NHL Player News

Saros stopped 19 of 21 shots in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Canucks. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Saros took his second loss in a row, but the blame can be placed on a lack of support from his teammates this time. The 29-year-old has gone 3-4-0 with 22 goals allowed over eight games in January, which is poor work for one of the busiest goalies in the NHL. He's now at an 11-20-6 record with a 2.86 GAA and a .900 save percentage over 38 starts this season. He'll likely split the next two games with Justus Annunen -- the Predators visit the Sabres on Friday and the Penguins on Saturday.

Demko stopped 31 of 32 shots in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Predators.

This was a close game for a majority of the contest -- the Canucks didn't have a multi-goal lead until Pius Suter's empty-netter with 19 seconds left in the third period. Demko still played well and came away with his second win in four starts. The 29-year-old netminder is now 4-5-3 with a 3.27 GAA and an .877 save percentage. Demko is at risk of losing playing time if he can't get his season on track, so performances like this one will need to become more frequent. The Canucks' three-game road trip ends Friday in Dallas.

Fedotov will protect the road goal versus the Islanders on Thursday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Fedotov was called on in relief Wednesday, making nine saves on 10 shots after Samuel Ersson was chased from the game. That won't change the Flyers' plans for the back-to-back. The Islanders have averaged 2.71 goals per game this season, tied for 26th in the league, so Fedotov may be a good streaming option for fantasy managers Thursday.

Stezka will be promoted from AHL Coachella Valley prior to Thursday's game versus the Sharks, Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle reports.

Stezka will likely spend at least a week and a half with the big club prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off. The 28-year-old will serve as backup to Joey Daccord, but the Kraken don't have any back-to-backs prior to the NHL's break for the tournament. Philipp Grubauer was waived Wednesday and will likely end up with the AHL Firebirds, though it's unclear if that move will be permanent for the rest of 2024-25 or if it's an effort to get Grubauer back to playing at an acceptable level.

Woll will guard the home goal in Wednesday's game versus the Wild, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Woll has gone 6-3-0 with a 3.01 GAA and an .898 save percentage over nine outings in January. He lost his last game, stopping 21 of 23 shots versus the Senators on Saturday. Woll will catch a break, as Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) is back out of the Wild's lineup while awaiting surgery.

Allen will guard the home goal versus the Flyers on Wednesday, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Allen lost to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Monday, allowing three goals on 25 shots. He'll get a quick chance at redemption in this rematch. Allen is handling the starting job for the Devils in the absence of Jacob Markstrom (knee).

Ersson will guard the cage on the road against New Jersey on Wednesday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Ersson has been rolling of late, posting a 6-1-0 record in his last seven outings to go with a 2.13 GAA and .918 save percentage. In his previous matchup with the Devils, the 25-year-old backstop stopped 12 of 13 shots (.923 save percentage) to secure the victory. With a back-to-back on the schedule, look for Ivan Fedotov to get the nod for Thursday's home clash with the Isles.

Kuemper is expected to start on the road against Florida on Wednesday, per Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.

Kuemper has a 14-5-6 record, 2.17 GAA and .918 save percentage in 26 appearances in 2024-25. Although he's been good this campaign, he's going through a bit of a rough patch in which he's posted a 1-2-1 record, 2.78 GAA and .890 save percentage across his past four outings. However, the one win in that stretch was against the Panthers -- he turned aside 27 of 28 shots to secure that victory.

Askarov is set to start in Thursday's road clash against Seattle, per Max Miller of NHL.com on Wednesday.

Askarov stopped 29 of 30 shots (.967 save percentage) en route to a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Monday. He's 4-5-2 with a 2.87 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 12 appearances in 2024-25. Seattle is tied for 17th in goals per game with 2.92.

Saros was the first goalie off during Wednesday's morning skate, Nick Kieser of 102.5 ESPN Nashville reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Canucks.

Saros has been inconsistent recently, as he began the month with a shutout win over Vancouver but has gone 3-3-0 with a 3.17 GAA and .882 save percentage over seven total appearances in January. He's made two starts against the Canucks this year -- including his Jan. 3 shutout victory -- and he's gone 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .944 save percentage.