NHL Player News

Luukkonen stopped 27 of 28 shots in Monday's 7-1 win over the Islanders.

Luukkonen recorded his first win since Nov. 22 and was excellent in this contest. The only goal he surrendered was to Kyle Palmieri in the second period when Buffalo already had a five-goal advantage. This was also a huge bounce-back performance for Luukkonen, who, record aside, had posted a save percentage below the .720 mark in each of his last two starts while allowing 10 goals on 34 shots in that span. The Finnish netminder should remain Buffalo's top option between the pipes, but the team's overall struggles limit his upside considerably.

Johansson turned aside all 36 shots he faced in Monday's 4-0 win over the Panthers.

The 29-year-old backup goalie delivered his first shutout of the season in impressive fashion, as Tampa Bay was outshot 36-29 on the night. Johansson has been sharp of late despite a lack of consistent action -- he's won three straight starts dating back to Nov. 29, allowing just three goals on 89 shots over that stretch. With Andrei Vasilevskiy also having an excellent December though (2.17 GAA, .918 save percentage), Johansson's opportunities figure to remain limited on the other side of the holiday break.

Talbot stopped 17 of 20 shots in Monday's 4-0 loss to the Blues, with St. Louis' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The Red Wings looked like they decided to start their holiday break early, and while Talbot wasn't busy, he faced a number of high-danger chances. The veteran netminder has dealt with a lower-body injury in December that's limited him to four outings, and he hasn't been especially sharp when he's been in the crease, going 0-3-0 with a 3.26 GAA and an .891 save percentage. Detroit is off until Friday, and Talbot will try to use the time off to regain his focus.

Binnington made 19 saves in Monday's 4-0 win over the Red Wings.

He wasn't busy until the third period when Detroit fired 10 shots his way, but Binnington had little trouble coming away with his second shutout of the season. The victory snapped a five-start losing streak for the veteran netminder during which he'd gone 0-4-1 with a 3.55 GAA and an .874 save percentage, so the clean sheet sends Binnington and the Blues into the Christmas break with a little jolt of confidence.

Dostal stopped 19 of 22 shots in relief of John Gibson (upper body) in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Gibson exited late in the first period after taking a stick in the face. That drew a penalty, but Dostal allowed a shorthanded goal to Tanner Pearson to open the scoring. The Golden Knights would add another two goals in the third to send Dostal to the loss, his first in three outings. The 24-year-old netminder is now 8-9-3 with a 2.77 GAA and a .915 save percentage over 20 appearances this season. Dostal has done well to keep the Ducks competitive, but it's unclear if Gibson's injury will force him to miss additional time. Anaheim exits the holiday break by hosting the Flyers on Saturday and the Oilers on Sunday.

Hill stopped 31 of 32 shots in Monday's 3-1 win over the Ducks.

The Ducks put some pressure on Hill, but he was up to the challenge. He's now won six of his last seven outings, and this was the fifth time in that span he's allowed two or fewer goals. Hill improved to 15-5-2 with a 2.61 GAA and a .905 save percentage through 22 games this season. He's gone 5-1-2 in games where he faces 30-plus shots. The Golden Knights next play Friday in San Jose.

Askarov allowed four goals on 24 shots in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Canucks.

Askarov took his first regulation loss in four games this season. He was done in by an awful finish to the second period -- he allowed three goals in a span of 1:10, and that was too much for the Sharks to come back from. The 22-year-old goalie is 1-1-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .909 save percentage so far. He'll share the goaltending duties with Alexandar Georgiev, at least until Vitek Vanecek (upper body) is cleared to return.

Demko stopped 26 of 29 shots in Monday's 4-3 win over the Sharks.

Demko earned his second win of the season in this contest. He had a 4-1 lead to protect after two periods, and while the Sharks scored twice in the final frame, they didn't have enough time to even the score. The 29-year-old goalie improved to 2-1-2 with a 3.14 GAA and an .889 save percentage over five games. Demko will get a little time to rest before Saturday's matinee home matchup against the Kraken.

Vejmelka stopped 26 of 29 shots in Monday's 3-2 loss to the Stars.

Vejmelka had won his previous four starts, but that run was snapped by a strong opponent. The 28-year-old has given up three or more goals in just three of his eight appearances in December, so he continues to put in good efforts as Utah's top goalie. He's at an 8-8-2 record with a 2.33 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 20 outings (18 starts) this season. Utah's schedule resumes Friday at home versus the Avalanche -- a team Vejmelka has gone 1-1-0 against with six goals allowed on 50 shots over two meetings this season.

DeSmith saved 24 of 26 shots in Monday's 3-2 win over Utah.

DeSmith has allowed just three goals on 69 shots over three appearances in December. The 33-year-old's workload remains light as backup to an elite netminder in Jake Oettinger, but DeSmith has put a shaky November behind him. For the year, he's 4-4-0 with a 2.41 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 10 appearances (eight starts). The Stars don't have any back-to-backs over the next week, so DeSmith may have to wait a while for his next outing.