NHL Player News

Schmid made 15 saves in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks.

Vancouver got two pucks by the 26-year-old netminder on just seven shots in the first period, but Schmid closed the door the rest of the way and finally got enough offense from Brady Tkachuk late to collect his second win of the season. With Jacob Markstrom nursing an undisclosed minor injury that could sideline him into next week, Schmid will likely take his 3.26 GAA and .876 save percentage through four outings into another start Saturday, at home against the Kraken.

Merilainen made 36 saves in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers.

The 24-year-old netminder took a shutout into the third period as the Canucks threatened a road upset, but Merilainen couldn't stop the red-hot Brady Tkachuk from striking twice in the final nine minutes of regulation, including the game-tying goal with just 13 seconds left on the clock. Tkachuk then finished his hat trick with a slick move into the slot in OT to create an open look on Merilainen. The former Ottawa goalie has started three of the last four games for Vancouver, stopping 102 of 111 shots (.919 save percentage) over that stretch, and on the season he's 1-1-1 in six appearances with a 2.51 GAA and .926 save percentage. Merilainen's strong play appears to be earning him an audition in the top spot on the depth chart ahead of the struggling Kevin Lankinen.

Ullmark turned aside 20 of 21 shots in regulation and overtime and all three shootout attempts he faced in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Islanders.

Matias Maccelli caused a turnover in the Ottawa end and then roofed a shot over Ullmark's glove just before the first intermission, but otherwise the 33-year-old netminder was a brick wall once again. Ullmark is off to a dazzling 6-0-0 start to the season with a 1.20 GAA and .949 save percentage, and the Senators' only two losses came in the two games he wasn't between the pipes.

Varlamov stopped 18 of 19 shots in regulation and overtime and two of three shootout attempts in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Senators.

It was a strong performance from the veteran netminder, but Ridly Greig tapped home a slick feed from Warren Foegele late in the second period to tie the game at 1-1, and Shane Pinto beat Varlamov glove side in the shootout to keep the punchless Isles out of the win column. In two starts this season Varlamov has a 1.94 GAA and .902 save percentage but just a 0-1-1 record, as he's gotten three total goals of offensive support. After sitting out all of 2025-26 due to knee issues, the 38-year-old has resumed his duties as the No. 2 goalie behind Ilya Sorokin.

Wolf stopped 27 of 33 shots in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Golden Knights.

Wolf had no answer for the Golden Knights' top six, which accounted for five of the six goals he gave up. The 25-year-old netminder is in a tough spot this season, but it appears his talent won't be enough to bail out the team in front of him most of the time. Wolf has a 1-4-0 record with a 4.85 GAA and an .834 save percentage over five outings. The Flames' next game is a tough matchup at home versus the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Grubauer made 31 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday.

The team in front of Grubauer was tired -- they're in the middle of a long road trip. He came into the game with a .918 save percentage, a number that put him into the top-12 in the NHL. And his goals saved above expected (GSAx) is ninth-best in the NHL (4.2). Grubauer and Joey Daccord have been alternating starts. but Grubauer played both Tuesday and Thursday. We're not reading anything into it at this point, but the situation does bare monitoring.

Hart stopped 28 of 30 shots in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Flames.

It was a lopsided matchup on paper, and it went as expected on the ice. Hart had a better game going, but he gave up a late power-play goal to Matthew Coronato. He has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his wins this year. Hart is now 4-2-0 with a 2.35 GAA and a .911 save percentage across six contests this season as the Golden Knights' primarily goalie. Vegas hosts the Penguins on Saturday.

Vasilevskiy made 24 saves Thursday in a 4-3 overtime win over the Kraken.

Vasilevskiy has allowed three goals in each of his last three games (1-2-0) and 15 in six games (3-3-0). His game has been fine, but not great -- he entered the contest with an .886 save percentage, and his goals saved against expected is minus-0.4. That's 38th in a field of 65 goalies. Last season, Big Cat finished fourth overall in that category with a 24.7 rating. It feels like he's easing into this season.

Levi allowed three goals on 23 shots in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Mammoth. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Levi had won all four of his previous outings, but he couldn't get the better of the Mammoth. The 24-year-old netminder has allowed just seven goals over his last four games after giving up that many in his season debut. He's at a 4-1-0 record with a 2.83 GAA and an .897 save percentage through five outings. Levi will back up Tristan Jarry to begin Saturday's rematch versus the Mammoth in Utah. Beyond that, the Oilers look poised to go with the hot hand in goal, but Levi has carved out a slight advantage for playing time so far.

Vejmelka stopped 22 of 24 shots in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Oilers.

This was Vejmelka's third straight win. The Mammoth were able to keep Edmonton's stars mostly in check, and Vejmelka handled the rest. The 30-year-old netminder improved to 5-1-0 with a 2.39 GAA and an .898 save percentage over seven games (six starts) this season. He should continue to be a good source of wins as the Mammoth look to join the upper tier of contenders. A rematch with the Oilers in Utah is set for Saturday.