NHL Player News

Hofer will start Friday's road game against Utah, Chris Pinkert of the Blues' official site reports.

Hofer has sat for three of the Blues' last four games, but he'll draw the start Friday after Jordan Binnington struggled mightily during Wednesday's loss in Chicago. Hofer has gone 4-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .930 save percentage over his last five starts. He's made two starts against Utah this year, going 1-0-0 with a 2.65 GAA and .875 save percentage.

Thompson will start Friday's road game against Chicago, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports.

Thompson enters Friday's matchup in the midst of a cold spell in which he's gone 0-3-1 with a 3.26 GAA and .898 save percentage over his last four starts. That stretch includes a home shootout loss to the Blackhawks on Jan. 3, but he was relatively effective during that matchup, turning aside 31 of 33 shots (.939 save percentage).

Gibson will defend the visiting cage in Montreal on Saturday, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Gibson is 11-2-0 with a 2.17 GAA and a .927 save percentage since the beginning of December, cementing his role as the Red Wings' No. 1 goaltender. Overall, Gibson is 15-9-1 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.86 GAA and an .898 save percentage across 26 outings. The Canadiens are tied for fourth in NHL scoring with Edmonton, averaging 3.39 goals per game.

Knight will be between the home pipes versus Washington on Friday, Vinnie Parise of The Hockey News reports.

Knight enters the contest on a three-game winning streak. He is 13-11-6 with a 2.61 GAA and a .910 save percentage across 30 appearances this season. The Capitals are generating 3.25 goals per game, tied with Anaheim for ninth in the NHL.

Vejmelka was the first goalie off during Friday's morning skate, Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Blues.

Vejmelka has been productive over the past month, going 7-2-0 with a 2.45 GAA and .908 save percentage. He's made a pair of road starts against the Blues this season, and he went 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .872 save percentage across those outings.

Quick turned aside 16 of 20 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Buffalo, with the Sabres' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The Rangers never led in the contest, as Quick's winless streak continued. The 39-year-old netminder has gone 0-6-2 over his last eight outings dating back to Nov. 16, posting a 2.96 GAA and .893 save percentage over that stretch, but with Igor Shesterkin (lower body) on the shelf, New York will keep leaning on Quick in the crease for now.

Ellis stopped 30 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Rangers.

The 25-year-old rookie looked good in his first game action since Dec. 9, as Ellis missed most of the month in between with a concussion. On the season, he's gone 5-3-0 in nine outings with a 3.10 GAA and .900 save percentage, and he'll fill the No. 2 role between the pipes behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen while Alex Lyon (lower body) is on the shelf.

Gibson made 23 saves in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks.

Jake DeBrusk got a puck past him on a Vancouver power play midway through the second period, but otherwise Gibson was able to handle everything the visitors fired his way. The veteran netminder has been thriving with a heavy workload, and over his last 12 starts Gibson has gone 10-2-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .931 save percentage.

Lankinen turned aside 20 of 24 shots in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Red Wings, with Detroit's fourth goal getting scored into an empty net.

The veteran netminder didn't get much help on the night, but he also did himself no favors on the opening goal of the game, which came on a wobbly shot by Patrick Kane from the faceoff circle that Lankinen simply whiffed on. Lankinen continues to get regular work as the backup to Thatcher Demko, but since the beginning of December Lankinen has gone 2-4-1 in seven starts with a 3.23 GAA and .884 save percentage.

Andersen made 11 saves in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Ducks.

Carolina outshot the visitors 35-13 on the night, and Andersen shut the door completely in the second half of the game. It was the veteran netminder's first win since Nov. 6, and it was an encouraging performance after he'd given up 14 goals on just 84 shots over his prior three starts. With Pyotr Kochetkov (hip) on the shelf, Andersen is seeing regular action again, but he remains behind Brandon Bussi on the depth chart.