NHL Player News

Lankinen stopped 32 of 33 shots in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Capitals.

Lankinen made a couple of Quinn Hughes goals stand for the win in the former's return to the crease. Lankinen missed one game due to an illness and backed up Thursday versus the Oilers before making Saturday's start. Aside from a couple of ugly performances, Lankinen has been the better of the Canucks' goalies recently, as Thatcher Demko has struggled to get going following a lengthy absence to begin 2024-25. After Saturday's win, Lankinen is 17-8-6 with a 2.58 GAA and a .905 save percentage over 31 outings. The Canucks embark on a three-game road trip for most of the next week, beginning Monday in St. Louis.

Vasilevskiy made 29 saves on 30 shots in a 2-0 loss to Detroit on Saturday. The second Red Wings goal was an empty-netter.

He allowed one goal on a tip that went in off the post, so this was hardly on him. Vasilevskiy has lost his past two outings, and he's 4-5-1 in his last 10 appearances. Still, he has allowed just 22 goals in that span and sits near the top of the NHL with a .916 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA. Both are seventh-best in the NHL. Vasilevskiy has struggled in the third quarter of some other seasons, and that's hurt fantasy managers trying to push toward playoffs or a title. Keep an eye on it.

Talbot made 28 saves Saturday in a 2-0 win over Tampa Bay.

Talbot made spectacular saves to earn his 33rd NHL shutout, including a dazzling stop on Brayden Point from the slot with 1:53 to play. He also made a great pad save on Anthony Cirelli's rebound attempt, and he got lucky when Victor Hedman missed an open net before Detroit sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Talbot has now shut out 16 of the league's 33 franchises. Since the calendar flipped, Talbot has been white-hot with a 7-1-0 record and a .906 save percentage.

Kochetkov stopped 23 of 26 shots in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders.

The Hurricanes had a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but Kochetkov couldn't make it stick. He let in a goal prior to the intermission and gave up the equalizer to Anders Lee in the third period. Brock Nelson finished the Islanders' comeback in overtime, sending Kochetkov to his second defeat in five outings. The 25-year-old netminder slipped to 18-9-3 with a 2.48 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 31 starts. If the Hurricanes continue to alternate goalie starts, Frederik Andersen would face the Rangers on Tuesday while Kochetkov would get a home assignment versus the Blackhawks on Thursday.

Forsberg made 28 saves for the Senators in a 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

In his last three starts, Forsberg has allowed just three goals, one in each contest (2-1-0). And he's done it against the Devils, Bruins and Maple Leafs -- that's impressive. However, that excludes a relief appearance against the Rangers on Tuesday in which he allowed three goals on 13 shots. Forsberg has struggled to string great performances together. He went 3-1-0, including two shutouts, from Oct. 19-Nov. 2, but he also allowed eight goals in the other two contests. Perhaps Leevi Merilainen's strong play is pushing the Swede to up his game, and if that's the case, then Forsberg could end up providing sneaky fantasy value over the second half. However, it's not clear what will happen when Linus Ullmark (back) returns. Perhaps Forsberg will back Ullmark up while Merilainen will return to the minors. Alternatively, Forsberg might be a potential trade candidate to serve in a support role on a contender. Monitor closely, especially for daily formats.

Sorokin stopped the only shot he faced in relief of Marcus Hogberg (upper body) in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Hurricanes.

Sorokin has won his last three outings, though he played just 2:03 of this contest. Hogberg tried playing through the injury initially but couldn't go on past the end of the third period, leaving Sorokin to get the win when Brock Nelson scored 2:03 into overtime to complete the Islanders' comeback. Sorokin improved to 16-14-4 with a 2.75 GAA and a .904 save percentage over 34 appearances. Hogberg had started to chip away at Sorokin's playing time, but if both Hogberg and Semyon Varlamov (lower body) are out Tuesday versus the Avalanche, Sorokin will likely resume playing a significant amount of games.

Gibson (upper body) won't return to Saturday's game versus the Predators.

Gibson stopped nine of 10 shots in the first period, but didn't come out for the second. Lukas Dostal took over in goal and would likely handle No. 1 duties if Gibson misses an extended length of time. The Ducks' next game is Tuesday in Seattle.

Hogberg sustained an upper-body injury in Saturday's game versus the Hurricanes, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Head coach Patrick Roy described the injury as something that got progressively worse in the third period. The 30-year-old stopped 24 of 26 shots in the contest but won't get a result, as the Islanders won 3-2 in overtime after Ilya Sorokin took over between the pipes. If Hogberg misses additional time, the Islanders will likely be forced to make a move unless Semyon Varlamov (lower body) is cleared to play.

Woll made 21 saves in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.

The winning goal was a bit of a fluke. It ricocheted off a defender's stick, another stick and a kneecap, then went over Woll's shoulder and barely made it over the line. He has performed well in Anthony Stolarz's (knee) absence and was especially strong Saturday when most of his team was unnoticeable on the ice. Woll is now 17-8-0 with one shutout, a 2.69 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 24 starts. He will continue to carry the bulk of the starts until Stolarz returns.

Blomqvist saved 21 shots out of 25 attempts in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Kraken.

In his second start after receiving the promotion from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 15, Blomqvist kept a clean slate through the first period before conceding two goals in each of the second and third frames. The loss bumped the 23-year-old's record down to 3-7-0 on the season with a 3.59 GAA and an .899 save percentage. For the time being, he will continue to play relief to Alex Nedeljkovic, who has two wins in his last three outings. Blomqvist should remain off fantasy hockey radars for the time being.