NHL Player News

Merilainen will patrol the home crease versus Minnesota on Saturday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Merilainen was outstanding Sunday, stopping 34 of 35 shots in a 3-1 win over Utah. The victory gave Merilainen a 7-3-1 record to go with a 2.19 GAA and a .921 save percentage. The Wild are averaging 2.94 goals per game, 16th in the NHL.

Vasilevskiy will defend the home crease versus the Islanders on Saturday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Vasilevskiy shut out the Kings in his last start, turning aside 28 shots. He is 21-15-2 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.28 GAA and a .918 save percentage. The Islanders are generating 2.72 goals per game, 25th in the NHL this season.

Daws was recalled from AHL Utica on Saturday.

Daws will likely back up Jake Allen in Buffalo on Sunday as Jacob Markstrom (knee) is out another 3-5 weeks. Daws started the season with the Devils in Europe as their third goaltender during the NHL Global Series but has spent most of the season with Utica, where he was 5-14-1 with a 3.40 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 21 AHL contests.

Tomkins was recalled from AHL Syracuse on Saturday.

Tomkins is back with the Lightning because Jonas Johansson (lower body) remains day-to-day. Andrei Vasilevskiy will get the start against the Islanders on Saturday, with Tomkins likely suiting up as the backup. Tomkins has yet to play a game in the NHL this campaign. He went 3-2-1 with a 3.33 GAA and an .892 save percentage across six regular-season appearances with Tampa Bay last season.

Oettinger stopped 26 of 29 shots in Friday's 5-3 win over the Canucks.

Oettinger is one of the most consistent netminders in the NHL, and he's been an absolute workhorse for the Stars, sitting for only four of the team's 15 games this month. Over that 11-game stretch between the pipes, Oettinger has posted a 9-2-0 record with a 2.16 GAA and a .916 save percentage. He's also on a three-game winning spree, delivering a 2.99 GAA and an .885 save percentage.

Demko stopped 11 of 14 shots in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Stars. Dallas' final two goals were empty-netters.

Demko had a woeful performance Friday and could've allowed more goals had the Stars been more accurate in front of the net. Demko remains the primary option between the pipes for the Canucks, but there's no question he's been struggling of late. He has dropped three of his last four starts while posting a 1-3-0 record, a 3.29 GAA and an .877 save percentage in that stretch.

Luukkonen stopped 28 of 31 shots in Friday's 4-3 win over the Predators.

The 25-year-old goaltender has been an absolute workhorse for the Sabres in January, appearing in 10 of the team's 13 contests and posting solid results. Luukkonen has gone 6-3-1 with a 3.00 GAA and an .897 save percentage during that stretch and has won three of his last four outings. The Espoo native has a 17-15-4 record across 37 games in 2024-25 with a 2.97 GAA and an .898 save percentage.

Annunen stopped 23 of 27 shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Sabres.

Annunen had come out on top in each of his previous four starts. However, the 24-year-old netminder posted a save percentage below the .860 mark for the first time since Nov. 25. Annunen finished the month of January with a 4-1-0 record across five starts while posting a 3.02 GAA and an .894 save percentage.

Vejmelka allowed three goals on 23 shots in Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets.

Vejmelka ends January with a 3-4-2 record over nine outings. The 28-year-old couldn't make a 2-0 lead stand, allowing goals to Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson in the third period before Zach Werenski completed the Blue Jackets' comeback in overtime. Vejmelka is down to 11-14-4 with a 2.48 GAA and a .911 save percentage through 31 outings. He's been splitting time evenly with Connor Ingram over the last couple of weeks, so don't be surprised if it's Ingram in goal Sunday versus the Blues.

Tarasov stopped 31 of 33 shots in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over Utah.

Tarasov gave up goals early in the second and third periods, but the Blue Jackets were able to put together a comeback. The 25-year-old netminder won two of his four outings while allowing a total of 10 goals in January. He's been firmly in a backup role behind Elvis Merzlikins, and Tarasov will have to display consistently good play over a longer span to earn a larger share of the starts in goal. The 25-year-old is now 5-7-2 with a 3.69 GAA and an .876 save percentage through 14 outings this season. The Blue Jackets' road trip continues Sunday in Dallas.