NHL Player News

Annunen stopped 44 of 46 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Wild.

Annunen was stellar against a barrage of Minnesota shots Thursday, allowing just a pair of goals in a winning effort. It was the third straight appearance for the 24-year-old netminder -- he's gone 6-2-0 with an excellent .950 save percentage in his last eight outings. Overall, Annunen's 7-4-1 on the season with a .931 save percentage and 2.24 GAA while backing up Alexandar Georgiev. Georgiev figures to be back in net Friday in the second half of a back-to-back versus Edmonton.

Saros stopped 44 of 47 shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Blues.

Saros had allowed 12 goals over his prior three outings, but he was steady in this win. The Blues made things close in the third period before the Predators scored two empty-netters to pad the lead. Saros has won six of his last eight games and is up to 33-23-4 with a 2.82 GAA and a .908 save percentage as the only NHL goalie to play 60 games so far this season. The Predators' regulation win Thursday gave them an eight-point edge over the Blues for a playoff spot with six games to go. Saros will likely continue to see a heavy workload until that spot is clinched.

Lindgren surrendered three goals on 23 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Penguins.

The Penguins jumped out to a fast start against Lindgren, scoring twice in the first period and sticking the 30-year-old netminder with the eventual defeat. Lindgren's been struggling of late -- he's dropped his last four starts, posting an .878 save percentage in that span. He falls to 21-15-6 with a .908 save percentage and 2.81 GAA this season. Darcy Kuemper figures to get the start Friday against Carolina in the second leg of a back-to-back, which would line up Lindgren for a home matchup Sunday against the Senators.

Korpisalo allowed four goals on 17 shots and was replaced by Anton Forsberg early in the second period of Thursday's 6-0 loss to Florida. Korpisalo was credited with the defeat.

Korpisalo has betrayed fantasy managers who trusted him this week after putting up a 6-1-0 record in the previous two weeks. He has allowed seven goals on 36 shots in his last two starts. And that includes two Thursday on the first three shots of the game. Korpisalo has allowed four or more goals 19 times this season. It's the first time any Sens goalie has done that since Craig Anderson in 2018-19.

Nedeljkovic stopped 30 of 31 shots in Thursday's 4-1 victory over the Capitals.

He was excellent again Thursday, holding the Caps to a lone Alex Ovechkin power-play goal in the third period en route to Nedeljkovic's fifth win in his last six starts. The 28-year-old netminder has a .934 save percentage during this impressive six-game stretch -- he's seemingly surpassed Tristan Jarry as Pittsburgh's preferred option in net for the time being. Nedeljkovic improved to 15-6-6 on the season with a .908 save percentage and 2.78 GAA. The Penguins are back in action Saturday at home versus the Lightning.

Bobrovsky made 30 saves in a 6-0 win Thursday over Ottawa.

It's his fifth shutout of the season and the 43rd of his career. To put that in perspective, Bobrovsky had put up just four SOs in his first four seasons in Florida. He made a couple of great saves on Brady Tkachuk in the first when his team was up 2-0. And Bob was sensational with the Panthers shorthanded. Nice bounce back for Bobrovsky, who was chased from the net after two periods Monday against the Leafs.

Tarasov exited Thursday's tilt against the Islanders after sustaining an upper-body injury. He won't return to the contest.

Tarasov stopped 13 of 15 shots in 17:53 of ice time before departing the game. Jet Greaves took over between the pipes for Columbus. The Blue Jackets were already missing goaltender Elvis Merzlikins due to a lower-body injury. If Merzlikins and Tarasov are forced to miss additional time, then the Blue Jackets will likely lean on Greaves.

Johansson (lower body) is not expected to suit up for Thursday's game versus the Canadiens, per NHL.com.

Head coach Jon Cooper confirmed Matt Tomkins to start for the Lightning against the Habs, per Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida, which further suggests Johansson is not ready to return from his lower-body issue. Johansson's status for Saturday's game versus the Penguins is not clear, but he should be expected to remain out as long as Tomkins is on the Lightning's roster.

Tomkins is set to start on the road against Montreal on Thursday, per Gabby Shirley of Bally Sports Florida.

It will be Tomkins' first start at the NHL level since Nov. 7 when he saved 23 of 26 shots in a 5-3 win over the Canadiens. He's back with the Lightning because Jonas Johansson is dealing with a lower-body injury. Tomkins has a 2.53 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 29 outings with AHL Syracuse this campaign. Montreal ranks 27th offensively with 2.72 goals per contest, so this figures to be a favorable matchup for Tomkins.

Shepard was recalled from AHL Hershey on Thursday.

Shepard has a 2-1-1 record, 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage in four appearances with Washington this season. Darcy Kuemper tweaked something during Wednesday's practice, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, and while that might not lead to Kuemper missing time, Shepard was summoned for precautionary reasons.