NHL Player News

Hofer was the first goalie off the ice at Friday's morning skate, Colleen Flynn of Colorado Hockey Now reports, indicating that he'll start on the road against Colorado.

Hofer has seen limited playing time in recent weeks, but he'll start Friday after entering Monday's game against Vancouver midway through the second period. Over five appearances this month, the 24-year-old has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.74 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Vanecek (face), who is on a conditioning stint with AHL San Jose, has been removed from injured reserve, per the NHL media site Friday.

Vanecek likely will make his return to the ice against AHL Henderson on Friday and could even pull a double, as the Barracuda also play the Silver Knights again Saturday. Once the 29-year-old backstop gets his legs back under him, he should be in contention for starts with the Sharks -- though he'll need to edge out Yaroslav Askarov to reclaim the starting job.

Demko will patrol the visiting crease in Dallas on Friday, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports.

Demko had a big game in his last start, turning aside 31 shots in Nashville on Wednesday in a 3-1 victory. Demko is 4-5-3 with a 3.27 GAA and a .877 save percentage over 13 appearances this season. The Stars are generating 3.14 goals per game this season.

Saros is dealing with an illness and is questionable for Friday's road clash with Buffalo, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

With the Predators heading into a back-to-back, it seems likely that Justus Annunen, who was in the starter's crease at Friday's morning skate, will guard the cage versus the Sabres in order to allow Saros to recover in time to face the Penguins on the road Saturday. If Saros isn't healthy enough to at least serve as the backup Friday, Nashville could bring up Matt Murray or Magnus Chrona from the minors.

Blackwood is expected to start at home against the Blues on Friday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.

Blackwood will tend the twine in a third consecutive game Friday, but he hasn't been particularly sharp in recent matchups. The 28-year-old has gone 1-3-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .874 save percentage over his last five starts but will have a favorable matchup against the Blues, who are generating 2.75 goals per game this season, which is the eighth-worst mark in the NHL.

Bobrovsky will defend the home cage versus Chicago on Saturday, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Bobrovsky has been sharing the net the last nine games with Spencer Knight and it has really helped Bobrovsky's performance of late. He is 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .951 save percentage since Jan. 21. raising his record to 21-11-2 with a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage. The Blackhawks are scoring 2.61 goals per game, 31st in the NHL this season.

Skinner stopped 32 of 34 shots in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Red Wings.

Skinner posted another solid performance, as he was coming off a 39-save effort in the 3-2 win over the Sabres on Jan. 25, but the overall record isn't encouraging. Over his last five games, Skinner has gone 2-2-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .908 save percentage, including the 3-2 loss to the Capitals in which he posted a .786 save percentage.

Oettinger will serve as the starting netminder for Friday's home game against the Canucks, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports.

Although Casey DeSmith was in the starter's crease during Friday's morning skate, Oettinger will draw a second consecutive start for the Stars. He's picked up wins in three of his last four outings, going 3-1-0 with a 2.27 GAA and .912 save percentage during that time.

Lyon stopped 45 of 47 shots in Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over the Oilers.

Lyon had one of his best performances of the season, with the shutout win over the Islanders on Oct. 22 being the only start in which he posted a better save percentage. Plus, the 45 saves were a season-high mark by a wide margin. This win also snapped a negative stretch for Lyon, as this was his first win since Jan. 4 against the Jets.

Kochetkov made 18 saves in Thursday's 3-2 win over Chicago.

Both Chicago goals came on near-breakaways as Ilya Mikheyev got behind the Carolina defense in the first period before Connor Bedard converted his clean look in the third, but Kochetkov got just enough support from his offense to make up for those lapses. Frederik Andersen's return from knee surgery has bumped Kochetkov back into a timeshare, but he's thriving with the reduced workload, going 3-0-1 over his last four starts with a 1.99 GAA and .921 save percentage.