NHL Player News

Montembeault stopped 28 of 31 shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders.

Montembeault was sharp Thursday, holding the Islanders to single goals in the second and third periods before ultimately surrendering the game-winner to Kyle Palmieri in overtime. Overall, the 27-year-old Montembeault is 16-15-8 with a .904 save percentage and 3.10 GAA this season. Cayden Primeau figures to get the starting nod Saturday in Ottawa, which would put Montembeault on track for his final start of the season Monday in Detroit.

Allen made 27 saves in a 6-5 win over Toronto on Thursday.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe summed things up nicely after the game in the media scrum when he said it "was a loose game, strange game." Neither Allen nor Ilya Samsonov played well, but then again, neither goalie got great support from his team. Allen is 6-5-1 with a 3.04 GAA and .906 save percentage in 11 starts with the Devils.

Varlamov stopped 12 of 14 shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Canadiens.

Varlamov and the Islanders needed overtime to earn the win despite outshooting Montreal 31-to-14,. The 35-year-old netminder ultimately came away victorious. Varlamov's won six of his last seven starts, posting a .933 save percentage in that span while taking over the starting job in New York. He improves to 13-8-4 with a .916 save percentage and 2.66 GAA this season. The Islanders are back in action Saturday in a road matchup with the Rangers.

Samsonov made 14 saves in a 6-5 loss to New Jersey on Thursday.

It wasn't Samsonov's night. The Leafs hung him out to dry early, and he never recovered. Every goalie has games like this, so fans need to take a deep breath. It's better to get it out of his system now than have a game like this happen in the playoffs. Samsonov should be fine down the stretch.

Quick allowed four goals on 27 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Philadelphia.

It's the first loss since Feb. 25 for Quick -- he'd won his previous five outings despite posting a mediocre .899 save percentage in that span. Overall, the 38-year-old Quick is 18-6-2 with a .911 save percentage and 2.62 GAA while backing up Igor Shesterkin this season.

Ersson stopped 24 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Rangers.

Ersson was sharp, holding the Rangers to a lone Artemi Panarin power-play goal in the first period en route to a 4-1 victory, marking Ersson's first win since March 23. The 24-year-old Ersson had gone 0-4-1 with an ugly .787 save percentage in his previous six appearances. Overall, he's now 22-18-7 with an .888 save percentage and 2.92 GAA this year. Ersson figures to be back in net Saturday when the Flyers host New Jersey in their penultimate game of the team's season.

Markstrom will guard the road goal versus the Kings on Thursday, Brendan Parker of Flames TV reports.

Markstrom's gone 1-4-0 with 16 goals allowed over his last five games. The Kings still need to clinch a playoff spot, so they'll likely be a tough challenge for Markstrom and the Flames in this contest.

Johansson (lower body) has yet to start skating with the team, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports Thursday.

Considering the fact Johansson has been off the ice for over a week, fantasy players should probably consider him out indefinitely at this point. With just four regular-season games remaining, Johansson may not get back into action this year, as Andrei Vasilevskiy will no doubt take all the starts in the postseason, assuming he's healthy. Without Johansson in the lineup, Matt Tomkins will serve as the No. 2 option behind Vasi.

Cooley will patrol the road crease during Thursday's matchup with the Kraken, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Cooley was fantastic in his last start Saturday against St. Louis, turning aside 34 of 36 shots en route to a 3-2 overtime win. He'll try to secure his second career NHL victory in a middling road matchup with a Seattle squad that's 17-17-6 at home this year.

Brossoit will protect the road goal versus the Stars on Thursday, Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press reports.

Brossoit wasn't great in his last start April 1 versus LA, surrendering three goals on only 28 shots, but he was still able to come away with a win thanks to strong goal support from his teammates. He'll try to secure his 14th victory of the season in a brutal road matchup with a scorching-hot Dallas team that's gone 9-1-0 through its last 10 games.