NHL Player News

Lankinen stopped 37 of 39 shots in Monday's 3-2 shootout win over the Kraken.

This was Lankinen's second shootout win in a row since he snapped a six-game losing streak. He's allowed six goals on 82 shots over his last two outings, as the Canucks' defense isn't making life any easier for him. The Finnish netminder is now 6-10-3 with a 3.41 GAA and an .885 save percentage over 19 appearances this season. Thatcher Demko is likely to start Tuesday versus the Flyers, but Lankinen should get one of the two games after that, either Friday in a home rematch versus the Kraken or Saturday against the Bruins.

Mrazek allowed a goal on four shots in relief of Lukas Dostal in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Sharks.

Mrazek ended up stuck with the loss after allowing a third-period goal to Zack Ostapchuk. Over two relief outings since returning from a lower-body injury, Mrazek has allowed five goals on 22 shots. He hasn't done enough to push the struggling Dostal for playing time, and if both goalies continue to falter, Ville Husso could get a look in the crease for the Ducks. Looking ahead, the Ducks' next game is Wednesday versus the Lightning, but it's not yet clear which goalie will get the nod for that one.

Dostal allowed four goals on nine shots in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Sharks.

Dostal was able to avoid the loss since the Ducks covered his damage, but this was another ugly outing for the 25-year-old. He's given up 19 goals on just 92 shots over his last five contests, going 1-3-0 in that span. A heavy workload could be part of the problem, but Petr Mrazek, who stopped three of four shots in relief Monday, hasn't been good enough to challenge Dostal for playing time. Dostal remains at 13-9-1 with a 3.12 GAA and an .889 save percentage. The Ducks' homestand has a couple more hard games ahead, as they'll face the Lightning on Wednesday and the Wild on Friday before heading east for a four-game trip.

Askarov stopped 38 of 42 shots in Monday's 5-4 win over the Ducks.

It wasn't the prettiest performance, but Askarov was able to hold off the Sharks' in-state rivals in a thrilling game between two teams on the rise. This was Askarov's second win in a row, though he gave up three-plus goals for a ninth straight outing. He's up to a 14-10-1 record, but his GAA rose to 3.38 with an .898 save percentage over 25 starts. The 23-year-old continues to function as the Sharks' top goalie, and it looks like head coach Ryan Warsofsky is going to let Askarov play through his recent struggles. The Sharks have another big test coming up when they host the Wild on Wednesday in a New Year's Eve matinee game.

Hart stopped seven of 12 shots before he was pulled from Monday's 5-2 loss to the Wild.

Hart gave up two goals in the first period and another three in the first 6:56 of the second before he was pulled. Akira Schmid took over and stopped 15 shots over the rest of the game, and Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Schmid was tabbed the starter for Wednesday's home game versus the Predators. With 16 goals allowed on 94 shots over his last four games, Hart's quality of play has taken a dip amid a challenging sequence of opponents. Schmid's performance Wednesday could have a large impact on the Golden Knights' goaltending usage heading into January. Hart is 4-2-3 with a 3.18 GAA and an .883 save percentage through nine starts so far.

Gustavsson stopped 14 of 16 shots in Monday's 5-2 win over the Golden Knights.

The Wild gave their hosts little room to play, allowing Gustavsson to face a season-low workload. The Golden Knights' two goals came after they fell behind 5-0, so the lead was never really in doubt for Minnesota. Gustavsson has won six of his last seven outings, allowing just 12 goals on 173 shots in that span. For the season, the 27-year-old netminder is up to 13-8-4 with a 2.47 GAA and a .912 save percentage across 25 starts. The Wild remain on the road for the next five games while their arena plays host to the World Junior Championship. Their next matchup is in San Jose on Wednesday in a New Year's Eve matinee.

Vanecek allowed four goals on 26 shots in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Predators.

Vanecek let a trio of one-goal leads slip away in this contest. A double-dip from Steven Stamkos in a span of 1:38 in the middle of the third period ended up sending Vanecek to his sixth straight regulation loss, and it's his ninth defeat (0-8-1) in a row. The 29-year-old has allowed four goals in five of those losses, though he's also been a bit unlucky during the nearly two-month-long skid. For the season, he's at a 2-9-1 record with a 2.92 GAA and an .879 save percentage in 12 appearances. He'll likely get the bulk of the starts while Karel Vejmelka (upper body) is out, but Vanecek is a risky option for most fantasy formats.

Saros stopped 28 of 31 shots in Monday's 4-3 win over the Mammoth.

Saros allowed a goal in each frame, which saw the Predators fall behind each time. Steven Stamkos picked up the slack, scoring the tying and winning goals in the third period, and Saros made the lead stand to the end. The 30-year-old Saros has won four of his last six games, and he's allowed 16 goals on 163 shots in that span to provide fairly steady work between the pipes. On the year, he's up to 15-12-3 with a 2.93 GAA and an .898 save percentage over 30 appearances. The Predators will likely split the next two games between Saros and Justus Annunen, with a road back-to-back coming up with matchups versus Vegas on Wednesday and Seattle on Thursday.

Schmid is slated to start at home against the Predators on Wednesday, according to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Schmid has lost out on playing time over the last month to Carter Hart, but Hart was lit up for five goals on 12 shots in Monday's loss to the Wild, so Vegas will turn back to Schmid for Wednesday's game. Schmid also replaced Hart in goal during Monday's defeat, stopping all 15 shots he faced. As for Wednesday's matchup, the Predators have been a more formidable opponent of late -- they have won four of their last five games while netting 16 goals in that span.

Hellebuyck stopped 18 of 20 shots on goal in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Oilers. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Hellebuyck's struggles continued Monday, as he allowed two goals in the second period, which proved to be too large of a hole for Winnipeg's offense to climb out. With the loss, the 32-year-old netminder now has a 9-9-3 record with a 2.53 GAA and a .908 save percentage through 21 appearances this season. Since his return from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for just under a month, he has a 1-3-3 record and an .893 save percentage in seven contests. While he remains a solid option in all fantasy formats with the highest ceiling of any netminder in the NHL, expectations should be tempered in the meantime while he looks to find his groove. Hellebuyck's next opportunity to guard the crease is Wednesday in Detroit, which is the first half of a back-to-back.