NHL Player News

Kuemper stopped 20 of 21 shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.

Kuemper has allowed one goal or less in five straight games, and he's unlucky to be 4-1-0 in that span. The Kings' offense also scored more than three goals for the first time in six games. Kuemper has been excellent lately and is now 13-3-5 with a 2.06 GAA and a .922 save percentage over 22 contests. As long as he keeps playing well, he'll have no trouble maintaining the No. 1 job over David Rittich. The Kings' five-game road trip comes to a close in Seattle on Saturday.

Blackwood stopped 23 of 27 shots in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Oilers.

Considering the Avalanche had a 3-0 lead just over halfway through the first period, this was an unimpressive performance. This was Blackwood's first bad outing for Colorado -- he had not allowed more than two goals in any of his prior 12 appearances. He's now 15-12-4 with a 2.54 GAA and a .918 save percentage across 32 games between the Avalanche and the Sharks. Colorado's next game is Saturday versus the Stars.

Bobrovsky was pulled after giving up four goals on 15 shots in a 5-2 loss to Detroit.

Despite Thursday's early departure and recent slump, Bobrovsky will likely be fine in the long run. However, this is the third consecutive game that he's given up four goals, and he's gone 1-4-1 with a 3.06 GAA and .894 save percentage over his last six appearances. It's unclear whether fatigue is playing into his struggles, but after his strong season last year, Bobrovksy's GAA has ballooned up to 2.86, and his save percentage has dropped to .896.

Talbot made 41 saves, including 23 in the third period, in a 5-2 win over the Panthers on Thursday.

The Red Wings stepped up with a lot of offensive support, and Talbot locked down the net. He's on a roll right now with five consecutive wins, mostly against teams that aren't destined for the postseason. However, this game was a statement for Talbot given how good the Panthers are. Overall, he's 11-9-2 with a 2.93 GAA and .906 save percentage. Take full advantage of this run.

Dostal made 32 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Dostal is 3-4-1 in his last eight starts and 11-12-4 in 26 starts with a 2.88 GAA and .910 save percentage this season. Dostal went toe-to-toe with Andrei Vasilevskiy all night long, including the shootout where just one goal was scored, which was a tally by Jake Guentzel. Dostal has been impressive this year, but he needs is the rest of his team to step up and score -- the Ducks have a minus-31 goal differential, which is the fourth-worst mark in the NHL. If the team can tidy that up, Dostal's numbers should take a big leap.

Skinner stopped 22 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Avalanche.

Skinner gave up three goals in the first 11:48 of the game, but he was perfect after that as the Oilers rallied for a comeback win. This was Skinner's fifth win in his last six outings and just the second time in that span he's given up at least three goals. The 26-year-old has an 18-9-3 record with a 2.69 GAA and a .902 save percentage through 30 starts this season. The Oilers have alternated goalies over their last five games, though it's possible a back-to-back forced their hand. Skinner had been starting roughly two of every three games in December, so he appears to remain ahead of Calvin Pickard for now. The Oilers visit the Canucks on Saturday.

Vasilevskiy made 34 saves in a 4-3 shootout win over Anaheim on Thursday.

Vasilevskiy is 3-3-1 in seven games in 2025, and 19-13-2 with a 2.40 GAA and .913 save percentage. Impressively, he's 23-8 in shootouts (he was perfect on Thursday). Vasilevskiy continues to backstop the Bolts to a postseason position, and the Bolts have the second-lowest goals against (122) in the Atlantic and fourth-lowest in the East.

Vejmelka allowed four goals on 24 shots in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Rangers. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Vejmelka has lost four of his last five outings, and this was the second game in a row he's given up at least four goals. This is a poor time for his performance to dip, as Connor Ingram could provide a much larger challenge for starts than Jaxson Stauber did over much of the previous two months. Vejmelka is now 10-13-3 with a 2.54 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 28 appearances. Utah's next game is at home versus the Blues on Saturday.

Markstrom made 37 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto on Thursday.

The Leafs tend to come in waves, and that's exactly what happened Thursday. Markstrom was magnificent at the time, but so were Auston Matthews and William Nylander, who each had two goals. He's been battling since the end of 2024, delivering a 2-2-3 record in his last seven starts. The Devils had a few breakdowns that cost them Thursday, and Markstrom paid the price. Still, the netminder is a great fantasy play with a sparkling 2.40 GAA, fifth-best in the NHL.

Oettinger allowed two goals on 23 shots in Thursday's 3-1 loss to Montreal.

It's the second time in the last week these two teams were involved in a goalie duel. Oettinger won the battle last Saturday but fell to Montreal's rookie netminder, Jakub Dobes, who stopped 32 of 33 shots. The loss snapped a six-start win streak for Oettinger, who sports a 2.20 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. His 22 wins are second in the NHL behind only Connor Hellebuyck. The Stars play next in Colorado on Saturday then are at home Sunday against the suddenly pesky Red Wings.