NHL Player News

Luukkonen made 26 saves in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Maple Leafs.

UPL surrendered a hat trick to Kirill Marchenko by the 16:51 mark of the second, and the Sabres were down 4-2. But he tightened the proverbial hatches and gave his team a chance to fight back in the third. Luukkonen and Colten Ellis are the dynamic duo in Buffalo with Alex Lyon (upper body) on the sidelines, but neither man has been good. UPL's 3.46 GAA and .850 save percentage don't simply look bad, they are bad. He's the fifth worst NHL goalie in goals saved above expected (GSAx), the measurement of individual skill and impact on the game. Luukkonen has a minus-4.6 already.

Hofer stopped 33 of 38 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Wild.

This was Hofer's worst start of the year, and it came against arguably the toughest offense he's faced yet. The 26-year-old gave up two goals in the first period and three more in the second, a deficit that was too much for the Blues to come back from. Hofer is now 2-2-1 with a 2.43 GAA and a .906 save percentage over five starts this season. He's still the Blues' top option between the pipes, but expect some mixed results as he backstops a middle-of-the-road team. The Blues wrap up this road trip in Nashville on Saturday, which should be a more favorable matchup.

Wallstedt stopped 21 of 25 shots in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Blues.

Wallstedt was able to hang on for the win despite giving up two goals over the final four minutes. While it was far from a sharp performance, Wallstedt improved to 5-1-1 through seven starts this season. He's maintained a 2.13 GAA and a .920 save percentage so far despite the heavy workload. The 23-year-old is quickly working up to elite status among fantasy netminders. The Wild are back in action Sunday versus the Blue Jackets before embarking on a road trip.

Bobrovsky made 29 saves in a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo on Thursday.

Bobrovsky has still won just once in blue and white (1-2-2), and he has allowed 17 goals. Not great, per se, but his underlying metrics speak to his strong start. Bobrovsky is 12th in the NHL in goals saved above expected (GSAx) with 3.4. He's facing a lot of quality shots as the team in front of him gets its game together. His counting stats will go up for fantasy managers once the team settles a bit more.

Skinner allowed four goals on 28 shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Blackhawks.

Skinner's three-game winning streak was snapped, but he's still undefeated in regulation time this year. He's 3-0-2 with a 2.76 GAA and a .906 save percentage over five starts. Skinner has taken full control of the No. 1 job in goal for the Jets and is making himself a decent option in fantasy. If he gets the nod Saturday versus the Hurricanes, he'll be in for a tough home matchup.

Knight stopped 31 of 34 shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Jets.

Knight stood tall when he needed to despite giving up a goal in each period during regulation. The 25-year-old netminder has won three of his last four outings, accounting for all of the Blackhawks' victories this year. He's also allowed at least three goals in five of six appearances, posting a 3.52 GAA and an .890 save percentage. Knight's fantasy value is linked more to his workload than his numbers. The Blackhawks' next game is at home versus the Stars on Saturday, which will be a challenging matchup.

Jarry will get the nod on the road versus the Mammoth on Saturday, Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton reports.

Devon Levi was in goal for the Oilers' 4-2 loss to the Mammoth on Thursday. Jarry will get a chance in the rematch, but he has started to lose ground in the battle for playing time. Over two appearances this season, Jarry has allowed seven goals on 43 shots.

Daws made 18 saves in Thursday's 7-1 win over the Rangers.

It was his first win of the season. Daws is part of the Devils' three-headed netminding monster, along with Jake Allen and Remi Poirier. Daws has potential -- he's big and calm, and is good at swallowing rebounds. But his post-to-post speed is a challenge in the high-speed NHL environment. Daws is currently 1-2-0 with a 3.38 GAA and .857 save percentage in three starts.

Martin relieved starter Dylan Garand early in the second period of Thursday's 7-1 loss to New Jersey and made 15 saves in relief. He allowed three goals.

Neither Martin nor Garand got support from their teammates Thursday -- the Rangers finally got their only goal at almost the mid-point of the third. And their play was limp overall. Garand has just seven NHL starts, and Martin is a career backup who has just 63 starts in part-time duty dating all the way back to 2016-17. He's 25-33-8 with a 3.60 GAA and .881 save percentage over his career. It's hard to recommend him right now, especially behind a team with suspect team defense.

Garand allowed four goals on 13 shots Thursday before being pulled in the second period of a 7-1 loss to the Devils.

The wheels came off for Garand early in the middle frame. The Devils scored just 18 seconds in, and then they scored twice in 31 seconds starting at the 4:08 mark. The Rangers had zero response to the Devils until nearly the mid-point of the third. Garand is just 24 years old and has seven career NHL starts. His AHL numbers have been average at best, and this season was supposed to be a slow NHL baptism so the Rangers could see if he could become a solid NHL backup. Now Garand is drinking -- no drowning -- from the proverbial firehose behind a team with a suspect team defense. This is a tough situation. He's a match-ups guy, at best.