NHL Player News

Tarasov stopped 26 of 31 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Blues.

Tarasov had won each of his previous four starts, but he took a step back in this one -- he was coming off a stretch in which he had allowed three or fewer goals in his previous five outings. Tarasov has been the backup for the Panthers behind Sergei Bobrovsky, and the nature of that role limits his upside to matchup-based situations.

Gibson will patrol the home crease versus Colorado on Saturday, Michael Whitaker of The Hockey News reports.

Gibson will make his fourth straight start and 12th in his last 14 games. Gibson is 21-10-2 with three shutouts, a 2.61 GAA and a .905 save percentage across 34 appearances in 2025-26. The Avalanche lead the NHL in scoring, averaging 3.88 goals per game.

Hellebuyck went through his starting routine Friday, Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press reports, signaling that he's slated to start Saturday's road game against the Panthers.

Hellebuyck has struggled to enter the win column recently, going 1-3-2 with a 2.64 GAA and .909 save percentage over his last six starts. That stretch includes a Jan. 22 start at home against the Panthers in which he turned aside 19 of 20 shots (.950 save percentage) in a shootout loss.

Quick turned aside 19 shots in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Islanders.

Both goals against the 40-year-old netminder came in a 95-second span late in the second period, as Carson Soucy snuck the puck past Quick inside the near post from a bad angle before Matthew Schaefer ripped a shot through traffic for the game-winner. Quick has struggled to hold down the fort in the crease while Igor Shesterkin (lower body) has been on the shelf, going 1-6-1 through eight outings in January with a rough 4.56 GAA and .823 save percentage.

Merzlikins will defend the road cage in Chicago on Friday, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Merzlikins will make his second straight start, as he stopped 24 shots in a 5-3 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. The netminder is 9-8-1 with poor peripherals, including a 3.76 GAA and an .882 save percentage across 19 appearances this season. The Blackhawks are 26th in NHL scoring, tallying 143 goals in 54 games.

Sorokin stopped 20 shots in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Rangers.

The veteran netminder took a shutout into the third period, only for Mika Zibanejad to spoil it on the power play, but Sorokin still came away with his fourth win in his last five starts. Over eight outings in January, Sorokin has gone 6-2-0 with a stellar 1.89 GAA and .936 save percentage.

Lyon made 37 saves in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Kings.

Adrian Kempe redirected a Kevin Fiala shot past the veteran netminder on a Los Angeles power play in the second period, but otherwise Lyon shut down the visitors completely. He's won three straight starts since returning from a lower-body injury, allowing a total of four goals on 98 shots (.959 save percentage), and as a result of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen dealing with a lower-body injury of his own, Lyon figures to be busy as the Sabres pack in four more games before the Olympic break begins.

Kuemper turned aside 28 of 31 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Sabres.

An Adrian Kempe power-play tally in the second period was all the offense the Kings could muster, but they were already in a 3-0 hole at that point. Kuemper is struggling to close out January, going 1-3-3 over his last eight outings with a 3.48 GAA and .864 save percentage, but he isn't getting much help from his teammates either -- Los Angeles has averaged just 2.38 goals in those eight games.

Swayman made 33 saves in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Flyers.

Boston grabbed a 3-0 lead before Philly even got on the board early in the second period, and Swayman's grip on his third straight win was never in much jeopardy. The 27-year-old netminder has put together an impressive 7-2-0 record over nine starts in January, but his 2.96 GAA and .902 save percentage indicate that success owes a great deal to the Bruins' offense.

Vladar stopped all six shots he faced after replacing Samuel Ersson (lower body) to begin the third period of Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Bruins.

Vladar had just returned from his own lower-body injury Wednesday, but he was forced into action in back-to-back games when Ersson wasn't able to answer the bell for the final period. Vladar was set to handle No. 1 duties anyway, and he sports a 16-8-4 record with a 2.49 GAA and .904 save percentage on the season, but he could see even more work than expected if Ersson misses significant time. Aleksei Kolosov will likely be summoned from AHL Lehigh Valley to back up Vladar while Ersson is on the shelf.