NHL Player News

Merzlikins made 16 saves in a 5-1 loss to Carolina on Thursday.

It was Merzlikins' second consecutive loss, and he's now 3-3-2 in nine appearances since the Olympic break. He has allowed five goals twice in that span and four goals in another game. The 31-year-old has occasionally entered a timeshare with Jet Greaves in the crease this year, but Merzlikins has been the clear No. 2 netminder in recent weeks and has been difficult to rely on for fantasy purposes.

Stolarz stopped 21 of 24 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Sharks. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Stolarz's three-game winning streak came to an end after the Maple Leafs' offense came up quiet in this contest. He was able to keep Macklin Celebrini and the top line quiet, but the Sharks got contributions from all of their other forward trios. Stolarz dropped to 10-10-3 with a 3.29 GAA and an .892 save percentage over 25 appearances this season. The Maple Leafs could opt to alternate Stolarz and Joseph Woll after being officially eliminated from playoff contention with Thursday's loss. The team's next game is Saturday in Los Angeles.

Goodrow logged an assist and four hits in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Goodrow was limited to one assist over his previous 16 games after his Feb. 28 goal versus the Oilers. The 33-year-old forward remains a regular on the Sharks' fourth line, providing grit and defensive skill with little scoring upside. He's at five goals, seven assists, 63 shots on net, 125 hits, 54 blocked shots, 71 PIM and a minus-14 rating over 74 appearances.

Gaudette scored an empty-net goal on three shots, blocked three shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Gaudette has three goals over the last six games. The 29-year-old forward is up to 17 goals, 25 points, 91 shots on net, 49 hits, 32 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating over 61 appearances this season. Gaudette has primarily featured in a bottom-six role in his first year with the Sharks, but he has a knack for scoring goals, giving him some value in deep fantasy formats.

Nikishin scored a shorthanded goal and added three hits Thursday in a 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.

Nikishin's shorthanded goal was the first by a rookie defenseman in franchise history, including the Hartford Whalers era. He sits 13th in rookie scoring overall this season (11 goals, 19 assists). Nikishin has returned the top power-play role to Shayne Gostisbehere, but it's clear he has the ability to play maestro with the man advantage. Nikishin's future as a true top option could arrive very soon.

Graf scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Graf had gone eight games without a goal prior to Thursday. He snapped a seven-game point drought with a helper Wednesday versus the Ducks before netting his 20th goal of the campaign in Thursday's win. This was also Graf's fourth game-winner of the season. The versatile 23-year-old has 42 points, 108 shots on net, 75 hits, 47 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over 73 appearances. With the Sharks nearly at full health at forward, expect Graf to see most of his time on the third line for the rest of the campaign.

Ostapchuk scored a goal, dished an assist, added four hits, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Ostapchuk snapped his 16-game point drought with a goal just 3:27 into the contest. He also helped out on Adam Gaudette's empty-netter. Ostapchuk's performance Thursday was the first multi-point game of his career. The 22-year-old is up to four goals, three assists, 39 shots on net, 121 hits, 26 blocked shots, 41 PIM and a minus-8 rating through 51 appearances in a fourth-line role this season.

Eklund scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Eklund ended a 10-game goal drought with his second-period tally. He had three assists and a minus-11 rating during the scoring slump. The 23-year-old winger is up to 13 goals, 45 points, 163 shots on net, 63 hits, 50 blocked shots and a minus-33 rating over 70 appearances. He's taken a step back compared to his 58-point campaign in 2024-25, but Eklund has been trusted due to his two-way play in a top-six role.

Hall delivered two assists and a blocked shot in a 5-1 win over Columbus on Thursday.

Hall now has four assists in his last four games and 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his last 16 outings. His 42 points (75 games) equal his output between Chicago and Carolina last season (77 games). Hall's fantasy value is limited to deeper leagues given his sluggish production, but the 34-year-old is just 16 games away from reaching the 1,000-game milestone.

Nedeljkovic stopped 18 of 19 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Nedeljkovic has won his last two outings, part of a larger four-game winning streak that has the Sharks making their presence felt in the playoff race. He limited the damage Thursday to a John Tavares power-play goal in the second period. Nedeljkovic is up to 15-13-4 with a 2.91 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 36 appearances this season. Yaroslav Askarov is likely to get most of the starts down the stretch, but the Sharks still have two back-to-back sets on the schedule, so Nedeljkovic won't be completely out of the mix. The team has a critical matchup ahead when the Predators visit San Jose on Saturday.