NHL Player News

Ersson will defend the road crease against the Rangers on Thursday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Ersson has picked up wins in each of his last five starts, posting a 1.58 GAA and .930 save percentage during that time. He'll start in a fourth consecutive game Thursday. On the season, Ersson has gone 14-7-2 with a 2.70 GAA and .892 save percentage over 25 appearances.

Shesterkin will patrol the home crease versus Philadelphia on Thursday, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.

Shesterkin has been red-hot of late as he has gone 164:03 without allowing a goal. Shesterkin is coming off back-to-back shutouts and is 16-15-2 with a 2.78 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The Flyers are scoring 3.02 goals per game, 15th in the NHL this season.

Hildeby stopped 14 of 18 shots in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to Columbus. The Blue Jackets' fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Hildeby made his first start since Jan. 11 and didn't have a strong performance, posting a .778 save percentage. He's dropped his last two outings while making 29 saves on 36 shots faced (.806 save percentage), losing to the Canucks and Blue Jackets. The 23-year-old doesn't have much fantasy upside due to his backup role, and he'll likely head to the minors once Anthony Stolarz (knee) is back from injury, which might happen at some point in late January or February.

Gustavsson will defend the home crease versus Utah on Thursday, per Wild insider Kevin Falness.

Gustavsson has struggled of late, going 0-3-0 while allowing 19 goals on 118 shots (.839 save percentage) over his last four starts. Gustavsson's season stats still look solid following his stellar start to the year, as he is 18-9-3 with a 2.58 GAA and a .914 save percentage over 31 appearances this season. Utah is averaging 2.87 goals per game this season, which ranks 21st in the NHL.

Merzlikins stopped 28 of 29 shots in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Merzlikins kicked off the calendar year with a loss to the Red Wings on Jan. 2, but he's been excellent since then with five wins over his last six appearances. Over that six-game stretch, the 30-year-old netminder has posted a 5-1-0 record with a 2.32 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Korpisalo appeared in relief and stopped five of six shots in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to New Jersey.

Korpisalo entered the game to begin the third period after Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 29 shots faced before being pulled. Korpisalo has made two consecutive appearances, as he also started in the 6-3 win over the Sharks on Monday. Still, he should remain in a backup role, thus limiting his fantasy upside considerably for the foreseeable future.

Swayman allowed four goals on 29 shots faced before being pulled from Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Devils.

Swayman departed the contest at the end of the second period and was replaced by Joonas Korpisalo, who made five saves on six shots. Swayman has found himself on the losing end in four of his last six starts, a span in which he's gone 2-3-1 with a 3.45 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

Knight gave up two goals on 28 shots in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Kings.

Knight took his first regulation loss since Dec. 28 -- he had won his last three starts and made one scoreless relief appearance in January. The 23-year-old netminder played well but didn't get enough help with the Panthers in the second half of a back-to-back while playing against a defensively stout opponent. Knight is now 9-7-1 with a 2.43 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 19 appearances. He has played well enough to continue to push Sergei Bobrovsky for playing time. The Panthers have another back-to-back set up next -- they visit the Sharks on Saturday before wrapping up their road trip in Vegas on Sunday.

Kuemper stopped 27 of 28 shots in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Panthers.

Kuemper allowed one goal or fewer for the sixth time in his last seven games. The goalie is somewhat unfortunate to be 5-2-0 in that span, but there's no question that he's been among the most reliable at his position since the start of December. For the season, he's now 14-4-5 with a 2.06 GAA and a .924 save percentage over 24 starts this season. The Kings kick off a five-game road trip in Columbus on Saturday.

Blackwood stopped 22 of 25 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets.

The Jets' first two goals came on a tip and a deflection before Neal Pionk sealed their win with a slap shot in overtime. Blackwood has lost four of his last five outings, giving up a total of 14 goals in that span, in which he's 1-3-1. For the season, the 28-year-old is 15-13-5 with a 2.57 GAA and a .916 save percentage over 34 appearances. This is his first real stretch of struggles with the Avalanche, though his four recent defeats have all come against teams currently in a playoff spot. The Avalanche have a back-to-back up next -- they visit the Bruins on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.