NHL Player News

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.

Knight will be between the home pipes versus Columbus on Friday, according to Vinnie Parise of The Hockey News.

Knight is 1-1-1 in his last three games, allowing 10 goals on 78 shots. Overall, Knight is 15-14-7 with three shutouts, a 2.59 GAA and a .910 save percentage, stellar stats for the 24-year-old netminder. The Blue Jackets are generating 3.04 goals per game this season, which is tied for 19th in the league.

Markstrom stopped 27 of 29 shots on net in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Predators.

Markstrom allowed just two even-strength tallies and made six power-play saves en route to his sixth win of January. Overall, the 35-year-old netminder is up to a 15-12-1 record, 3.24 GAA and .881 save percentage across 29 outings this season. The veteran netminder is turning his season around game by game after a rough start to the season. Over his last seven appearances, he has a 5-2-0 record, 2.56 GAA and .893 save percentage. While the Devils remain in the bottom half of the Metropolitan Division standings, they continue to flash signs of life, which should lead to Markstrom playing an important role down the stretch. With his recent turnaround, he holds solid fantasy value in two-goalie formats for the time being.

Annunen turned aside 32 of 35 shots on goal in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to New Jersey.

Annunen was tasked with recording a high total of saves in regulation to force overtime, in which he ultimately fell short when New Jersey's Nico Hischier rifled the game-winning tally past him 42 seconds into the extra period. With the loss, Annunen now holds a 4-6-2 record, 3.30 GAA and .881 save percentage across 16 outings this season. While the 25-year-old netminder hasn't found the win column in each of his last three outings, he has only one regulation loss across his last six appearances, a stretch during which he has a 2.69 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He remains firmly behind Juuse Saros on the depth chart, but with solid performances such as Thursday's, Annunen could begin to draw more starts if the Predators start slipping out of playoff contention.

Gustavsson stopped 29 of 30 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Flames.

Gustavsson had an easy matchup on paper, as the Flames entered Thursday's game ranking 31st in the NHL in goals scored per game, so he didn't have problems cruising to a victory. Gustavsson has lost in regulation just once in nine January appearances, going 5-1-2 with a 2.86 GAA and a .903 save percentage in that stretch.

Cooley stopped 20 of 23 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Wild. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Cooley has lost each of his past three starts, but win-loss record aside, his performances haven't been all that bad. He has allowed three or fewer goals in each of his last six starts dating back to Dec. 20, going 3-2-1 with a 2.00 GAA and an impressive .933 save percentage over that stretch. Cooley should remain in a backup role behind Dustin Wolf, so his fantasy upside will be matchup-based in a best-case scenario, but his recent form suggests he's worth a look in specific situations when he's confirmed as the starter.

Gibson stopped 20 of 23 shots in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Capitals.

Gibson won eight games in a row between Jan. 5 and Jan. 24, so some kind of negative regression was expected, and he's dropped his last two outings (0-1-1) since then. With that being said, he's allowed just five goals on 44 shots in that span, so he hasn't had bad performances in the two games he didn't win. Gibson has been excellent this month with an 8-2-1 record, 1.89 GAA and .929 save percentage over 11 outings.

Bussi halted 21 of 25 shots on net in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Mammoth.

With two minutes remaining on the clock, Bussi was headed towards his fourth regulation loss of the season before Carolina's offense erupted for three goals to place its netminder in the win column. With the comeback win, Bussi now has a 20-3-1 record, 2.22 GAA and .906 save percentage across 24 appearances this season. The 27-year-old netminder is on a four-game winning streak and has won seven of his last eight starts. In that span, he has posted a 2.01 GAA and a .916 save percentage, which ranks near the top of the league in both categories. Bussi continues to silence critics and looks every part of a top-tier NHL netminder, which gives him elite fantasy value in nearly all formats moving forward. He'll have a chance to extend his impressive run of play Saturday in a road clash with the Capitals.

Vejmelka stopped 28 of 33 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes.

After allowing just two goals across the first 58 minutes of the contest, Vejmelka crashed and burned when he surrendered three goals in the final two minutes of the third period. With the loss, the 29-year-old netminder now has a 25-13-2 record, 2.62 GAA and .899 save percentage through 41 appearances this season. After posting an eight-game winning streak earlier in January, Utah's starting netminder has dropped a pair of road games to Eastern Conference opponents in his last two outings. With a league-leading 25 wins and the Mammoth occupying a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, Vejmelka remains a high-level goaltending option across most fantasy formats. His next chance to bounce back is in Saturday's home clash against Dallas.

Hill stopped 23 of 27 shots in Thursday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Stars.

Hill is now 2-2-1 over five games since he returned from a lower-body injury. He's allowed 21 goals in that span, with the Stars' top six rallying for three goals during the second period to turn this performance upside down for the netminder. He's now at a 3-2-3 record with a 3.56 GAA and an .855 save percentage over 10 appearances. The Golden Knights' defense tends to limit shots against, so Hill's save percentage is likely to remain quite low as long as he's regularly leaking three or more goals. He won't have to wait long for his next start -- the Golden Knights host the Kraken on Saturday before visiting the Ducks on Sunday for a weekend back-to-back set, which will likely see Hill and Akira Schmid split the starts.