NHL Player News

Skinner turned aside 32 shots in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Panthers.

The two teams traded goals through the first two periods, but Skinner allowed two goals in less than three minutes midway through the third to decide things. The 26-year-old netminder has flopped badly since play resumed following the 4 Nations Face-Off, losing all three of his starts and coughing up 13 goals on 103 shots. Skinner remains stuck on 20 wins, and the slump has sent his save percentage on the season tumbling down to .898.

Shesterkin will be between the home pipes versus Toronto on Friday, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.

Shesterkin has won his last two starts, allowing only four goals on 77 shots (.948 save percentage) in road victories over the Islanders and Penguins. It has been a tough campaign for the 29-year-old, who is 20-20-2 with three shutouts, a 2.93 GAA and a .906 save percentage, his worst season in his six years with the Rangers. Shesterkin will face the Maple Leafs, who have won three straight games on the road. Toronto is generating 3.19 goals per game, which ranks 12th in the NHL this season.

Montembeault stopped 23 shots in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over the Sharks.

The Habs came out a little flat, and poor defending led to two San Jose goals in the first period, but Montembeault kept his focus and got rewarded by Cole Caufield in OT. Montembeault has won three straight starts, giving up five goals on 73 shots during that hot streak, and on the season, the 28-year-old netminder has gone 21-21-3 with a 2.90 GAA and .899 save percentage.

Georgiev made 29 saves in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens.

The Sharks took a 3-2 lead into the third period, but Georgiev got beaten by Alex Newhook early in the final frame before Cole Caufield made a spectacular rush in OT to end the night. Georgiev hasn't won a game since Jan. 14, going 0-6-1 over his last eight outings with a 4.34 GAA and .870 save percentage. If San Jose was planning to flip the 29-year-old netminder at the trade deadline to clear a spot for Yaroslav Askarov (lower body), Georgiev isn't doing much to improve his value.

Soderblom stopped 16 of 18 shots in relief of Petr Mrazek in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Golden Knights.

The Blackhawks' comeback effort fell short, but it they got it close enough to stick Soderblom with the loss despite his passable performance. He's lost six straight appearances (0-4-2), allowing a total of 20 goals in that span. The 25-year-old netminder is down to 7-15-5 with a 3.02 GAA and an .906 save percentage through 28 appearances. There are no safe fantasy options in goal behind a defense this leaky, but fantasy managers in a pinch should consider Soderblom's performance the lesser of two evils compared to Mrazek's rough play of late. The Blackhawks wrap up their road trip in Anaheim on Saturday.

Mrazek allowed five goals on 15 shots in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Golden Knights.

Mrazek was able to avoid the loss, as the Blackhawks put up enough of a fight to cover his damage. The 33-year-old still had an ugly outing, which lasted just one period before Arvid Soderblom took over in goal for the final two frames. Mrazek has allowed five goals in three of his last four games, going 1-3-0 in that span. For the season, he remains at 10-19-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .890 save percentage. If his performance continues to slip, it may open the door for Soderblom to challenge for the No. 1 job.

Samsonov stopped 17 of 22 shots in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Blackhawks.

The Golden Knights led 5-1 after the first period, so it's not a great sign that Samsonov allowed it to get close. He still came away with his second win in five outings, but he has given up 17 goals in that span. For the season, the 28-year-old netminder has a 14-8-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and an .887 save percentage over 24 contests. Adin Hill will likely be back between the pipes for Sunday's game versus the Devils. If Samsonov can't get his play back on track soon, he may lose out on playing time -- he's been in a near 50-50 split since the start of January.

Talbot made 25 saves in a 5-2 loss to Columbus on Thursday.

Talbot allowed four goals, all of which came in under 15 minutes in the second period. He has been solid this season in Detroit, registering a 17-12-3 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.89 GAA. Talbot started the calendar year with a 10-1-0 run, but he's 1-2-1 with 13 goals allowed over his last four games. Consider this a blip. He's the reason the Wings are in a wild-card spot, and he'll likely be the reason they stay there.

Silovs allowed four goals on 24 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Ducks. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

The Canucks spotted Silovs a 2-0 lead after the first period, but he had given it away as the Ducks led 3-2 at the second intermission. The 23-year-old netminder has allowed five goals on 56 shots over his last two outings, both losses and both in the second half of back-to-back sets. He's 1-6-1 with a 3.85 GAA and an .858 save percentage over nine NHL outings this season. That's simply not good enough for even a backup, but the Canucks have few other options available while Thatcher Demko (lower body) is on the shelf. The team doesn't have any back-to-backs over the next week, so it's unlikely Silovs sees much playing time in the near term.

Tarasov made 29 saves in Thursday's 5-2 win over Detroit.

Tarasov remains entrenched as the Blue Jackets' backup netminder, but he had a stellar performance Thursday and got a lot of support from an impressive two-way game from his teammates. Tarasov turned away all 12 shots he faced in the third period to lock the door. He's impressed this season -- he has allowed two goals or less four times since the start of the calendar year. Elvis Merzlikins remains the top dog in Columbus, but Tarasov is starting to evolve into a potential star-level NHL netminder.