NHL Player News

Thompson will be between the pipes for Tuesday's home divisional matchup against the Rangers, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports.

Thompson will draw his fourth start of the season as he continues to split time with Charlie Lindgren. Thompson is a perfect 3-0-0 to start the season, but he sports an .884 save percentage and a 3.28 GAA. The Capitals have scored at least four goals in each of Thompson's appearances, so the 27-year-old has been buoyed with offensive support. The Rangers are scoring 4.25 goals per game across eight outings.

Ingram turned aside 40 shots in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Sharks.

Utah seemed to have things well in hand with a 4-1 lead late in the game, but San Jose out-shot the home side 17-3 in the third period and finally broke through for three goals in 110 seconds inside the final five minutes of regulation. Ingram then saw the win slip away when Alexander Wennberg converted a rebound on a Sharks power play in OT. The 27-year-old netminder is 4-2-2 to begin the season, but he's given up at least four goals in five of his eight appearances, saddling him with a rough 3.88 GAA and .868 save percentage. Ingram could be in jeopardy of slipping into a timeshare with Karel Vejmelka.

Blackwood stopped 19 shots in Monday's 5-4 overtime win over Utah.

UHC jumped out to a 4-1 lead through two periods, but the Sharks dominated the third as they rallied and carried Blackwood to his first win of the season. The 27-year-old netminder has had a rough start to the campaign, stumbling to a 3.89 GAA and an .888 save percentage to match his 1-3-2 record, but Vitek Vanecek (4.00 GAA, .869 save percentage) hasn't been any better. Meanwhile, Yaroslav Askarov has a 1.25 GAA through his first four appearances for San Jose's AHL club. It's only a matter of time before one of Blackwood or Vanecek lose their spot to the franchise's goalie of the future.

Merzlikins made 31 saves in Monday's 6-1 win over the Oilers.

The 30-year-old goalie nearly came away with a shutout as well as his first win of the season, but Mattias Ekholm snuck home a power-play tally inside the final minute of the third period. It was Merzlikins' first action since Oct. 15, as Daniil Tarasov has taken over the top spot in the Columbus crease in the early going, but the duo could slip back into a timeshare if Elvis keeps performing well.

Skinner turned aside 19 shots in Monday's 6-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.

The Oilers lost Connor McDavid to a lower-body injury early in the first period, and the team never recovered. While Skinner was coming off a shutout of the Penguins on Friday, that was the only start this season in which he's given up fewer than three goals, leaving him with a shaky 3.51 GAA and .872 save percentage to go along with a 2-4-1 record.

Luukkonen stopped 26 shots in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Panthers.

Two of the goals came on Florida power plays, but the Buffalo defense was overwhelmed, giving Luukkonen little help. It's his first regulation loss over his last five starts, but on the season the 25-year-old is 3-3-1 with a 3.31 GAA and an .890 save percentage, numbers that represent a significant step back from Luukkonen's performance in 2023-24.

Bobrovsky made 26 saves in Monday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Both goals came during a two-minute stretch midway through the second period as Buffalo tied the game at 2-2, but Bobrovsky shut the door the rest of the way. The veteran netminder has a 5-2-1 record to begin the season, but a couple bumpy outings have left him with a less impressive 2.97 GAA and .892 save percentage.

Vasilevskiy made 35 saves on 37 shots in Monday's 3-2 overtime win over the Predators.

Vasilevskiy was the difference maker in the game. He really was --the Preds were all over the Lightning at times. Take out Vasy's three losses to the Senators, Maple Leafs and Wild where he allowed 12 goals, and the big netminder has allowed just seven snipes in his five other games, all wins. Vasilevskiy's ratios are currently impacted by that three-game skid, but we expect his .905 save percentage to up and his 2.53 GAA go down.

Saros made 24 saves on 27 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Lightning on Monday.

The Bolts went up 2-0 in the first period, and then Saros shut things down until Nick Paul beat him with a wrist shot in OT. He's one of the best in the game, so his 2-4-1 record is about to improve. So will Saros' .905 save percentage. Keep the faith.

Hellebuyck made 30 saves in a 6-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on Monday. He allowed five goals.

Hellebuyck wasn't bad -- the Maple Leafs' second line was dominant. John Tavares and William Nylander were reunited on the second line, and they were joined by Max Pacioretty. Together, the trio produced nine points, including a Tavares hattie. Hellebuyck will already have this behind him. He's arguably the best regular-season goalie in the NHL, and that's reflected in his 6-1-0 record, 2.14 GAA and .925 save percentage.