NHL Player News

Kochetkov made 13 saves in Thursday's 8-2 rout of the Bruins.

The ice was tilted all night, and Kochetkov faced exactly five shots in each period while Carolina's offense went wild. The 25-year-old netminder should see a heavy workload while Frederik Andersen (lower body) is sidelined, but Kochetkov's value in fantasy formats that reward bulk saves could be muted even in a starting role due to the Hurricanes' suffocating defense -- he's 4-1-0 to begin the season with a 2.61 GAA in five appearances, but he has just an .891 save percentage and has faced fewer than 20 shots in two of those outings.

Merzlikins will tend the twine in Friday's home game against the Jets, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Merzlikins is riding a two-game winning streak during which he has given up just one goal on 58 shots (.983 save percentage). While that streak does include a win over the Oilers, Friday's matchup will likely be the 30-year-old backstop's toughest test of the season, as he squares off with a Winnipeg team that is scoring a league-high 4.60 goals per game. With a back-to-back on the schedule, look for Daniil Tarasov to guard the cage on the road versus Washington on Saturday.

Korpisalo turned aside 13 of 15 shots after replacing Jeremy Swayman midway through the second period of Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

The Boston defense didn't give much support to either netminder, but Korpisalo took less damage to his ratios. The 30-year-old has played for four teams in the last three seasons, and it's not hard to see why Korpisalo has become a journeyman -- in four appearances for the Bruins so far in 2024-25, he's stumbled to a 3.48 GAA and .871 save percentage.

Swayman gave up six goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Joonas Korpisalo midway through the second period of Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Four of the six tallies against Swayman came when Boston was down a man, either shorthanded or on a delayed penalty call, and the switch in the crease had little to do with his own performance. Even so, the 25-year-old goalie has dropped four of his last five decisions, and he sports a 3-4-1 record through eight starts with a shaky 3.58 GAA and .884 save percentage. However, Swayman's spot at the top of the depth chart seems secure, both due to his hefty new contract and the fact that Korpisalo is putting very little pressure on him for the No. 1 job.

Ersson stopped 20 shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Blues.

Neither goalie was particularly busy in a tight-checking affair, but Ersson was just a little bit sharper than Jordan Binnington. The Flyers' No. 1 netminder has won three straight starts to boost his record to 4-2-1 in eight appearances, and while Ersson's 2.73 GAA and .897 save percentage aren't elite, they're significantly better than Ivan Fedotov's 5.35 GAA and .821 save percentage.

Binnington made 19 saves in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Flyers.

Bobby Brink tapped home the game-winner with just over three minutes left in the third period on a nifty feed through traffic from Joel Farabee, and Binnington didn't have much chance on Garnet Hathaway's first-period tally either. The veteran netminder saw his record drop to 2-5-0, and through eight appearances this season, Binnington has posted a 2.98 GAA and .896 save percentage as the Blues' No. 1 between the pipes.

Oettinger will get the starting nod against the Panthers in Finland on Friday, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Oettinger has put together a strong start to the 2024-25 campaign, posting a 5-1-0 record, 1.84 GAA and one shutout. With the extra time off in order to travel for Friday and Saturday's Global Series versus the Panthers, head coach Pete DeBoer hasn't ruled out the possibility of playing Oettinger in both legs of the back-to-back, though he did say it would depend on Friday's contest.

Mrazek stopped 26 of 29 shots in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Sharks.

Mrazek wasn't able to build off his win in Colorado on Monday. The 32-year-old was on the hook for two goals by rookie Will Smith and one tally from Alexander Wennberg. Mrazek has allowed at least three goals in four of his last five outings after doing so just once in his first four starts this season. He's now 3-6-0 with a 3.05 GAA and an .896 save percentage across nine games. He'll likely start once more on this road trip -- the Blackhawks have a weekend back-to-back with stops in Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday.

Blackwood stopped 28 of 30 shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Blackwood picked up his second win in a row, getting help from Will Smith's first two NHL goals and another Alexander Wennberg tally. The Sharks have won three games in a row after losing their first nine contests. Blackwood has a 2-3-2 record with a 3.59 GAA and an .895 save percentage over seven appearances, and he has a slight edge over Vitek Vanecek for playing time. The Sharks' next game is Saturday at home versus the Canucks.

Saros allowed five goals on 29 shots in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Oilers.

While Connor McDavid (ankle) didn't play, Leon Draisaitl did his usual work against the Predators, potting two goals and adding an assist. Saros was already in trouble after giving up two goals in the first period. The 29-year-old netminder has been more unlucky than bad this season -- this was the second time in eight starts he's allowed more than three goals. He's now 2-5-1 with a 3.04 GAA and an .896 save percentage. The Predators' next game is a home matchup Saturday versus the injury-riddled Avalanche.