NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate and is slated to defend the visiting crease in Ottawa on Thursday, per Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun.

Vasilevskiy has won three straight games as well as six of his last seven outings. He is 36-19-3 with six shutouts, a sparkling 2.16 GAA and a .921 save percentage. The Senators are solidly entrenched as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference and have scored 212 goals in 74 games this season.

Montembeault will operate as the starting netminder during Thursday's home game against the Bruins, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports.

Montembeault has picked up wins in his last two starts, posting a 2.01 GAA and .925 save percentage in those appearances, both of which came against Florida. His two-game winning streak ended a run in which he went 0-2-2 over a stretch of four starts in the second half of March. He should have a favorable matchup against the Bruins, as they're generating just 2.61 goals per game this year, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league.

Swayman will get the starting nod on the road against Montreal on Thursday, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

Swayman is currently mired in a six-game losing streak in which he's posted a 4.97 GAA and .840 save percentage. With the Bruins currently sitting last in the Eastern Conference, the team could decide to split the workload down the stretch to avoid putting too much on the 26-year-old backstop's plate. Despite the slump, Swayman has already reached the 20-win threshold for the fourth straight year.

Ullmark will start Thursday's home game against the Lightning, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Ullmark snapped a three-game winning streak Tuesday against the Sabres by allowing four goals on 21 shots (.810 save percentage), but he'll start in a second consecutive game Thursday. He made a road start against the Lightning on Feb. 4 and turned aside 34 of 37 shots (.919 save percentage) en route to the loss.

Merzlikins will defend the home crease versus Colorado on Thursday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Merzlikins has won three straight games despite allowing 14 goals on 98 shots (.867 save percentage). Overall, the 30-year-old netminder is 25-15 with one shutout, a 3.11 GAA and an .894 save percentage. The Avalanche are generating 3.30 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the NHL this season.

Andersen made 20 saves in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Capitals.

The one puck to get past him came via an Alex Ovechkin one-timer on the power play in the final minute of the second period. Andersen has won seven straight starts, posting a dazzling 1.43 GAA and .942 save percentage over that stretch, and he's been the better of Carolina's netminder of late -- since the beginning of March, Pyotr Kochetkov has a 2.57 GAA and .895 save percentage in his seven outings.

Lindgren turned aside 17 of 19 shots after replacing Logan Thompson (upper body) to begin the second period of Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes.

Neither Washington goalie saw much success in this one, but the loss went on Thompson's ledger. Lindgren has allowed three goals or fewer in all seven of his outings since the beginning of March, going 4-2-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .898 save percentage over that span while working in a timeshare with Thompson. Lindgren's workload would be set to increase dramatically if the other netminder's injury proves to be serious.

Shesterkin stopped 20 shots in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime win over the Wild.

The teams traded goals through the first 40-plus minutes, with Marco Rossi taking advantage of a Rangers turnover just 22 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 4-4, but Shesterkin stood tall the rest of the way and got rewarded when Artemi Panarin found Vincent Trocheck for the OT winner. Shesterkin has only two wins in his last seven starts, going 2-4-1 with a 3.35 GAA and .893 save percentage, and he may need to turn things around if the Rangers are going to make the playoffs -- they're currently tied with the Canadiens at 79 points for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but Montreal has a game in hand.

Gustavsson made 34 saves in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Rangers.

The teams traded tallies through two-plus periods, with Marco Rossi tying the game at 4-4 just 22 seconds into the third frame, and Gustavsson and Igor Shesterkin both stood tall to close out regulation. The Minnesota netminder got caught in OT, however, as Artemi Panarin's shot-pass slipped right under Gustavsson's pad to be tapped home by Vincent Trocheck. Gustavsson is 1-2-2 over his last five starts with a 3.16 GAA and .899 save percentage, a swoon which has prevented the Wild from pulling away in the race for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Daccord recorded a 24-save shutout in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Canucks.

Daccord was stout between the pipes, earning the fifth shutout of his career, two of which have come this season. He's had mixed results more recently -- he allowed at least three goals in nine of his 11 appearances in March. With the win, Daccord reached the 25-win mark for the first time in his career. He's at a 25-20-5 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .909 save percentage over 52 appearances. The Kraken's next game is on the road Saturday at San Jose, which would be a favorable matchup should Daccord get the start.