NHL Player News

Vladar stopped 29 of 31 shots in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Kraken.

Vladar improved to 6-1-1 against the Kraken in his career, riding the Flames' three-goal first period to the win. The Kraken made it interesting by tallying twice over the final two frames, but Vladar held firm when necessary. He ended his six-game losing skid, which dated back to Dec. 12. Vladar is now 7-10-5 with a 3.07 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 22 starts this season. He split time early in the season with Dustin Wolf, but Vladar has been firmly in the backup role since the calendar flipped to 2025. That said, neither goalie is a particularly strong option for the Flames' next two games, which are both at home, versus the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and the Avalanche on Thursday.

Lankinen stopped 15 of 18 shots in Sunday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings.

It was not a sharp performance for Lankinen, who allowed two goals to Alex DeBrincat, including the game-winner, and one to Ben Chiarot. In January, Lankinen went 4-2-2, allowing two or fewer goals in six of those contests, though he also faced fewer than 30 shots on six occasions, leading to an .898 save percentage. He's generally been decent this season with an 18-8-7 record, a 2.57 GAA and a .904 save percentage through 33 appearances. Lankinen's play has pushed Thatcher Demko, who has struggled to get up to speed since returning from a knee injury. The Canucks will want Demko to seize the No. 1 job, but until he does, Lankinen figures to continue poaching starts.

Lyon stopped 25 of 27 shots in Sunday's 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks.

Lyon won his second start on this road trip, and it again came after regulation time. He's allowed a combined four goals on 74 shots to the Oilers and Canucks in those victories, providing a strong backup option to Cam Talbot, who has been excellent himself in recent weeks. Overall, Lyon has a 10-6-1 record with a 2.58 GAA and a .908 save percentage through 21 appearances. Talbot is likely to get the start in Seattle on Tuesday to close out the trip.

Skarek stopped 27 of 32 shots in Sunday's 6-3 road loss to the Panthers.

The Islanders allowed two goals in each period, with the Panthers' final tally going into an empty net. The 25-year-old Skarek was making his NHL debut and proved no match for the reigning Stanly Cup champions. Skarek should work as Ilya Sorokin's backup until one of Semyon Varlamov (lower body) or Marcus Hogberg (upper body) gains clearance to return.

Knight made 31 saves on 34 shots in Sunday's 6-3 home win over the Islanders.

Despite a rough second period in which the Islanders scored all three of their goals, Knight kept the Panthers' net clean while facing a large volume of shots. With the victory, the 23-year-old improved to 10-8-1 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.49 GAA. This was the netminder's first win between the pipes since Jan. 18, but he has played well since the beginning of 2025 with four wins in seven appearances. He remains firmly behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida's net but can be used as a decent spot-start play in fantasy.

Ingram allowed two goals on 29 shots in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Blues.

Ingram put in a good performance but didn't get much support. The 27-year-old has now gone 2-3-1 over six contests since he returned from an upper-body injury, though he's limited opponents to two goals in four of those games. Overall, he has an 8-7-4 record with a 3.24 GAA and an .884 save percentage over 19 outings. He should continue to challenge Karel Vejmelka for playing time, a battle that has been relatively even since Ingram returned.

Binnington stopped 24 of 25 shots in Sunday's 2-1 win over Utah.

Binnington had little margin for error in the contest, and he was up to the challenge. He had been pulled from his previous start Monday versus the Canucks, so this was a good bounce-back effort. Still, Binnington hasn't earned consecutive wins since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3, and he's just 7-10-1 over 18 outings since the start of December. Overall, the 31-year-old has a 14-19-3 record, a 2.83 GAA and an .898 save percentage through 37 outings. Joel Hofer hasn't been any more consistent, so Binnington figures to continue seeing a slight edge for starts. Fantasy managers may want to stay away from him for Tuesday's game against the Oilers or Thursday's matchup against the Panthers.

Merzlikins allowed five goals on 39 shots in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Stars.

The Blue Jackets took the lead on three separate occasions, but Merzlikins didn't protect any of those advantages. Evgenii Dadonov then scored twice in the third period to seal the game in favor of the Stars. Merzlikins has had some notable struggles when flipping the calendar -- he is 1-4-0 and has allowed at least three goals in each of his first games of a month this season. He had gone 6-1-0 with just 13 goals allowed over his previous seven starts, and he can be given a pass for Sunday's clunker given the quality of the opponent. Merzlikins is 19-12-3 with a 2.96 GAA and an .895 save percentage through 34 outings this season. The Blue Jackets wrap up their four-game road trip Tuesday in Buffalo.

DeSmith stopped 27 of 30 shots in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets.

DeSmith got a rare start outside of a back-to-back set and took care of business against a high-scoring team. The game was even through two periods, but Evgenii Dadonov's two tallies in the third lifted the Stars to the win. DeSmith improved to 8-6-0 with a 2.46 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 16 appearances this season. The Stars will play their last three games before the 4 Nations Face-Off in California, including a back-to-back Friday in Los Angeles and Saturday in San Jose, so it seems likely DeSmith will get one more start before the break.

Daccord will tend the home twine Sunday against the Flames, per Sound of Hockey.

Daccord will make his 35th appearance of the campaign Sunday -- the 28-year-old owns an 18-12-2 record, .916 save percentage and 2.43 GAA. The Flames are on the second half of a back-to-back, having lost 3-1 to Detroit on Saturday. Calgary is generating 2.65 goals per game this season, the fifth-worst mark in the league.