NHL Player News

Saros will tend the twine for Finland against the United States on Thursday, Mark Masters of TSN reports.

Saros limps his way into the 4 Nations Face-Off, having gone 0-5-0 with a 4.43 GAA in his last six appearances for the Predators. The 29-year-old netminder should get the nod against Sweden on Saturday as well, though both Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Kevin Lankinen could be options as well.

Gustavsson is expected to start against Team Canada on Wednesday, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Gustavsson won his final two starts with the Wild before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, stopping 69 of 73 shots (.945 save percentage) in that span. He's 22-11-3 with a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 37 appearances in 2024-25. He's got his work cut out for him against Canada's high-powered offense, but if he performs well then perhaps he'll be deployed again Saturday versus Finland. Sweden is also carrying goaltenders Samuel Ersson and Linus Ullmark.

Binnington will be between the pipes for Team Canada's matchup with Sweden on Wednesday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.

Binnington will start the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off ahead of Adin Hill or Sam Montembeault for Canada. The 31-year-old BInnington enters the tournament having gone 2-0-1 with a 2.88 GAA in his last three NHL appearances with the Blues. How Binnington performs Wednesday could determine who gets the start versus Team USA on Saturday.

Halverson was returned to AHL Syracuse on Monday, per Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Halverson has been the backup goalie behind Andrei Vasilevskiy in the last four games. If Jonas Johansson (lower body) remains unavailable after the 4 Nations Face-Off, Halverson could rejoin the Lightning. The 28-year-old Halverson has a 12-7-7 record with a 2.20 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 26 AHL appearances this season.

Montembeault stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief of Jakub Dobes in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Lightning.

Montembeault was called on early in the second period when the Canadiens fell behind 3-1. Because the Canadiens were able to match the three goals Dobes gave up, Montembeault ended up holding the loss after giving up the decisive tally to Zemgus Girgensons in the second period -- the Lightning also added an empty-netter in the third. Montembeault dropped to 18-21-3 with a 3.00 GAA and an .897 save percentage over a career-high 42 appearances. He's on Team Canada's roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, but it's unclear which of Montembeault, Jordan Binnington or Adin Hill will handle the bulk of the workload during the tournament.

Dobes gave up three goals on eight shots in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Lightning.

Dobes was pulled for Sam Montembeault after giving up a goal to Brayden Point early in the second period. The Canadiens managed to cover the damage against Dobes, sparing him the loss despite his poor performance. He's still winless in his last four outings with 15 goals allowed in that span after opening his career with five straight wins. Dobes is at 5-2-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 save percentage through nine appearances. While his hot start earned him some attention, he should be treated like any other backup goalie on a mediocre team for fantasy purposes.

Vasilevskiy stopped 32 of 35 shots in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Canadiens.

Vasilevskiy wasn't at his best, but he came away with his fifth win in six outings. He's allowed 13 goals in that span, which includes one shutout win. The 30-year-old netminder is up to 25-15-3 with a 2.32 GAA and a .918 save percentage over 43 starts this season. He's had no fewer than 30 wins in any of the last seven campaigns and should get to that mark again, with an outside chance at the 40-win mark. His ratios in 2024-25 are his best since 2021-22. The Lightning's next game is Feb. 23 at home versus the low-scoring Kraken.

Thompson allowed four goals on 27 shots in Sunday's 5-4 shootout loss to Utah.

Thompson still hasn't lost in regulation since Dec. 17 -- he's 12-0-3 over his last 15 games. Sunday was just the fifth time in that span he's allowed three or more goals, though he was strong when needed in the third period to help the Capitals snag a standings point. Thompson enters the 4 Nations Face-Off break at 24-2-5 with a 2.23 GAA and a .921 save percentage over 31 games. Despite his strong play, he was left off of Team Canada's roster, so the 27-year-old netminder will have two weeks to rest before a Feb. 22 game in Pittsburgh.

Vejmelka allowed two goals on 32 shots in relief of Connor Ingram (upper body) in Sunday's 5-4 shootout win over the Capitals.

Ingram was injured in the first period, forcing Vejmelka to play well over half of this contest after the latter was left out to dry in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes. Vejmelka did a decent job under heavy pressure, though he allowed a pair of goals in the third period to let the Capitals force overtime. Vejmelka is 3-2-1 with 16 goals allowed over his last six outings. For the season, he improved to 13-15-4 with a 2.57 GAA and a .909 save percentage over 34 appearances. If Ingram ends up being out for an extended stretch again, Vejmelka would be Utah's unquestioned No. 1 goalie.

Copley was assigned to AHL Ontario on Sunday.

Copley was David Rittich's backup in Saturday's 2-1 shootout loss to Anaheim. Since Copley was with the Kings on an emergency basis, his demotion probably means that Darcy Kuemper (personal) will be available to return after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.