NHL Player News

Vejmelka allowed three goals on 31 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Predators.

Vejmelka took just his second loss in his last six outings. The 28-year-old squandered a two-goal lead before giving up the lone shootout tally to Filip Forsberg. For the season, Vejmelka is 25-21-8 with a 2.51 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 56 appearances. Vejmelka has started 22 consecutive games, and it's unclear if head coach Andre Tourigny has any plans to give the netminder rest after Utah was eliminated from playoff contention while idle Wednesday. Utah's last three games are on the road, beginning with Saturday's matchup against the Stars.

Saros stopped 39 of 42 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over Utah.

Saros snapped a three-game losing streak, during which he gave up 12 goals, with this strong performance. The Predators erased a two-goal deficit, and while they couldn't hold a lead for long in the third period, Saros was sharp late and also stopped all three shootout attempts. He's up to 19-30-6 with a 2.96 GAA and an .895 save percentage over 56 outings. This will go down as Saros' worst full year in the NHL, though the 29-year-old could still get a couple more games to try to finish on a high note. The Predators visit the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Shesterkin made 44 saves in a 9-2 win over the Islanders on Thursday.

The Rangers provided plenty of offensive support, scoring four goals in the first period and another four tallies in the third. However, Shesterkin was still excellent between the pipes, posting a standout performance. He hasn't delivered a Shesterkin-like season -- he's 26-28-5 with a 2.87 GAA and .905 save percentage. The Rangers are a long shot to make the postseason, as the team needs to win all three remaining contests, and the Canadiens can't pick up a point. Shesterkin will be up to the challenge.

Blackwood stopped 26 of 29 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Canucks. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Blackwood put in a decent effort, but the Avalanche's offense was drastically less effective without Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed). The 28-year-old Blackwood has allowed 12 goals while going 1-3-0 over his last four games. He's now 28-20-6 on the year with a 2.50 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The Avalanche wrap up their regular season with a road back-to-back this weekend, so expect Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood to split the next two games, which are Saturday in Los Angeles and Sunday in Anaheim.

Bobrovsky made 27 saves in a 4-1 win over Detroit on Thursday.

Alex DeBrincat was the only Wing to beat him; it came early in the first period. Bobrovsky has won two straight games, and he allowed only one goal in each contest. Bob's 2.39 GAA puts him fifth in the NHL this season and his .908 save percentage is 15th in the league. Bobrovsky is peaking for the postseason, but daily managers need to watch his deployment carefully. The Panthers have three games left, and they will likely give him some rest heading into the postseason.

Lankinen stopped 31 of 32 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Avalanche.

Lankinen didn't have to deal with Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed), which ended up making the Avalanche a much easier opponent. This was Lankinen's second win in his last seven outings, and the first time in five games he's allowed fewer than three goals. He's now at a 25-15-9 record with a 2.63 GAA and a .901 save percentage over 49 appearances. The Canucks are out of playoff contention, so Lankinen could see an uptick in playing time if the team decides not to risk Thatcher Demko's health over the last three games.

Talbot made 27 saves Thursday in a 4-1 loss to Florida.

Since the start of April, Talbot has gone 2-2-1 with 12 goals allowed in five starts. But prior to that, he rang up six consecutive losses (21 goals allowed). Talbot had seen his starts decline after Petr Mrazek (head) was injured seven games ago. Mrazek returned Thursday as the backup, so Talbot could be relegated to the end of the pine again. Monitor carefully, especially in daily formats deep in the fantasy playoffs.

Samsonov (upper body) won't return to action Thursday versus the Kraken.

Samsonov will be out for a seventh straight game, and there's yet to be an indication he'll be ready before the playoffs. The Golden Knights have three games left on the schedule after Thursday. Adin Hill is starting Thursday and could split the starts with Akira Schmid if Samsonov remains out until the postseason.

Grubauer (illness) is available for Thursday's road game against Vegas, per the NHL media site.

Joey Daccord will get the start, but Grubauer is the only other goaltender on Seattle's roster, so it seems he will serve as the understudy. Grubauer has a 7-17-1 record, 3.52 GAA and .875 save percentage in 25 appearances this season.

Daccord will start on the road versus the Golden Knights on Thursday, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.

Daccord will make his fifth straight start. He's 3-1-0 with nine goals allowed over the last four games, though he gave up seven goals versus Utah in his last start. The Golden Knights figure to put up quite a challenge as they try to strengthen their lead in the Pacific Division, though they've scored just 13 goals over their last six games and will be without Jack Eichel (upper body).