 5-4 win over Nashville. The 34-year-old DeSmith has a 2-1-1 record this season while stopping 92 of the 105 shots he has faced. Seattle sits 26th in the league this campaign with 2.71 goals per game.