NHL Player News

Mrazek allowed five goals on 15 shots in Thursday's 7-5 loss to the Golden Knights.

Mrazek was able to avoid the loss, as the Blackhawks put up enough of a fight to cover his damage. The 33-year-old still had an ugly outing, which lasted just one period before Arvid Soderblom took over in goal for the final two frames. Mrazek has allowed five goals in three of his last four games, going 1-3-0 in that span. For the season, he remains at 10-19-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .890 save percentage. If his performance continues to slip, it may open the door for Soderblom to challenge for the No. 1 job.

Samsonov stopped 17 of 22 shots in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Blackhawks.

The Golden Knights led 5-1 after the first period, so it's not a great sign that Samsonov allowed it to get close. He still came away with his second win in five outings, but he has given up 17 goals in that span. For the season, the 28-year-old netminder has a 14-8-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and an .887 save percentage over 24 contests. Adin Hill will likely be back between the pipes for Sunday's game versus the Devils. If Samsonov can't get his play back on track soon, he may lose out on playing time -- he's been in a near 50-50 split since the start of January.

Talbot made 25 saves in a 5-2 loss to Columbus on Thursday.

Talbot allowed four goals, all of which came in under 15 minutes in the second period. He has been solid this season in Detroit, registering a 17-12-3 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.89 GAA. Talbot started the calendar year with a 10-1-0 run, but he's 1-2-1 with 13 goals allowed over his last four games. Consider this a blip. He's the reason the Wings are in a wild-card spot, and he'll likely be the reason they stay there.

Silovs allowed four goals on 24 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Ducks. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

The Canucks spotted Silovs a 2-0 lead after the first period, but he had given it away as the Ducks led 3-2 at the second intermission. The 23-year-old netminder has allowed five goals on 56 shots over his last two outings, both losses and both in the second half of back-to-back sets. He's 1-6-1 with a 3.85 GAA and an .858 save percentage over nine NHL outings this season. That's simply not good enough for even a backup, but the Canucks have few other options available while Thatcher Demko (lower body) is on the shelf. The team doesn't have any back-to-backs over the next week, so it's unlikely Silovs sees much playing time in the near term.

Tarasov made 29 saves in Thursday's 5-2 win over Detroit.

Tarasov remains entrenched as the Blue Jackets' backup netminder, but he had a stellar performance Thursday and got a lot of support from an impressive two-way game from his teammates. Tarasov turned away all 12 shots he faced in the third period to lock the door. He's impressed this season -- he has allowed two goals or less four times since the start of the calendar year. Elvis Merzlikins remains the top dog in Columbus, but Tarasov is starting to evolve into a potential star-level NHL netminder.

Dostal stopped 22 of 24 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Canucks.

Both of the Canucks' goals were scored in the first period, but the Ducks bounced back with five goals of their own over the final 40 minutes. Dostal had lost his previous two outings, allowing eight goals on 73 shots in those games, but he had a five-game winning streak prior to that and should have some confidence back after this comeback win. He's now 17-14-5 with a 2.90 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 36 appearances. The Ducks' next game is a favorable matchup against the Blackhawks on Saturday, and Dostal will likely get that start if John Gibson (upper body) remains out.

Wolf made 19 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Lightning on Thursday.

He made a couple of great breakaway saves, including some 2-on-1 situations. Wolf is a star in the making, even at a hair under six feet tall. He's 20-12-3 with a .2.60 GAA and .913 save percentage in 35 starts. Wolf and the Flames have struggled over the last month, and Wolf is 4-4-1 with 28 goals allowed in his last nine starts.

Fleury stopped 25 of 31 shots in Thursday's 6-1 loss to Utah.

The Wild were also nearly doubled up in shots (31-16), so this was an all-around bad performance for the visitors. Fleury's six goals allowed matched his season high. There's some room for concern, as Fleury has given up at least five goals in three of his last seven outings, though he has gone 3-4-0 in that span. For the season, the 40-year-old netminder is 12-7-1 with a 2.76 GAA and a .904 save percentage over 21 outings. Filip Gustavsson is likely to get the nod for Friday's game in Colorado to wrap up the Wild's quick two-game road trip.

Vasilevskiy made 27 saves in a 3-0 win over Calgary on Thursday.

It was his fourth shutout of the season, as well as the 38th of his career. Vasilevskiy is on a seven-game win streak, and he's put up a 1.71 GAA and .944 save percentage in that span. In his last 10 games, he has a.949 save percentage. And since Dec. 5, Vasilevskiy leads the NHL with a .930 save percentage, and he's third with a 16.65 GSAx (goals-saved above expected). He may have started the season slowly, but he is clearly in elite form.

Vejmelka stopped 15 of 16 shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Wild.

The Utah offense was in good form Thursday. The power play cashed in twice early, and Clayton Keller led the charge with a five-point game to give Vejmelka more than enough support. This was Vejmelka's fourth straight win, and he's allowed just five goals on 86 shots in that span. For the season, the Czech netminder is up to 16-15-4 with a 2.44 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 37 contests. His strong play coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break is giving Vejmelka a strong case to be Utah's No. 1 goalie as the team pursues a playoff spot. Utah hosts New Jersey on Saturday.