NHL Player News

Montembeault will defend the road crease against the Red Wings on Thursday, Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette reports.

After ending December with wins in five of his final six starts of the month, Montembeault has been inconsistent to begin the calendar year, going 3-2-1 with a 3.34 GAA and .886 save percentage over six appearances. He's been in more of a timeshare than usual lately since Jakub Dobes has begun his NHL career with five consecutive victories, but Montembeault will tend the twine for the third time in the Canadiens' last four games Thursday.

Georgiev stopped 34 of 40 shots in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Predators. The seventh goal was an empty-netter in the final period.

Georgiev was making his fourth start across San Jose's last five games, and he was tagged with the loss for the third outing in a row. Even though the 34 saves represented his second-highest output of the campaign, the fact that he allowed six goals erases every single high statistical output he might have accomplished. Over his last four starts, Georgiev has gone 1-3-0 with a 4.04 GAA and a .879 save percentage.

Annunen earned the win in relief Tuesday against the Sharks after allowing one goal on 16 shots.

Annunen entered the crease after Juuse Saros allowed four goals in the first period, and he was excellent the rest of the way to earn the win in relief in this goal fest. Annunen has been excellent over his last few games and has won four of his last six appearances, going 4-1-0 with a 2.62 GAA and a .910 save percentage in that span.

Saros was pulled from Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Sharks after allowing four goals on eight shots.

Saros struggled badly between the pipes and was lifted after allowing four goals in the first period. Justus Annunen earned the win in relief after faring much better, though one bad outing shouldn't affect Saros' role as the Predators' primary goaltender. That said, his numbers in the last few games have been trending in the wrong direction. Over his last five outings, Saros has gone 2-2-0 with a 3.42 GAA and a subpar .860 save percentage.

Merzlikins will be between the pipes on the road versus Toronto on Wednesday, Dave McCarthy of NHL.com reports.

Merzlikins will look to bounce back from Monday's clash with the Islanders in which he gave up three goals on 25 shots. The 30-year-old netminder needs just four more victories to reach the 20-win threshold for just the second time in his career and could even push for 30 for the first time. With Merzlikins going Wednesday, Daniil Tarasov should take the second leg of the back-to-back versus Carolina on Thursday.

Swayman is expected to start on the road against the Devils on Wednesday, per Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.

Swayman has a 15-15-4 record, 2.94 GAA and .897 save percentage in 34 appearances in 2024-25. He's allowed at least three goals in five of his past six outings, though that's in part because he's been facing a ton of shots -- he's stopped 207 of 227 (.912 save percentage) in that span. New Jersey is tied for 14th in goals per game with 3.02.

Markstrom will get the starting nod at home versus the Bruins on Wednesday, Mike Morreale of NHL.com reports.

Markstrom has lost three straight games during which he posted a 2.29 GAA to go with a 0-1-2 record. Despite the recent slump, the 34-year-old backstop has already reached the 20-win mark for the eighth consecutive season and should be capable of pushing for 30 for just the second time in his career.

Vanecek (face) could return to practice before the end of the week after head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters Tuesday, "Definitely progressing, taking shots. We probably envision him getting into practice here, possibly by the end of the week," Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Vanecek's timeline likely means his first chance to get back into the crease would be next Thursday's clash with Seattle -- though the team hasn't provided a more concrete return-to-play plan. Even once given the all-clear, Vanecek could struggle to reclaim the starting job since Yaroslav Askarov has been performing well.

Hildeby is slated to start at home against Columbus on Wednesday, per Mark Masters of TSN.

Hildeby hasn't played between the pipes since Jan. 11. He has a 3-2-0 record, 3.18 GAA and .884 save percentage in five appearances in 2024-25. Hildeby's up with the Maple Leafs because Anthony Stolarz (knee) is unavailable. The Blue Jackets are tied for seventh in goals per game with 3.26.

Lyon stopped 24 of 26 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers.

Lyon was only a few seconds away from forcing a shootout, but a late goal from Rasmus Ristolainen forced him to settle with an OT defeat. Lyon has gone winless in his past four appearances, a span in which he's gone 0-1-1 with a 2.19 GAA and a .910 save percentage while saving 61 of the 67 shots he's faced.