NHL Player News

Ullmark (personal) practiced with the Senators on Friday for the first time since being granted a leave of absence Dec. 28, Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News reports.

Ullmark has gone 14-8-5 with a 2.95 GAA and an .881 save percentage across 28 appearances this season. Ottawa has had goaltending issues during Ullmark's absence and has dropped to 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Ullmark remains on the non-roster list, and there's no timeline for his return to the lineup.

Merzlikins stopped 30 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Canucks.

Brock Boeser got a puck past Merzlikins on a Vancouver power play late in the second period, but otherwise the veteran netminder had an answer for everything the Canucks fired at him. It was Merzlikins' first win since Dec. 4, and on the season he's gone 7-7-1 with a rough 3.84 GAA and .882 save percentage, falling firmly behind Jet Greaves on the Columbus depth chart in the process.

Lankinen made 32 saves in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Columbus.

The Canucks' skaters didn't give Lankinen much help on the night, with two of the Blue Jackets' goals coming on power plays and three of them from in close. The veteran netminder has yet to get into the win column in January, going 0-3-1 over five outings with a 3.20 GAA and .893 save percentage, but Lankinen will continue to handle a big workload while Thatcher Demko (lower body) is on the shelf.

Gibson is expected to defend the home crease versus San Jose on Friday, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Gibson had a rare night off Tuesday after starting five straight games. The netminder is 13-2-0 with a 2.07 GAA and a .930 save percentage since the beginning of December. Overall, Gibson is 17-9-1 with three shutouts, a 2.75 GAA and a .903 save percentage across 28 appearances this season. The Sharks are 15th in NHL scoring, generating 3.13 goals per game.

Fowler was reassigned to AHL Laval on Friday

The Habs have been carrying three goalies for a while, so it's not a huge surprise they decided to return Fowler to the minors. Still, his stint with the Rocket could be short-lived. Assuming he plays for the minor-league club against AHL Manitoba on Friday or Saturday, he could be recalled ahead of Tuesday's clash with Minnesota.

Woll allowed six goals on 33 shots in Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Golden Knights.

The Maple Leafs' three-goal first period put them ahead early, but they couldn't make it last. Woll was unable to fend off a relentless comeback effort from the Golden Knights, and in the end, the 27-year-old netminder came away with one of his worst outings of the season. He's down to 11-4-3 with a 2.73 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 19 appearances, so he's still been fairly steady between the pipes. The Maple Leafs' next game is Saturday in Winnipeg.

Kolosov allowed three goals on 16 shots in relief in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Penguins.

The game really wasn't close. The Flyers are struggling right now. Kolosov was recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley earlier Thursday after Dan Vladar sustained an undisclosed injury in the loss to the Sabres on Wednesday. Kolosov will back up Samuel Ersson until Vladar's return.

Ersson allowed three goals on 14 shots before being replaced in the second period of Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Penguins.

Aleksei Kolosov replaced him. It was hardly Ersson's fault that his team was down 3-1 at the time. The Pens had ripped home two power-play goals in the first, and the Flyers were running around at bad angles. Ersson was pressed into duty after Dan Vladar suffered an undisclosed injury in Wednesday's game. Ersson's last win was Dec. 23. He's 0-3-0 with 17 goals allowed in four starts since.

Hill stopped 23 of 28 shots in Thursday's 6-5 overtime win over the Maple Leafs.

Hill was playing in his first game in nearly three months after battling a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old gave up three goals within the first 10 minutes, but the Maple Leafs' offense lost its touch when William Nylander (lower body) exited the contest. The Golden Knights were able to battle back, giving Hill a win in his return. He's now 2-0-2 on the season, but he's allowed 15 goals on 117 shots (.872 save percentage). It may take a few games for Hill to fully shake off the rust, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him share the crease with Akira Schmid. Vegas hosts Nashville on Saturday.

Skinner made 30 saves in a 6-3 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday.

Skinner came out victorious in an intense cross-state contest. He's now 4-1-0 in his last five games with just seven goals allowed. Skinner seems to be regaining a command that playing in Edmonton ripped out of him. He's 4-4-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .901 save percentage in eight starts in black and gold.