NHL Player News

Kochetkov made 14 saves in Friday's 4-2 win over the Capitals.

The 24-year-old netminder was beaten twice by Alex Ovechkin in the first period. Carolina carried the play throughout the game and outshot Washington by a 45-16 margin, giving Kochetkov a fairly easy night in the end. The timeshare with Frederik Andersen seems to be working for both goalies, and Kochetkov has gone 5-2-1 over his last eight starts with a 2.24 GAA and .913 save percentage.

Per Andrew Gross of Newsday, Varlamov was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, indicating he will patrol the home crease against Nashville on Saturday.

Coach Patrick Roy said Thursday that starting Varlamov was the plan. The 35-year-old Varlamov has won three of his last four starts, giving him a 10-8-4 record with a 2.84 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 24 appearances. The Predators sit first in the wild-card race in the Western Conference with 92 points.

Kuemper turned aside 41 of 44 shots in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes, with Carolina's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

Alex Ovechkin was the only Capitals skater who seemed aware the team was fighting for a playoff spot, and Kuemper was hung out to dry as his team got outshot 45-16 on the night. Even so, he kept things close and didn't give up the lead until Carolina potted two power-play tallies in the third period. The 33-year-old netminder hasn't won a game since Feb. 26, making only four appearances and giving up 14 goals on 107 shots (.869 save percentage). With Charlie Lindgren struggling too of late, the duo could be moving into a timeshare as coach Spencer Carbery tries to find something that works.

Luukkonen stopped 32 shots in Friday's 4-2 win over the Flyers.

Luukkonen was by far the busier netminder, as Philadelphia outshot Buffalo by a 34-19 margin. He came up big once again for a Sabres squad that refuses to fade out of the playoff picture. Luukkonen has gone 8-5-1 since the beginning of March with a 2.81 GAA and .903 save percentage but may need to heat up again to get Buffalo across the finish line -- the team is now only four points back of Philly for the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference. Washington, Detroit and Pittsburgh remain in the mix as well.

Fedotov made 15 saves in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Sabres.

Making his first start for the Flyers, the 27-year-old Russian got a rude welcome to the NHL -- Tage Thompson deked him out of his shorts to open the scoring, he was beaten high blocker side twice, and Fedotov was caught out of position on a rebound on the Sabres' final tally. Philadelphia has lost six straight games but is still clinging to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, topping a pack of five teams within four points of each other, which includes Buffalo. The Flyers could use a jolt of energy, but Fedotov's initial performances in the crease haven't suggested he'll be able to provide one.

Thompson stopped 25 of 31 shots in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Coyotes. The seventh goal was an empty-netter.

Thompson was on his way to another strong outing after two periods, but the Coyotes went ballistic in the third to hand him one of his ugliest losses of the season. The 27-year-old dropped to 23-13-5 with a 2.72 GAA and a .908 save percentage through 43 outings overall after losing for the first time since March 2. One setback is unlikely to unseat Thompson from the starting role, especially since Adin Hill (lower body) is not close to a return. The Golden Knights' next game is a challenging road contest in Vancouver on Monday.

Lyon allowed four goals on 38 shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

Both teams exchanged goals for the majority of the contest but the Rangers had the last laugh as they scored the lone goal in the final frame to pull away with the win. Lyon has been struggling for a while now -- he has only one win in his last 12 games and he's been below a .900 save percentage in eight of those outings. Fantasy managers may want to stay away from Lyon as a starting option down the stretch.

Quick stopped 31 of 34 shots in Friday's 4-3 win over the Red Wings.

The game was back and forth all night but Quick was able to kick aside the final 13 shots sent his way for the win. He finished the contest with a .912 save percentage. As the backup to Igor Shesterkin, Quick has seen limited playing time, starting only four games in the month of March and one in April with all of them being wins. With the playoffs approaching, look for the Rangers to ride the coattails of Shesterkin with Quick only seeing spot duty down the stretch.

Vejmelka allowed four goals on 24 shots in Friday's 7-4 win over the Golden Knights.

Vejmelka was down 4-1 after the second period, but he stayed in the game. The Coyotes then erupted for six goals in the third to give him his fourth win in five outings despite the poor raw numbers. Vejmelka is up to 12-18-2 with a 3.35 GAA and an .895 save percentage through 35 games this season. It's expected Connor Ingram will start Sunday in San Jose, which would put Vejmelka on track to start in a favorable road matchup in Seattle on Tuesday.

Dostal surrendered three goals on 27 shots in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Kraken.

Shane Wright bested Dostal twice, and Matty Beniers added a power-play tally for the Kraken's third goal. Dostal has allowed at least three goals in five straight games, going 1-3-1 in that span. For the season, the 23-year-old has a 12-22-2 record with a 3.43 GAA and an .899 save percentage over 40 appearances. John Gibson (undisclosed) was unavailable Friday, and if his absence continues, Dostal will likely continue to see the bulk of the starts in goal.