NHL Player News

Merilainen stopped 21 of 24 shots in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.

Merilainen gave up all three goals in a span of 2:50 during the third period, turning a 2-0 lead into the 3-2 deficit that held to the end of the game. That's not a great look, but this was the first time in his last four outings that he kept a team under four goals. Merilainen is at a 2-4-1 record with a 3.33 GAA and an .898 save percentage across 10 appearances this season. The Canucks return home to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Considering Merilainen has played in a season-high three straight games, Kevin Lankinen may be due for a start soon.

Pionk scored twice on four shots in Thursday's 6-4 loss to Tampa Bay. He added four hits and one block.

The goals came in his 600th NHL game. Pionk has nine points, including three goals, 27 hits and 28 shots in 13 games this season. He has stepped into the minutes and role of the sidelined Josh Morrissey (wrist), who will be off the ice for at least another week. Roll Pionk until Morrissey returns.

Marchment scored a goal on three shots and added a power-play assist in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Canucks.

Marchment helped out on a Will Smith goal to start the comeback before ending it himself with the go-ahead tally at 10:50 of the third period. This was Marchment's first multi-point effort of the season. The 31-year-old winger is filling a versatile role for the Sharks, shifting around the lines as necessary in an attempt to spark the offense. He has four goals, two assists, 26 shots on net, 19 hits, 10 PIM, seven blocked shots and a minus-9 rating across 14 appearances this season.

Smith scored twice, including once on the power play, in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Canucks.

Smith had the Sharks' first two goals, erasing a 2-0 deficit. This was his first multi-point effort since Opening Night versus the Panthers. Smith had been bumped down to the second line recently, but a reunion with Macklin Celebrini on the top line was the catalyst for this comeback win. Smith has six goals, four assists, 38 shots on net and a minus-7 rating across 14 appearances this season.

Askarov stopped 23 of 25 shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Canucks.

It took a third-period comeback, but the Sharks were able to reward Askarov for a good performance. He's allowed just seven goals on 139 shots over his last four outings, so he's really unfortunate to be 2-2-0 in that span. Askarov has a 4-5-0 record, 3.01 GAA and .900 save percentage across nine outings on the year. He should continue to see most of the starts, though Alex Nedeljkovic has done a decent job over five appearances in the backup role. The Sharks' next game is a matinee at home versus the banged-up Senators on Saturday.

Vasilevskiy made 17 saves in a 6-4 win over the Jets on Thursday.

Vasilevskiy bent but didn't break in the third period when the Jets made a game of it, notching three unanswered goals. He was coming off his worst outing of the season last Friday against the Avs, so this game was a step in the right direction. Vasilevskiy is 3-1-0 in his last four games, but he has allowed nine snipes in his last two contests. He'll stabilize soon enough -- he's world class.

Schaefer was scratched for the fourth consecutive game when he sat out Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals.

Schaefer has played in six of 13 games for Nashville this season, but he has yet to record a point. The 23-year-old winger has collected five shots on net, nine hits, four PIM, four blocked shots and a minus-1 rating while filling a fourth-line role when he plays. The Predators have often dressed seven defensemen instead of a 12th forward, which makes it tough to predict how much playing time Schaefer will see. He's also competing with Vitali Pinchuk for opportunities to make the lineup.

Josi notched three assists, including one on the power play, and fired six shots on net in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals.

This was Josi's second three-helper performance in the last three games. The defenseman is piling up apples early in the season with 14 assists and a goal across 13 contests. He's added 35 shots on net, 20 blocked shots, 12 PIM, six hits and a plus-4 rating. The 36-year-old looks to be in vintage form as the Predators continues to thrive on the power play -- they're converting at a 31.8 percent clip, good for third in the league through Thursday's action.

Colton scored a goal on three shots and added three hits in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals.

Colton snapped a seven-game goal drought with the tally. He had one assist in that span. While there's a few extra minutes for forwards up for grabs when the Predators dress seven blueliners, Colton remains functionally in a fourth-line spot. He has four points, 18 shots, 36 hits, 10 blocked shots, four PIM and a minus-3 rating across 13 outings this season.

Carlson scored a goal Thursday in a 6-4 win against the Jets.

It was Carlson's fourth goal of the season, but just his sixth point. He has one power-play goal this season. Carlson was brought in to run the Bolts power play, but the unit is struggling at 26th in the NHL in terms of efficiency. And Carlson is on his slowest point pace since 2013-14. Yikes. He'll pick things up when the team picks things up, but the Bolts need something to inject some life into that man advantage, and fast.