NHL Player News

Daccord gave up two goals on 26 shots in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Coyotes.

Daccord came within 1:08 of a shutout, and he was then 48 seconds short of guiding the game to a shootout. It's at least a stronger performance than he displayed Monday versus the Sabres, but it's still his fourth straight loss. Daccord is down to 17-15-11 with a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage over 44 appearances this season. The Kraken have alternated goalies during their seven-game skid, so it wouldn't be surprising for Philipp Grubauer to start Sunday versus the Canadiens.

Vejmelka stopped 27 of 28 shots in Friday's 2-1 overtime win over the Kraken.

Vejmelka has won four of his six outings in March, allowing 12 goals in that span. The 27-year-old gave up a goal to Ryker Evans in the third period, but the Coyotes pulled off some late heroics Friday. Vejmelka is up to 10-17-2 with a 3.28 GAA and a .901 save percentage through 32 appearances this season. He's expected to alternate starts with Connor Ingram down the stretch -- that lines up Ingram for Sunday's game versus the Stars while Vejmelka would be on track to start Tuesday against the Blue Jackets.

Merzlikins allowed six goals on 50 shots in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Avalanche.

The Blue Jackets struck first through Damon Severson, but Merzlikins was unable to keep the Avalanche at bay. This was the 29-year-old goalie's fourth loss in a row, and he's allowed 17 tallies in that span. He's at 12-16-8 with a 3.40 GAA and an .899 save percentage through 39 outings overall. The Blue Jackets visit the Golden Knights on Saturday, and Daniil Tarasov will likely start the second half of the back-to-back set.

Georgiev stopped 23 of 24 shots in Friday's 6-1 win over the Blue Jackets.

Georgiev extended his winning streak to five games, a span in which he has given up only nine goals on 138 shots. He gave up the first goal Friday to Damon Severson before settling in and letting the Avalanche's offense do the rest. Georgiev is up to 36-15-3 with a 2.80 GAA and a .903 save percentage through 55 appearances this season. The Avalanche host the Penguins on Sunday.

Daccord will be stationed between the pipes in Arizona on Friday, per the NHL's media site.

Daccord was quickly yanked from Monday's loss to Buffalo after allowing three goals on four shots. The 27-year-old has lost three straight games while allowing a combined seven goals on 58 shots. On the year, he's gone 17-15-10 with a 2.52 GAA and a .917 save percentage.

Kochetkov will get the starting nod in Washington on Friday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Kochetkov has won three of his last four starts, including a dominant 30-save performance during Tuesday's win over the Islanders. However, the 24-year-old has allowed four goals in two of his last five outings. His last appearance with at least four goals allowed before that came back in December. Kochetkov is 19-12-3 with a strong 2.36 GAA and .913 save percentage this season.

Blackwood is set to start at home against Chicago on Saturday, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Blackwood has a 9-19-3 record, 3.49 GAA and .897 save percentage in 36 contests this season. He returned from a groin injury Thursday and stopped 17 of 21 shots en route to a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Although Blackwood is having a difficult season, Chicago, which ranks 32nd offensively with 2.16 goals per game, is still a favorable matchup for the goaltender.

Hellebuyck is set to start on the road against the Islanders on Saturday, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports Friday.

Hellebuyck has a 32-15-3 record, 2.30 GAA and .923 save percentage in 50 appearances in 2023-24. The 30-year-old goaltender has won three of his past four starts while saving 126 of 133 shots (.947 save percentage). The Islanders rank 20th offensively with 2.97 goals per game, so this is a somewhat favorable matchup for Hellebuyck.

Vejmelka will start at home against Seattle on Friday, per Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports.

Vejmelka saved 37 of 38 shots en route to a 4-1 victory over New Jersey in his last start Saturday. He's 9-17-2 with a 3.37 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 31 contests this season. Seattle ranks 29th offensively with 2.65 goals per game, so this is a favorable matchup for Vejmelka.

Lyon will be between the pipes for Saturday's road clash with Nashville, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports.

Lyon is mired in a seven-game losing streak during which he's posted a 4.97 GAA and .857 save percentage. The slump saw Lyon benched in favor of James Reimer for the previous two games but it seems the 31-year-old Lyon will get another chance to reclaim the starting job.