NHL Player News

Annunen stopped 25 of 26 shots in Thursday's 5-1 victory over Edmonton.

It was another strong effort from Annunen, who held the Oilers to a lone power-play marker in the first period en route to a win in the regular-season finale. The 24-year-old netminder went 4-2-0 in his final seven games, posting a .926 save percentage. He'll finish the year 8-4-1 with an impressive .928 save percentage and 2.25 GAA. While Alexandar Georgiev figures to be Colorado's primary starter in the playoffs, Annunen has proven to be a more than capable backup option.

Demko set aside 22 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Jets.

This was the final tune-up for Demko before the Canucks face the Predators in the 2024 Western Conference quarterfinals. A knee injury cost Demko a month's worth of games before he returned Tuesday, when he led the Canucks to a 4-1 win over the Flames, but he's held up fine physically since rejoining the team. Demko finished the regular season with a 35-14-2 record, 2.45 GAA and .918 save percentage, which marked career-best totals, plus he had five shutouts in his breakout campaign.

Soderblom allowed five goals on 35 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Kings.

The Blackhawks made an improbable third-period rally for a 4-3 lead, but Soderblom couldn't make it stick. He then gave up a goal to Adrian Kempe six seconds into overtime. Soderblom ends 2023-24 with a 5-22-2 record, a 3.92 GAA and an .880 save percentage through 32 outings. The Blackhawks will need to make significant improvements to the roster for Soderblom to be viable in most fantasy formats in 2024-25.

Talbot stopped nine of 13 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Blackhawks.

Talbot got the win, but it wasn't pretty. The Kings melted down early in the third period, only to salvage it with a Viktor Arvidsson equalizer with 1:21 left in regulation and Adrian Kempe's game-winner six seconds into overtime. The win set up the third consecutive year of a Kings-Oilers first-round matchup in the playoffs. Talbot ends the regular season 27-20-6 with a 2.50 GAA and a .913 save percentage. He'll likely be the starter in the playoffs as he'll try to help the Kings finally get past one of his former teams.

Hill gave up three goals on 22 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Ducks. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Hill was unable to secure the win, and the Golden Knights dropped to the second wild-card spot as a result, which means a date with Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. The 27-year-old allowed 11 goals on 71 shots over three appearances following a lower-body injury to close out the season. Based on his performance in those contests, Hill could open the playoffs as Logan Thompson's understudy. Hill went 19-12-2 with a 2.71 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 34 appearances this season, but he was 9-10-0 over 20 contests from January through April.

Dostal stopped 32 of 33 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Golden Knights.

Dostal had a tough matchup for the season finale, but he was able to put in a strong performance for his third win over six outings in April. The 23-year-old ends the season at 14-23-3 with a 3.33 GAA and a .902 save percentage over 44 appearances. Dostal is set to fill a similar role for the Ducks next season, though that could change if the team can find a taker for John Gibson's $6.4 million cap hit.

Romanov made 14 saves in relief of Devin Cooley in a 5-1 loss to Calgary on Thursday. Cooley was credited with the defeat.

Romanov's come on in relief of Cooley in each of San Jose's last two games, allowing just one goal on 31 shots in his first two NHL appearances. It's an encouraging, albeit unconventional start to the 24-year-old netminder's NHL career. Romanov has gone 9-9-8 with a .904 save percentage with AHL San Jose since coming over from the KHL prior to the season.

Cooley allowed five goals on 23 shots before being pulled in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Flames. He was credited with the defeat.

Cooley surrendered two goals in the opening period and another three in the first seven minutes of the second before the 26-year-old netminder was replaced by Georgi Romanov for a second straight game. It was a tough finish to the year for Cooley, who allowed 13 goals on 45 shots in his final two outings. He'll finish the campaign with a 2-3-1 record, an .870 save percentage and a 4.98 GAA.

Wolf was reassigned to AHL Calgary on Thursday.

Wolf stopped 16 of 17 shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Sharks to even his record at 7-7-1 through 17 appearances. The 23-year-old will now help AHL Calgary's push through the Calder Cup playoffs.

Talbot will protect the home goal versus the Blackhawks on Thursday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Talbot has gone 3-3-0 with 16 goals allowed over six contests in April. The 36-year-old is likely getting the start Thursday since the Kings need a win to have a chance at the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division. Talbot figures to be the Kings' starter in the postseason as well, and he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday to potentially grab positive momentum.